Posted 4:59 PM by Scoobie Davis

The Issue Is Hypocrisy
I got a chance to hear firsthand part of Diane Sawyer’s interview with The Dixie Chicks on Hannity's show. I find the whole episode discouraging. What I find so disheartening is that the main issue of discussion is whether Natalie Maines is sufficiently remorseful about her “disrespectful” comments about George W. Bush. This framing of the debate in these terms was due mainly to the efforts of the Clear Channel propaganda machine. The rabble that listen to Clear Channel stations are sufficiently whipped up; Sawyer mentioned the slew of detailed death threats that The Dixie Chicks received. Sawyer mentioned how one of the Chicks said it was not an issue of her career but the safety of her child and her family.

What has conveniently been pushed aside in this controversy are two major issues: 1) perspective; and 2) rank hypocrisy. These two issues go together, because if the people who were assessing this matter would look at it with some perspective, then I think the debate would be much different.

When Maines made her comments, Clear Channel took action and treated Maines’ opinion about George W. Bush as if it were an assault against the office of the presidency and against America. Clear Channel carries such people as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, and Michael Reagan—not to mention the various Limbaugh clones. Give me a break. Each of these three lowlifes has done more to lower the level of American political debate than anyone since Joe McCarthy. These three have engaged in an inhuman assault against President Clinton and others—their cruelty knows no bounds. I have focused on Limbaugh because he is the most vicious and the most incorrigible (I held out the hope when Limbaugh lost his hearing that he would develop some perspective, look back at his cruelty, and become a human being; no such luck). Dr. Laura Schlessinger is an equally nasty homophobic nag who, to a lesser extent, passed on many of the nasty rumors about Clinton. When many of these things were shown to be false, there were no apologies or retractions by Schlessinger; someone should tell the author of The Ten Commandments that little thing about not bearing false witness against thy neighbor. Reagan has been a big supporter of Newsmax--the organ for Clinton conspiracy theorist Christopher Ruddy.

Maines gives her opinion about George W. Bush; she is branded un-American by the same network that carries Limbaugh, Schlessinger, and Reagan who told vicious and libelous falsehoods about President Clinton. I dare and defy anyone on the right to explain the morality of this to me.