Is Silence Really a Virtue?

This morning, as I reviewed the blogs, there were two compelling stories.  One involved the tragic and violent situation unfolding in Libya.  The other story described the attack by a CWA union member on Tabitha Hale, an employee of the Tea Party Patriots organization known as Freedom Works.  I struggled to decide which story to relate to you this morning, so let’s discuss both.  They are somewhat related.

Story #1 Libya

As most of you are aware, Libya is undergoing a violent revolution that so far has killed 500 people while wounding thousands at the hands of  Muamar Gadhafi.   You may also know that President Obama has been criticized for remaining mostly silent on this situation for the past week.  Yesterday, however, he did issue a statement condemning the violence.

“We strongly condemn the use of violence in Libya. The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous, and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya.”

“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable, so are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.”

“We are doing everything we can to protect American citizens.  That is my highest priority. In Libya, we’ve urged our people to leave the country, and the State Department is assisting those in need of support.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to Obama’s critics by explaining that the president was concerned about the safety of American citizens in Libya and wanted to implement an evacuation before offering comment.  ABC News didn’t totally accept that explanation:

“ President Obama said the bloodshed in Libya was “outrageous and unacceptable,” but he declined to directly censure Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi who has been blamed for much of the violent crackdown.”

And ironically, neither did far-left liberal commentator Chris Matthews:

“This statement could have been put out by the first President Bush. It has the aspect of an Arabist statement. I shouldn’t be too strong here, but it doesn’t have any dignity. I mean – Ronald Reagan – to his credit, said ‘evil empire’ before the fall of the wall.”

Michael Barone of Investors.com offered similar criticism:

“Everyone has priorities. During the past week, Barack Obama has found no time to condemn the attacks that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has launched on the Libyan people.  But he did find time to be interviewed by a Wisconsin TV station and weigh in on the dispute between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the state’s public employee unions.”

Story #2 Freedom Works

On Tuesday, Democrat Rep. Michael Capuano addressed a group of union and state congressional delegation members in Boston.  The purpose of the message was to stir up the union’s political base in Massachusetts by vilifying union opposition in Wisconsin.  Specifically, the senator said:

“I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going.  Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary.”

That rhetoric seem to have worked, because yesterday multiple union organizations including the NEA, AFT, SEIU and CWA bused in members who descended upon the Tea Party organization known as Freedom Works in Washington DC.  During the protest, a male member of the CWA union physically attacked Tabitha Hale, a female employee of Freedom Works.  Here’s the video:

Tabitha wasn’t hurt, but she was assaulted and knocked to the ground.

Analysis

As I mentioned, these two stories have something in common.  It’s becoming painfully apparent that the Obama administration is blindly hypocritical when it comes to condemning violence and political intimidation.

Egypt has undergone a revolution this month and our president wasted no time in calling for Mubarak’s ouster.  He cited optimism for democracy in Egypt and openly criticized the Egyptian president for brutality.  Yet Obama was conspicuously silent last summer as democratic protests erupted in Iran.  He also waited until yesterday before commenting on the genocide in Libya, which has been going on for more than week.  And even then, his tone was somewhat dispassionate.  The speech on TV was void of emotion or conviction.  You know the style, which resembles the boring cadence of a university lecture at 7AM.   More to the point, Obama has not called for Gadhafi to step down.  Why?  Some have speculated that the White House has deep ties to Muamar Gadhafi.

Louis Farrakhan and his Nation of Islam have strong ties with the White House.

• Farrakhan delivered multiple guest lectures at Obama’s former church.
• Farrakhan’s Marxist advisor, Cornell West, was also an advisor to Obama’s 2008 campaign and is considered a close friend of the president.
• Rev. Willie Barrow served on a Obama’s official Faith Outreach Team and also is a close friend and supporter of Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

Louis Farrakhan, in turn, is a strong supporter of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

• Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, traveled with Farrakhan to visit Gadhafi in 1984.

• Last year, Gadhafi spoke by satellite to Farrakhan’s Savior state convention in Chicago.  During that speech, he said that he was prepared to provide weapons to a black army in the US to destroy “white America”.

