Manassas Journal Messenger | Hypocrisy – The Left’s least endearing characteristic

Frequently quoted? – with important parts omitted – is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s observation that “… consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds….” Even a little thought will provoke a more apt corollary: “Inconsistency is the hobgoblin of undisciplined minds.”

It is the inconsistencies that make for such a “target-rich” environment for a columnist. It’s particularly gratifying when one finds them on the other side of the political aisle,? even if fairness compels one to point out inconsistencies when they arise even among those one considers political friends. And the chagrin of those “friends,” and the dismay of those who labor under the misapprehension that my primary role here is to advance the interests of the Prince William County Republican Party, Committee, and/ or Republican nominees, should be of no moment. Any columnist who approaches his position with that attitude – no matter his or her affiliations – cannot expect to be taken seriously.

And fortunately, it is those inconsistencies which frequently reveal the true agenda of far too many politicos and groups.

Witness, for example, the Democrat Party of the 1990s. It can best be summed up by the juxtaposition of two bumper stickers on a single bumper of a car spotted on Dale Boulevard. There was a Clinton/ Gore sticker. Directly above it was an anti-Oliver North sticker popular after his 1994 run for the Senate: “Virginia is for lovers, not liars.”

In a nutshell, you had the state of the Democrat Party circa 1995. Led by a president to whom I refer as the “Great Prevaricator,” Democrats by 1994 were little more than a party with a single unifying principle. It wasn’t “limited government,” or even “expanded government.” It wasn’t for a “strong national defense,” or even for “unilateral disarmament.” Indeed, so devoid of any unifying principle was and is the Democrat Party that it is difficult to conclude that it has become anything other than a vehicle solely for the acquisition and maintenance of political power.

To be sure, prominent (or at least, well-publicized in the “mainstream” media) elements of the GOP at the same time were defined primarily by their hatred of the Clintonista regime, and willingness to believe that the Clintons were capable of anything, including murder, to advance themselves, but they were surely not the mainstream of GOP thought. Moreover, they were blessed by perhaps the most meaningful of political blessings: enemies who lent credence to their imaginings by their own actions. The fact that administration personnel illicitly rifled through Vince Foster’s office after his suicide and before law enforcement personnel could do so could do little more than fuel suspicions that there was damning information within it and that, just perhaps, Foster’s gunshot wound was not self-inflicted.

But the very fact that the only unifying principle among Democrats is their desire to acquire and maintain political power makes them quite adept at demonizing their enemies and vicious in their methods for doing so. The Clintonistas did so during impeaching, tagging those advancing the notion that a president who commits felonies while in office should be removed – even a Democrat – were part of some “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.” Never mind that some now wear that appellation as a badge of honor; it was a means of demonizing the legitimate work of the team led by Kenneth Starr and by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee.

But it’s fascinating to watch the far Left as they stumble and flail about regarding the administration of George W. Bush. For there’s nothing so gratifying as watching Democrats attempt to equate him with the actions of their own disgraced and disgraceful president.

For example, the auctioning off of the White House during the Clinton Interregnum has been, by now, well documented. White House “teas”; overnight stays in the Lincoln Bedroom; Al Gore’s infamous fundraising trip to a Buddhist temple; access by Chinese agents of influence to the highest levels of government; approval of advanced technology transfers to Communist China after generous political donations; the list is virtually endless.

Yet there are many who remained silent during the investigation of these matters and proof of wrongdoing. Worse, there are some – like former Ohio Senator John Glenn, a hero to many Americans, including, once upon a time, your intrepid correspondent – who besmirched his own reputation by impeding investigations into instances of Clinton sleaze. The fact that many previously silent in the face of this sleaze will nevertheless attack the Bush administration lacking any scintilla of indication that there has been a single instance of illicit activity demonstrates that their agenda is not integrity, but is merely power.

But Democrat duplicity is not limited to campaign financing. Democrats who tolerated serial lies by the Great Prevaricator have, in recent weeks been in high dudgeon over 16 words in the president’s State of the Union address.?Some called them “lies,” and the President a “liar,” even though he didn’t, and he wasn’t, at least on this occasion. Indeed, many of those leveling the accusations against President Bush were some of the same people who voted to acquit the Great Prevaricator when he was impeached.

And then, of course, there is the Internet hate campaign, not surprisingly spearheaded by groups like MoveOn.org (originally founded to defend the Great Prevaricator during impeachment, and which ironically sponsored the broadly-seen “misleader” ads), and such snappily titled parody Websites as GWBush.com (which at first glance appears to be a legitimate campaign Website), bushkills.com, presidentmoron.com, TooStupidToBePresident.com, bushbacklash.com, GoBackToTexas.com, bushneverwonflorida.com, bushisms.com, and – my personal favorite, coming from the far Left – Hypocrisy.org. Many equate Bush with Hitler, and make similar nonsensical and politically ignorant claims.

But don’t expect the “mainstream” media to marginalize such groups, or equate them with the Democrat Party, in the same way that similar efforts were made against the so-called “Clinton haters.” And don’t bother to look for similarly-named Websites attacking the Clintons. There is no “clintonkills.com,” “presidentzipper.com,” or “TooDishonestToBePresident.com.”

It has been said that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. Never mind that the charges won’t fly; Democrats who would level charges at this President have a lot of tribute to pay after ignoring the serial misdeeds of the Clinton administration.

An attorney, Young lives with his wife and their two sons in Montclair.