Just when you thought what emanates from the White House on defeating the jihad could not get more absurd, Rush Limbaugh provides much-needed historical context.
This week brought both a three-day conference on "Countering Violent Extremism" (that'll show 'em!) and an op-ed along the same lines from President Obama that was published in the Los Angeles Times.
One paragraph in particular jumped off the page --
Governments that deny human rights play into the hands of extremists who claim that violence is the only way to achieve change. Efforts to counter violent extremism will only succeed if citizens can address legitimate grievances (emphasis added) through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies.
After reading excerpts from Obama's op-ed on his radio show Thursday, Limbaugh pounced (audio) --
You don't remember that? I do. You don't remember FDR defending Japan? You don't remember that? You don't remember FDR, I mean .... FDR, why, he defended Japan almost as much as he defended the Democrat party. Am I wrong about, FDR never defended Japan? ... FDR never went out of his way to explain Japan to, I wasn't alive then, maybe I've been misinformed. FDR did not go out of his way to tell people that we're misunderstanding Japan? He didn't?! FDR never said that the Japanese had legitimate grievances against us? He didn't?! FDR never did that? ... I know George Bush did, but Ted Kennedy, I remember Ted Kennedy when Reagan became president, Ted Kennedy called the Soviets and said hey, look, just be patient, we'll try to get rid of this guy after one term. But really, FDR was not, I just thought Obama was continuing in a tradition of great Democrat presidents here.
Limbaugh cited a more recent Democrat similarly not inclined after a caller said she believes Obama is taking steps toward "Muslim sensitivity training" in schools (audio) --
It's an interesting observation that you have there 'cause I was just telling Mr. Snerdley (Limbaugh's call screener), I was trying to think back to all those times, like, Bill Clinton telling us we needed to understand Timothy McVeigh. Remember those times? You remember those days when Bill Clinton said we gotta be very careful, McVeigh has a legitimate grievance. It's called Ruby Ridge and Waco, Texas, the Branch Davidian compound. What, Clinton didn't do that? Well I coulda sworn that Clinton asked for understanding for McVeigh. I coulda sworn, oh that's right, he blamed me! I forgot, he blamed me for the Oklahoma City, sorry! Exactly right.
And you remember the time where Clinton asked for understanding for Saddam Hussein, that we must, and when we bombed the aspirin factory in Sudan, remember that? It didn't happen. ... And you tell me that FDR never told us that we had to try to understand the Japanese, and the Germans? He did? FDR said we had to defeat the Japanese? How -- killing them? ... You're kidding me. Oh, wow! So FDR never did, uh, do a series of summits or anything attempting to raise consciousness to the grievances of the imperial government of Japan. You have a point -- we killed our way out of World War II, we actually did with a couple of nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yeah, I wonder why, why am I getting confused here? And why do I think that Clinton told us we needed to have a measure of understanding for the grievances of McVeigh? And remember the Michigan militia, they were being creamed, the media was ripping them, I remember Clinton, at one of his speeches, seminars, told us we must not jump to the conclusion, these are legitimate Americans, legitimate grievances, and we must -- he didn't do that either? Wow.
What Obama wrote in his op-ed is what we've come to expect from him. It would be genuinely shocking if he ever said of conservatives that they have "legitimate grievances" against his policies.
