Stallion
Stud
Remember all that talk in Washington just a few short months ago about the "new tone" in public discourse? You might, but the people who argued for it obviously forgot.
This won't come as a shock to anyone who has spent a single moment following politics, but it is clear that the "new tone" of respect and humanity--as called for by lawmakers, the media and the president after the shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left several dead and many more wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords--is long gone.
After a brief hiatus, politicians hailing from both parties are now back to their old ways.
And nothing, it would seem, is off-limits--particularly in the hotbed of hyperbole that marked the congressional debate over the debt ceiling.
With the nation's full faith and credit inches away from falling off a cliff, tempers ran high. There are plenty of examples of Democratic lawmakers, opinion writers, and yes, even Republicans, who tagged as "terrorists" the tea party-backed members who opposed raising the debt ceiling.
Here's a quick roundup of the recent trash talk:
- Vice President Joe Biden, during a private meeting with Democratic House members, reportedly said that Republicans had "acted like terrorists."
- The New York Times, PBS and Politico, to name a few, ran opinion pieces that used the "terrorist" meme. In fact, the Times published four articles calling opponents to raising the limit the t-word. And Joe Nocera wrote that the tea party could finally "put aside their suicide vests" now that the problem seemed to be resolved.
- Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who served under President Bush, called those who opposed the debt limit increase "our version of al Qaeda terrorists." "Really," he added for good measure.
- Colorado Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn called President Obama a "tar baby." "Now I don't want to even have to be associated with him," Lamborn said, when asked if the president would be to blame for the debt crisis. "It is like touching a tar baby and you get it—you're stuck, and you're part of the problem now." He later apologized and said he meant to use the word "quagmire."
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/debt-ceiling-debate-official-end-tone-era-171625113.html
This won't come as a shock to anyone who has spent a single moment following politics, but it is clear that the "new tone" of respect and humanity--as called for by lawmakers, the media and the president after the shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left several dead and many more wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords--is long gone.
After a brief hiatus, politicians hailing from both parties are now back to their old ways.
And nothing, it would seem, is off-limits--particularly in the hotbed of hyperbole that marked the congressional debate over the debt ceiling.
With the nation's full faith and credit inches away from falling off a cliff, tempers ran high. There are plenty of examples of Democratic lawmakers, opinion writers, and yes, even Republicans, who tagged as "terrorists" the tea party-backed members who opposed raising the debt ceiling.
Here's a quick roundup of the recent trash talk:
- Vice President Joe Biden, during a private meeting with Democratic House members, reportedly said that Republicans had "acted like terrorists."
- The New York Times, PBS and Politico, to name a few, ran opinion pieces that used the "terrorist" meme. In fact, the Times published four articles calling opponents to raising the limit the t-word. And Joe Nocera wrote that the tea party could finally "put aside their suicide vests" now that the problem seemed to be resolved.
- Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who served under President Bush, called those who opposed the debt limit increase "our version of al Qaeda terrorists." "Really," he added for good measure.
- Colorado Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn called President Obama a "tar baby." "Now I don't want to even have to be associated with him," Lamborn said, when asked if the president would be to blame for the debt crisis. "It is like touching a tar baby and you get it—you're stuck, and you're part of the problem now." He later apologized and said he meant to use the word "quagmire."
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/debt-ceiling-debate-official-end-tone-era-171625113.html
