Sarah Palin is right: Rahm Emmanuel needs to go. Not for using the phrase “fucking retarded.” (This is a terrible offense Sarah? I thought conservatives erred on the side of free speech over silly things like political correctedness.) Lost in the commotion is who Rahm directed the comment to. Obstructionist Republicans who threaten to filibuster EVERYTHING down to the most trivial apolitical appointments? Democrats like Ben Nelson who join these filibuster threats anytime there’s a prayer of accomplishing something that his corporate overlords won’t be pleased with? Maybe Harry Reid… whose comically inept leadership has turned the Democrats into the first 59 vote Senate minority party in history?
No, of course not. Rahm has few qualms with those people. He saves his ire and his foul mouth for left-wing activists. The people he called “fucking retarded” were groups who had the audacity to suggest they run some ads against Democrats who are obstructing meaningful health care reform. Rahm went on to explain in a feat of anti-logical gymnastics that it’s not a good idea to criticize people who won’t vote with you, because then they might not vote with you.
Rahm is known as a political heavy-hitter- a guy not afraid to get his hands dirty and mix it up. Watching him half the time I have no clue where this reputation comes from. Whenever issues like the public option and the Medicare-buyin are on the table, Rahm is quiet as a church mouse. His reputation as a foul-mouthed ball-breakingly intense operative who GETS THINGS DONE is actually well deserved though. Unfortunately for the people who were inspired by the Obama campaign, the only time Rahm ever turns from church mouse into “Rahmbo” is when he needs something from LEFT-WING Democrats. Liberals balking at funding the escalation in Afghanistan? The stories of Rahm’s arm twisting to get those votes were legendary. When it comes time to get Democrat votes on health care – not only does he not apply any pressure – but he calls people who want to apply some pressure “fucking retarded”. I love the way one blogger put it, “[Rahm is] ready to rumble on behalf of the status-quo.”
The point of this blog post isn’t to discuss whether Rahm is correct in advising left-wing advocacy groups to lay off right-wing Democrats (he’s not), it’s to point out what a giant asshole Rahm Emmanuel is. The fatman Rush Limbaugh, it what was undoubtedly an opiate-induced moment of clarity, nails it: “I think their big news is he’s out there calling Obama’s number one supporters f’ing retards.”
Bingo. Barack, Rahm, and the Democrats have failed to deliver for their base on big ticket items like health care, financial reform, and war withdrawals. They have failed to deliver on simple small ticket items like repealing DADT. Many of the liberals who worked so hard to elect these people are frustrated. Some of them are concluding it might be a good idea to let their candidates know that just because he has a D next to his name he won’t get their support if he acts like a Republican. You’d think Rahm’s message, whether he was sincere or not, would be, “Hang in there guys, don’t start calling out the Democrats yet…I know we haven’t had much progress, but just be patient and I really appreciate your support.”
Nope. His message is we are "fucking retarded”. No Republican leader would EVER disrespect his base like that – no matter what crazy ideas (outlawing contraception anyone?) are harbored in their brains. For Rahm to drop the R-Bomb over an excellent political and policy suggestion is a gigantic slap in the face, not to mentally challenged people, but to the people he owes his job to. The Democrats have disrespected me all year with their actions and lack of actions… now they’re explicitly disrespecting me with words. Rahm’s attitude is a perfect example of why they’re headed from powerless majority party to powerless minority party.
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’)*Update*: Rahm apologized! Maybe he's not so bad after all. Oh wait, he apologized to the disabled community, not to his political supporters.
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