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One of the biggest stories over the past 48 hours has been what very well may be one of the biggest OOPS! moments of Harry Reid’s career. He compared opponents of Obama’s government run health care to people who opposed civil rights and women’s suffrage. Considering he’s already in hot water with his constituents in Nevada, this was clearly not the best thing for him to say — especially when he apparently forgets that it’s Democrats who are the ones that blocked civil rights for so long.
Majority Leader Harry Reid tarred opponents of his health care bill yesterday as the equivalent of those who opposed equal rights for women and civil rights for blacks.
In a remarkable statement on the Senate floor, Mr. Reid lambasted Republicans for wanting to “slow down” on health care. “You think you’ve heard these same excuses before? You’re right,” he said. “In this country there were those who dug in their heels and said, ‘Slow down, it’s too early. Let’s wait. Things aren’t bad enough’ — about slavery. When women wanted to vote, [they said] ‘Slow down, there will be a better day to do that — the day isn’t quite right. . . .'”
He wrapped up his remarks as follows: “When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today.”
Senator Reid’s comments were quickly condemned. “Hyperbole. It is over the top. It reminds me of earlier people talking about Nazis,” said Juan Williams of NPR and Fox News, author of “Eyes on the Prize,” a definitive history of the civil rights movement.
Historians also faulted Mr. Reid’s curious reference to the Senate civil rights debates of the 1960s. After all, it was Southern Democrats who mounted an 83-day filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. The final vote to cut off debate saw 29 Senators in opposition, 80% of them Democrats. Among those voting to block the civil rights bill was West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who personally filibustered the bill for 14 hours. The next year he also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mr. Byrd still sits in the Senate, and indeed preceded Mr. Reid as his party’s majority leader until he stepped down from that role in 1989.
It’s Democrats who were against civil rights, including Robert Byrd and then Democrat Strom Thurmond. It’s Democrats who let former Kleagle Robert Byrd serve with them for his entire lifetime. It’s Democrats who seek to cripple minorities by making them completely dependent on the government. And yet Harry Reid has the nerve to call Republicans racist?!
It’s nothing new or even particularly shocking, but Reid is in hot water for it. He’s already struggling in Nevada as it is.
What’s really so galling about this, though, is that the health care bill has absolutely nothing to do with “rights”. Try though they might to make it sound like health care is a “right”, liberals never can really define where exactly it says in the Constitution that we have the right to health care. There is no right to health care, no matter how much liberals may whine that there is. Comparing the so-called “right” to health care to things like the right to vote, which was denied to women and blacks for so long, is abhorrent, considering that — once again for effect — there is no right to health care.
But hey, that’s Harry Reid for you.
Radshaw says: B-but we must get this passed who gives a hit if this triggers zimbabwe-style hyperinflation me my mommy and brother need the healthcare
/Erenesto343
Herb says: Hey, Cassie;
I agree and disagree with your remarks about the “right” to Health Care. Here’s why.
Not everything can be “looked up” in the constitution to see if the founders considered it a “right” or not. There are strict constructionists in religion as well, and they have not served the people well by insisting that everything must agree with their word-for-word interpretation of the Bible. And since 9/11, when Cheney said to Bush “George, we’ve just hit the trifecta”, what do you think he meant by that? That soon became obvious with the passage of the Homeland Security Act, which virtually destroyed YOUR long-term Constitutional rights, deregulated every big business in the country, including the banks, wall street and mortgage lenders. How well did that work out?
Now we’re in the hole to the tune of over $70 trillion, and climbing rapidly, thanks to the needless mid-east wars and reckless tax cuts for the already filthy rich. yet, Universal Health Care will cost only 10% of the yearly price these wars. Rooting out and arresting the terrorists should have been a job for Interpol, the CIA, and every other police agency in the world – not our military. That’s like working on a watch with a sledgehammer. These wars are the work of War Profiteers and other cynical people who value the dollar more than human life.
Let’s look at one thing that IS in the Constitution and see how well it served the people without additional legislation. I refer to the part that says “all men are created equal”. How long did it take women and black people to get equal rights and at what cost?
The Constitution does not say that Social Security is a right either because it wasn’t even a glimmer in their minds in the late 17-hundreds. The founders had no idea that one day the people (you are also included) would be able to look forward to a fairly secure retirement, regardless of bad financial luck or poor planning for their retirement. Read Oliver Twist to see how bad things were for Widows, Orphans, and old people back then.
Right now, you see an “immortal” when you look in the mirror, or at least that’s how young folks feel. You won’t look so good or feel so good 50 years down the pike. If you doubt this, just talk with Grandma and Grandpa. Also, volunteer to work in a Nursing Home for a while. Pretend you’re doing research for a book on what old age brings, if that helps you volunteer.
If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would be very likely to agree with the concepts behind Social Security, Medicare, the VA Hospital System and other government programs designed to make life bearable for veterans, the old and the sick. Why? Because he died virtually penniless. Don’t take my word for it – go visit Monticello and pay attention to the tour guide. He was a brilliant man, but he made some lousy business decisions.
I started out life as a right-winger, even voting for Barry Goldwater, and I didn’t like Kennedy and the Democrats! I scorned people who were on welfare or who were jobless. That picture changed when I discovered the real reason the two Kennedys were assassinated, and it’s kept changing even more with age and experience. There’s an old Pennsylvania Dutch saying that covers it: “Ve get too soon oldt und too late Schmart”.
To close, I DO agree that Universal Health Care is NOT in the Constitution, but I disagree that it isn’t a HUMAN RIGHT (put the bad on the Liberals who call it a “right” without the word “human” in front of it). As the old saying goes, “there are no atheists in foxholes” when the bombs and bullets fly. Just try to think of old age and sickness in that light. Keep up with your website, and keep on learning by thinking all the time. Let history be your constant companion! It takes courage to expose your personal opinions to public scrutiny!
Best wishes, Herb
LeeCal says: While it’s true that a lot of Democrats opposed Civil Rights, to be fair and honest, we must recognize that supporting Civil Rights was the liberal position, while opposing Civil Rights was conservative. During the 1960s the two parties traded places on this issue. Strom Thurman, who you identified as a Democrat (and he was at the time), actually changed parties and finished his political career as a Republican. Often it is more accurate to discuss these issues within the frame of liberal vs. conservative, rather than Democrat vs. Republican.
And, as a liberal Democrat, I have to correct your assertion that “It’s Democrats who seek to cripple minorities by making them completely dependent on the government.” I assure you that we seek no such thing. We just want to provide a basic safety net for our fellow citizens. We want this out of a sense of morality and decency. It’s how we express our patriotism. And yes, if ever you were in need, we would want to help you.
Glad I stumbled upon your blog today. Talk to ya later.
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