Sure, the Tea Party may be economically illiterate and prone to asking stupid questions of important people, but if its pols are booted out of office in 2012, it won't be because of poor communication. Those online commenters are really on their collective game. They hunt in packs, like wolves, or really patriotic bees.
We published the letter Tuesday that Congressman Allen West sent to the Center on American-Islamic Relations. We suggested that his letter -- which said nothing but "NUTS!" -- was kind of a stupid way to respond to a group trying to stand up for your constituents' civil liberties.
But the civil liberties of American citizens seem to matter to West and his supporters only if they're being meted out to Christians -- you know, the good Americans. They say the government should stay the hell out of Americans' business, unless you're gay or Muslim or a woman, in which case you get the classic Allen West "fuck you, I was in the Army" treatment.
West supporters love this treatment, and their defense of him this week was both steadfast and loyal, which is coincidentally the same phrase West uses at the end of all his chickenshit letters. His letter was well-timed, though: He was labeled a "tea party traitor" for his support of the debt ceiling compromise (an entirely different stupid story), and there isn't any better way to mend Tea Party fences than to break out some good old-fashioned prejudice.
Here are some of the more spectacular comments from his Internet defenders, annotated for maximum truthiness:
From Hashim305:
Someone doesn't know their WWII history and the story of General Anthony McAuliffe. "If you don't know what 'Nuts' means, in plain English it is the same as 'Go to Hell'. And I'll tell you something else, if you continue to attack we will kill every goddam German that tries to break into this city."It's one of the many quotable stories from World War II: Gen. McAuliffe was the commander of the 101st Airborne Division at the Battle of the Bulge; his unit was charged with protecting the crossroads at Bastogne, a critical Belgian town. McAuliffe's troops were undersupplied, outnumbered and surrounded, but when the German army requested his surrender, McAuliffe sent back, simply, "NUTS." The Americans held the town, quashed the Ardennes offensive, and won the war. The men who fought at the crossroads went on to be called "the battered bastards of Bastogne." It's a damn fine story.
But please, Hashim305, can you explain to the rest of the class what it has to do with Muslims? Congratulations, Tea Party. You got the allusion. But you didn't explain much of anything.
From Jeanne:
Col. West's response was entirely appropriate. He does not share CAIR's view that the Geller, Spencer, Gabriel, et. al, are "extremists". Furthermore, they do not hate Muslims. It's perfectly legitimate to oppose Islam, however, even if CAIR doesn't think so.I had to drink a Gatorade after I read this one; just thinking about what happens in Jeanne's brain made me break out in a prolific cold sweat. The idea that "Col. West's response was entirely appropriate" might not be wrong, per se, but it is certainly stupid. When you're trying to fight off a bunch of Nazis with tanks, you get to say stuff like that. It's awesome. But when you're a member of the United States Congress, shouldn't you be held to a higher standard of diplomacy? Whether or not West disagrees with CAIR, shouldn't we expect more from the guys in charge?
Stay steadfast and loyal, Col. Your first allegiance is to the United States of America, not representatives of Islam.
West has transformed himself into a "G.I. Joe Goes To Congress" caricature, and the people who are wholeheartedly swooning over it seem to be excited just because someone in power holds the same prejudices they do.
As for your statement that "it's perfectly legitimate to oppose Islam," well, no it isn't. For somebody who's so hyped up about the values of the United States, you seem to quite willingly throw out that whole "freedom of religion" thing.
From Velovich:
I don't read the Daily Kos, I read US History. Mr. Garcia Roberts continues to demonstrate his lack of grasp of American History and the context (that is, the underlying situation - clearly, Gracia-Roberts is educationally challenged and we need to explain big words for him) of GEN McAuliffe's "Nuts" declaration in 1944...Partisan politics aside, we all know special interest groups are the only people who rule the roost in Congress. If you've got the money, they've got the time. And right now, the big money is in pandering to angry Christians.
For a United States Congressman to receive a demand that he do something he finds unpalatable and inappropriate, his reply *should* be NUTS! Special interest groups should not rule the roost in Congress, telling our legislators who they can and cannot appear with. That isn't democracy, that is tyranny.