• In 1995, Gadhafi called Farrakhan offering congratulations on the success of the million Man March.

• In 1996, Farrakhan and Gadhafi agreed to work together in order to mobilize “oppressed blacks, Arabs, Muslims and red Indians” in an attempt to reshape US foreign policy

• Farrakhan received Gadhafi’s “human rights” award along with $250,000 in 1996.

So it appears that the Obama administration’s political baggage may have caused the president to drag his feet in directly confronting and condemning Gadhafi.

In similar fashion, Obama is stone silent when it comes to the aggressive and threatening tactics of union bosses.  Their purple buses are on the roll, targeting specific organizations and even individuals.  You may recall the OWD article published April 24, 2010, which described how hundreds of SEIU activists were bused to Chevy Chase Maryland,  descending upon upon the neighborhood residence of a deputy general counsel for Bank of America, Greg Baer.  Mr. Baer wasn’t home at the time, but the mob terrorized his teenage son, who was locked inside the house as hundreds of union members trampled is lawn, peered into the windows and voice their aggression with bullhorns.  Repeating the intimidation yesterday, the CWA members descended upon Freedom Works and assaulted an employee.  But it’s a sure bet that there will be no comment by this administration.  Why? because their union partners are involved.  The same union partners that  openly brag of visiting the White House multiple times each week.

It is my humble opinion that Obama’s objectivity takes a vacation when political friends and allies are guilty of violence and intimidation.   One group represents union interests that use strong-arm tactics against the very American citizens that Obama is supposed to protect. Another group aligned with the White House has openly supported a Libyan dictator who has murdered over 500 of his own people this week.  The same dictator that ordered the death of 259 passengers aboard Pan Am flight 103 as it flew over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988.  The same dictator who bombed a Berlin discotheque in 1986 , murdering hundreds, including  US serviceman.

Should the president offer comment when a large union thug shoves a 51-year-old female to the ground?  Perhaps not.  Should the president immediately and directly condemn a Libyan dictator who has murdered his own people and has a track record of terror against US citizens and servicemen?  You decide.

But don’t bother asking this president, because when it comes to political baggage, he believes that silence is indeed a virtue.

Comments?

Sources:

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/02/23/video-cwa-union-thug-strikes-young-female-freedomworks-activist/

http://www.redstate.com/tabithahale/2011/02/23/union-thuggery-descends-on-freedomworks/

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/why_is_freedomworks_really_moving.php

http://teaparty.freedomworks.org

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/145627-dem-lawmaker-on-labor-protests-get-a-little-bloody-when-necessary

http://www.bluegrasspundit.com/2011/02/obamas-ties-to-muammar-gaddafi.html

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2011/02/president-still-silent-on-genocide-in.html

http://chickenhawkexpress.blogspot.com/2011/02/qaddafi-and-obama-six-degrees-of.html

http://giveusliberty1776.blogspot.com/2011/02/obamas-mystery-links-to-gadhafi.html

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/23/hostage-fear-a-key-factor-in-obamas-muted-libya-response/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_ac360blog+%28Blog%3A+AC360%29

http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/23/obama-to-speak-on-libya-condemns-violence/

http://www.bluegrasspundit.com/2011/02/obama-finally-speaks-out-on-bloodbath.html

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/563981/201102231857/How-Public-Unions-Force-Taxpayers-To-Fund-Dems.htm

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/563895/201102221845/Obama-Fiddles-As-Libya-Burns.htm

Tags: AFT, Berlin discotheque bombing, Chris Matthews, Cornell West, CWA, Egypt, Greg Baer, Iran, Jay Carney, Jeremiah Wright, Libya, Lockerbie Scotland, Louis Farrakhan, Michael Barone, Michael Capuano, Muamar Gadhafi, Nation of Islam, NEA, Pan Am flight 103, President Obama, Rev. Willie Barrow, SEIU, Tabitha Hale, Tea Party Patriots

This entry was posted on February 24, 2011 at 11:12 am and is filed under Conservative, Craig Covello, Domestic Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.