Kevin C Shinn

Kevin C Shinn

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Cheney, Limbaugh, and the Grinch Who Stole Christmas

God Bless America. There truly is no better place on Earth than the United States of America. The level of freedom that we enjoy is unparalleled to any other country at any other time in history.
Watching the implosion of the Republican Party over the last year has been downright entertaining for me. A good liberal Democrat, I have been forced to endure the silliness and mean-spiritedness of the Far Right for years. To watch them devour each other now is a sign that reinforces my faith in God and all things that are holy.
When historians get around to writing their accounts of this era, few people will be able to rival Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh as the most unprincipled scoundrels in our history. Cheney had earned his berth in this classification early on in his Vice Presidency with his secretive collaboration with the energy industry to financially rape the citizens of the country. But since leaving office, he has managed to plunge himself even lower into the depths of hell with his ridiculous defense of the use of torture by the Bush Administration. In a nation founded upon the principles of human rights and steeped in the tradition of expanding those rights, Cheney’s defense of water-boarding is intolerable. How can we as a nation condemn the evils of those who act against us if we allow ourselves to sink to their levels?
Boss Limbaugh joins his pal Cheney on this descent into darkness more out of his desire for ratings than principle. Cheney truly believes in his view of the world whereas Limbaugh is simply an opportunistic windbag living off of the naivety of his audience. A college dropout, Rush latched onto entertainment as his career option. In recent years, he has made fun of Michael Fox and his struggle with Parkinson’s disease, accused veterans who opposed the war in Iraq as being phony soldiers, and championed the idea that African-Americans are incapable of being effective NFL quarterbacks. If it weren't for his callous disregard for basic human kindness and charity would be tempted to forgive his bloated shenanigans as the mind-numbing ramblings of a drug addict. Unfortunately, his hypocrisy is so blatant; he has earned his rightful place next to Cheney in the basement of history’s pathetic caricatures.
However, there is hope offered to us by the great literary figure of the Grinch. He too had a heart constricted by the coldness of his character. His evil doings were every bit as calculated as those of Limbaugh and as mean-spirited as those of Cheney but he was touched by the compassion of those victimized by his deeds and the love of those he had exploited. So, maybe Cheney and Limbaugh will be redeemed by a higher power and given the chance to refurbish their reputations and right the wrongs they have perpetrated on the citizens of this great country before it is too late. If not, perhaps they will enjoy their place in history with Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, and Benedict Arnold.