South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis angered some constituents this past week when he verbally attacked talk show host Glenn Beck during a town hall meeting. Inglis accused Beck of being a
fear monger after a member of the crowd told Inglis he should watch Beck's program. The audience responded by resoundingly booing the Republican.
Later,
South Carolina blogger Jason Spencer spoke with the Congressman who did not back down from his words about Beck and he then threw Lou
Dobbs into the mix of agitators. Spencer's discussion with Inglis was enlightening. In fact, this whole dust up brings up a couple very important points.
First, the nonsensical claim that folks are coming to the town halls because of partisan loyalties or because they are out to get Barry Vladimir Hussein
Soetero Obama loses some steam when a Republican Congressman is grilled by Real Americans. The tea parties I have attended demonstrated a lot of anger with the GOP for not standing on principle. Most of the reactions out there in Flyover Country involve folks who are drawing a line in the sand when it comes to government encroachment in their lives. They don't care whether the violators have a "D" or an "R" after their name. We The People are no longer going to swallow some soothing words and then allow these clowns to go back to Washington and do as they please. That includes Republicans. If they want Real Americans to believe them, they will act not talk.
Secondly, the more Inglis talked to Spencer the more apparent it became that this guy just does not get it. From the interview:
“I don’t listen often to Glenn Beck, but when I have, I’ve come away just so disappointed with the negativity… the ‘We’ve just gone to pot as a country,’ and ‘All is lost’ and ‘There is no hope.’ It’s not consistent with the America that I know. The America I know was founded by people who took tiny boats across a big ocean, and pushed west in tiny wagons, and landed on the moon. That’s the America I heard on the streets of Boiling Springs.”
He continued: “The America that Glenn Beck seems to see is a place where we all should be fearful, thinking that our best days are behind us. It sure does sell soap, but it sure does a disservice to America.”
Look, I'm not a huge Glenn Beck fan. I generally agree with most things he says, but his style and overwrought emotionalism is not my cup of tea. I find guys like Mark Levin and Mike Church to be smarter thinkers and better communicators.
That being said, Inglis is missing the point. I don't think Beck or anyone else is arguing that there is no hope. However, they are saying that if the people do not become active citizens and fight the entrenched powers the the liberties and freedoms we have known are in grave danger. Guess what? They are right. The pioneers Inglis tried to use in his broken analogy were individualists not
statists. Today, standing up to arrogant legislators is our fight for progress.
He continued: “There is every reason to oppose President Obama’s health care
package. It’s the wrong prescription. It needs to be stopped. But that doesn’t mean we need to abandon hope in America, and say the end is near, and people are going to force us to have immunizations. There’s no reason to go to that extreme.”
It is "hope" that is causing construction workers, housewives, small businessmen, nurses, salespeople, teachers, and other regular folk to crowd into town hall meetings when they could be sitting home watching "Scrubs." The expression of anger over a bill that Mr. Inglis has probably not even read is the "hope." You see, unlike
ObamaBots who place their hope in government, these folks are taking the bull by the balls. If Inglis believes Real America should
comfortably sit back and wait for the Republican party to rescue us from
ObamaCare, he is living in Never Never Land. The GOP has failed to uphold principle in the past, so the folks are going to be in your face, as well as the Democrats, to make their voices heard.
“This is a constitutional republic that can withstand any president I disagree with,” Inglis said. “It withstood Bill Clinton. And if you were a George Bush-hater, it withstood George Bush. And it will withstand Barack Obama. And that’s just because there’s such confidence in the Constitution and the framers, who set up such an incredible system of checks and balances. …It’s inspiring to me to think about that.”
Final proof that Bob Inglis is an out-of-touch politician who just doesn't get it. This is not a matter of "disagree with." Inglis' own analysis demonstrates that he sees this fight only in terms of a partisan squabble. This isn't Clinton vs. Bush or Bush vs. Obama. This is the powerful vs. the people.
The Constitution? The Framers? Checks and balances? Yeah, many of us in Flyover Country believe in these things and agree that using them would be best for our republic. However, Inglis and the rest of the jackals in Washington do not value any of those things. Many pay lip service to those ideals, but outside of a handful of Republicans there is little respect for limited government among the Beltway crowd.
If the Constitution mattered, we would not be talking about nationalized health care, cap-and-trade, and 90% of what Congress does. The Constitution is eroding because the den of thieves called Congress does not give a damn about its limits. The only "confidence" members of Congress have about the Constitution is that most of the population doesn't have a clue what is in it. They are confident they can do as they damn well please and get away with it.
We The People have hope because we are letting our voices be heard and will continue to demand that Congressmen recognize the limits of their authority and stay within their boundaries. Maybe Congressman Bob Inglis and others of his ilk need to spend some time with the "angry mob." Maybe they will rediscover the Constitution and the principles of individual liberty on which this nation was founded. You see, Real Americans believe in the Constitution; they just don't trust the nation's elites to faithfully execute it.
