The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘They Always Blame America First’

Posted on | April 30, 2020 | Comments Off on ‘They Always Blame America First’

 

One of the decisive moments of the Cold War, in my opinion, was Jeanne Kirkpatrick’s speech at the 1984 Republican National Convention. In the post-Vietnam era, Democrats had adopted a “human rights” approach to foreign policy that tended toward a stance of moral relativism between Soviet-sponsored Marxist-Leninist regimes and their opponents. A sort of guilt complex about American influence — internalizing Communist propaganda claims about capitalist “imperialism” — had become part of Democrat foreign policy, and Kirkpatrick nailed it perfectly:

They said that saving Grenada from terror and totalitarianism was the wrong thing to do — they didn’t blame Cuba or the communists for threatening American students and murdering Grenadians — they blamed the United States instead.
But then, somehow, they always blame America first.
When our Marines, sent to Lebanon on a multinational peacekeeping mission with the consent of the United States Congress, were murdered in their sleep, the “blame America first crowd” didn’t blame the terrorists who murdered the Marines, they blamed the United States.
But then, they always blame America first.
When the Soviet Union walked out of arms control negotiations, and refused even to discuss the issues, the San Francisco Democrats didn’t blame Soviet intransigence. They blamed the United States.
But then, they always blame America first.
When Marxist dictators shoot their way to power in Central America, the San Francisco Democrats don’t blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies, they blame United States policies of 100 years ago.
But then, they always blame America first.
The American people know better.

Kirkpatrick’s speech put the choice in foreign policy in the clearest possible terms, and when Reagan won in a historic landslide, this mandate empowered him to confront Soviet power worldwide. One might have hoped that the lesson would have been clear, and yet, to this day, liberals still have not gotten the memo:

Bill Weir hates Jesus, America, and the internal combustion engine — not necessarily in that order. His job as Chief Climate Correspondent at CNN gives Weir ample opportunity to express his hatred of America’s petroleum-consuming habits, but it was not until recently that Weir explained how he blames Christianity for the world’s problems.
In a bizarre online essay entitled “To my son, born in the time of coronavirus and climate change,” Weir implies that the pandemic is somehow related to global warming, connected by “stories in a very old book” (i.e., the Bible) to explain why “we burned gasoline for no good reason.” Does that make sense? No, not logically, but Weir’s emotional gestalt pattern connects these dots without regard to logic. . . .

Read the rest of my latest column at The American Spectator.




 

Category: CNN, Media Bias

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