A presentation conducted by the Republican National Committee on Feb. 18 has both Obama supporters and critics cringing. Fear tactics in use to reel in financial donors for the Grand Old Party are nothing short of scary.
The RNC’s presentation sent its message to the bigwig donors in a simple, yet threatening manner.
Republicans asked, “What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House or the Senate?” Apparently the answer is save the country from socialism!
That’s not all, though.
The presentation was also loaded with images depicting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as Cruella de Vil, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as Scooby Doo and President Barack Obama, the leader of the “Evil Empire,” as the Joker from Batman.
These degrading images should lead the public to ask, “Why so serious?”
It is absolutely unacceptable, not to mention poor in taste, to portray the leaders of our nation in such a light. National committees, such as the RNC, should respect national leaders regardless of political affiliation.
What’s happening here is a lack of respect and integrity by the RNC.
Why is it that when the Republicans control the White House, the House and the Senate, everything is peachy keen, but as soon as the Democrats gain control and turn the table, the public is forced to send out the “wahhm-bulance” to the Republicans?
It seems to be the epitome of a double standard.
Sure, when George W. Bush was in office he was often compared to images of monkeys, his eloquent words ridiculed by John Stewart and Steven Colbert on a near-daily basis. Depicted as Darth Vader, former Vice President Dick Cheney is another favorite that comes to mind. Honestly, one could go on for days with the silly, petty things done to people who hold positions of power, prestige and importance, but let’s get back to the point.
Never were these images, words or comparisons produced or published by an official, politically affiliated organization. This type of ridiculing of the Bush administration, among other Republican administrations, was never done or condoned by the Democratic National Committee or any organization of the like.
The disrespect toward the Obama administration by a legitimate, prominent organization — the RNC in this case — is just one reason American politics is completely devoid of ethics.
This tasteless presentation delivered by the RNC makes the organization no different than any of the other fringe groups or media outlets in politics.
There is a difference between civilians protesting on the streets and national party committees.
The RNC should be setting the standard for the course of Republican politics; instead, it has set the bar so low that not even a contortionist could win its game of limbo — they’ve sunk that low.
It is amazing the depths to which people and organizations will go to ensure their message is heard — throwing tact and respect by the wayside in the process.
If we can’t trust legitimate national organization to be our source of fair, unbiased politics, then who or what else can we trust?
Guess it’s back to FOX News. The RNC doesn’t seem to be any different.
Jessica Wood is a junior biology major and contributing writer for the Daily 49er.