A clue for Mr Garcia-Roberts - the message sent by Congressman West isn't that he considers CAIR to be Nazi-like. The message is that he refuses, completely, their demand, in the strongest terms and further, that said demand was inappropriate.
But what was so "unpalatable and inappropriate" about CAIR's "demand"? Nezar Hamze and Hassan Shibly asked West to "educate [himself] from credible sources on Islam" and to "go meet with [his] Muslim constituency." That's all. Didn't ask him to come to any events, or apologize to anyone. Just talk to people. West replied with "NUTS." I'm sure the South Florida Muslim community (70,000 strong) is thrilled. But who cares about those crazy folks, right? We only let them vote because we have to.
From fb274:
Kudos to West! For spine chilling go read the article at 'The Blaze' on this subject!Found the article, discovered my spine was noticeably unchilled. The post raises an important point though -- it draws the line between being against Islamic extremism and being against Islam in general. Unfortunately, West does not make the same distinction -- on March 8, the same day he said people with "Coexist" bumper stickers want to "give away our country," West warned against a horrifying enemy: Islam. Not religious zealots, Islamic extremists or terrorists at large, just Islam. He said "it is not a religion," and hadn't been a religion for exactly 1,389 years, and it's "infiltrating" every facet of our society.
That's where West is coming from when he waves around a pocket copy of the Constitution during speeches -- freedom of religion, sure, so long as it's his religion.
From Jerry Coudon:
Why are they afraid? They're merely trying to impose their agenda on US!So it's horrible and wrong that all these insidious Muslims are trying to impose an agenda, but it's totally OK to ban abortion and gay marriage because of Christian beliefs? Can't have it both ways, Jerry. The people who are most vocal about the impending doom of Sharia law are also pretty damn vocal about Christian values -- including West. If it's not hypocrisy, it's certainly condescension. Why can't we talk about legislation and leave all our imaginary friends at home?
Americans have no animosity toward the muslim that goes to his mosque to worship, goes on his way and contributes to society. Who Americans do despise is the hate spewing, bomb vest wearing extremist who would kill innocent infidels at any opportunity!!
As for being against the spewing of hate, it seems a bit hard to believe that the guy who called a colleague "the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the U.S. House of Representatives" gets all that concerned by people spewing anything. Ditto his supporters, who are always so reasonable and level-headed in online comments sections.
And when it comes to the treatment of innocent infidels, well, we don't have to get into what West does to innocent infidels. (Hint: It's why he's in Congress instead of the Army that he so humbly mentions every time there's a microphone in the room.)
From Anne:
Whats with the hyphenated name Gus? Are you one of those emasculate panty waisted effeminate liberal men who try to pass themselves off as feminists because you don't have a set of balls? I mean, I get it, your wife Chloe Is cute and all, but not cute enough to turn a real man into a sniveling left wing bitch.Hey everybody! Anne crawled out from under her rock and saw a Hispanic name! This is real progress, Anne. You're learning. This is good.
And, for the record, Chloe is adorable. I met her one time while Gus and I were driving his low-rider through white people's front yards.
From Mad Dog:
"Ignorance is bliss" - GodI believe the quote you're looking for is "Ignorance is cheaper than funding public education." And the "bliss" thing is from Thomas Gray; God is the guy who told us to hate everyone who's different from us.
And a few parting clips, from the commenters at the conservative-leaning Lucianne.com forums:
You don't even need to have read history if you've seen Patton.
Don't forget that Gus Garcia-Roberts is singularly unprepared to be a journalist since he didn't have a clue as to the significance of NUTS as a reply to a demand for surrender.
Sounds like Gussy-girl has his panties in a wad because LTC (Ret) West didn't bow down like a little dhimmi.
The Muslim Brotherhood were allies of the Nazis.[Note: Protestant support was key in the early years of the Third Reich. Look out, Lutherans!]
His letter makes perfect sense to me. That should be the response to Islam all over the world.
The Mooslims think they have us on the ropes but they ain't seen nothin' yet. Wait until we have an actual American President to deal with these out of control lunatics in a real way.Well, there you have it folks. All the evidence you need to back up the recent poll numbers that reveal the Tea Party is viewed more negatively than atheists, Democrats and -- you guessed it -- Muslims.
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