WH has ‘no comment’ on union leader’s call for violence against Tea Party

posted at 10:35 am on September 6, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Double Standards ]   

“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do, it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”

So said Barack Obama on January 12, in an effort to quell the hysteria from the left, which had gone ballistic (er… resorted to name-calling) over the shootings in Tucson. The president’s words, delivered at a memorial service two days after the massacre, were perfectly suited to the occasion. They struck the ideal balance: They were politic and non-specific, shrewdly couched so as to avoid pointing fingers at his supporters.

As hollow as those words were, they trumped Obama’s reaction yesterday to the bellicose and profane comments at a Labor Day rally by Teamsters Union boss James Hoffa. Hoffa was there to warm up (read: stoke) the crowd for a speech by the president. Hoffa told the thousands of members assembled:

We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war….

President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march … Everybody here’s got a vote … Let’s take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong. [Emphasis added]

The president’s reaction? Nothing. For once, words failed him.

After videos of Hoffa’s “pep talk” went viral, the Tea Party Express called upon the president to “condemn this inappropriate and uncivil rhetoric,” adding that it “has no place in the public forum.” This, too, so far has been met with silence.

Obama can run from this latest “unpleasantness,” as he has done in the past. However, he is running out of hiding places. Elements of the mainstream media, once willing to run interference for him, have reported the incident and the president’s conspicuous lack of response. Do I feel another speech coming on? Or is that just a migraine?

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• The shooting in Tucson and the political blame game

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