Oklahoma Rep. Bridenstine’s “Straight Talk” Rare in DC
When a beloved grandparent or favorite aunt, kind elderly neighbor passes away, if there are very young children in the family we use euphemism to explain that part of life to them. No one simply blurts out “Grandma’s dead,” but we talk to the child with gentle voice and gentle words due to their immaturity, their lack of comprehension to that point.
What happened to the people of this nation, why is the political thought that straight talk is verboten, using plain language will “turn off” the moderate voter, those who are not strictly to the left or right on the spectrum? Last Sunday, Rep. Darrel Issa quite correctly called White House Press Spokesman a “paid liar” for the Obama administration. You’d think Issa had called Carney a murderer because of the amount of castigation he has since received. Why? Carney has indeed lied numerous times on numerous issues, demonstrably; he receives a salary to put forth the narrative the administration wishes published in the press, ipso facto: paid liar. What is so wrong, so out-of-bounds about using those words in a televised interview? Why would anyone, save Carney’s family, be offended by the truth of the term, apparently to the point they refuse to vote for the entire slate of a party’s candidates because one man in that party said it?
If this is truly the case, if the pundits and some bloggers have it correct then a good portion of the American electorate are proving the arrogant contention of Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men: “You can’t handle the truth!” I don’t believe that, I am unwilling to succumb to the notion that we are an entire country of four-year-olds who need gentle words and gentle voices when discussing the very serious reality of the goings-on in the nation today.
Recently Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R – OK) made a stark, straight talk one-minute Special Orders speech on the floor of the House:
“Mr. Speaker, the President’s Justice Department sold weapons to narco-terrorists south of our border who killed one of our finest.
The President’s State Department lied about Benghazi with false information provided by the White House.
The President’s Attorney General authorized spying on a Fox News journalist and his family for reporting on a North Korean nuclear test.
The President’s Justice Department confiscated phone records of the Associated Press because they reported on a thwarted terrorist attack.
The President’s Treasury Department uses the IRS to target political opposition.
The President’s Health and Human Services Secretary pressures the insurance companies, she is supposed to regulate, to promote ObamaCare, which is the same law she uses to force citizens to pay for abortion inducing drugs that are against their religious liberties.
Mr. Speaker, the President’s dishonesty, incompetence, vengefulness, and lack of moral compass lead many to suggest he is not fit to lead. The only problem is that his Vice President is equally unfit and even more embarrassing.”
No error, no false or misleading charge, to my mind I see nothing wrong whatever with this kind of language when discussing the matters of the day. Rather I believe the seriousness of the collective issues require straight talk rather than oblique reference or euphemism. Some can’t handle this? Then it’s time they put on their man/woman-pants and get about dealing with reality instead of wanting us all to play nice with each other. Right now the stakes are too high.
