"Socialist, Foreign-Born, America-Destroying" President Asks to Tone Down the Rhetoric
By aaroncynic in News on Aug 16, 2011 8:30PM
President Obama had some choice words for some of his most vocal critics yesterday at a town hall in Decorah, Iowa, the second stop in his three day Midwestern bus tour. Obama talked about the divisiveness of the American political system, the economy, unions and the influence of the Tea Party.
At one point, Tea Party activist Ryan Rhodes asked the President how the American people “can come together” when Vice President Biden called American citizens terrorists, referring to comments made by Biden and other Congressional Democrats during the debt ceiling debates, where they likened negotiating with the Tea Party to negotiating with terrorists.
Obama responded:
“I absolutely agree that everybody needs to try to tone down the rhetoric. Now, in fairness, since I've been called a socialist who wasn't born in this country, who is destroying America and taking away its freedoms because I passed a health care bill, I'm all for lowering the rhetoric.”
While we think that answer was pretty on the money (not to mention funny), that everyone should tone down the name calling and partisan rhetoric. That answer was not good enough for Rhodes. The New American reports after the remarks he made, Obama talked with Rhodes about the issue. Rhodes told Fox News he got the brush off from the President, saying “He just denied it, he said the Vice President didn’t make any of those assertions. He just doesn’t want to even admit what was on TV nationally — all over the place — then how can you have a conversation.”
The point Rhodes seems to be trying to make could be more salient if it weren’t in the defense of an organization already whose words already drip with partisan rhetoric. From the signs and shouts at rallies likening Obama to Hitler to Republican Congressman and Tea Party darling Joe Wilson’s “You Lie!” outburst in 2009, one would think the folks in the Tea Party could take some of what they dish out. We realize anyone’s political memory can be short these days, but perhaps Rhodes and company might do well to remember a certain other President likening critics of the war in Afghanistan to terrorists.
The President will make his final two town hall appearances in Illinois tomorrow.