It was a sad day for almost every one in the world Thursday when Nelson Mandela died. But the actions from people Friday showed that he can effect politics here in America even today, and that some people are simply not on the right side of history. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean, and my thoughts.
-- If there was any question about the far right leaders reflecting the mainstream thoughts of the right in America, it was wiped out by the answer to statements by the GOP masses Friday. When both Speaker Boehner and Senator Ted Cruz made tepid statements simply mentioning the passing, their e-mails and twitter accounts were bombarded with statements saying that they couldn't be real GOPers if they even mentioning his death. And for every letter or tweet that said the Senator or the Speaker didn't go far enough to pay homage to Mandela, there were 100 saying they went to far, and that Mandela was a communist and murderer who shouldn't be praised or even noticed. This is further proof that, no matter what progressive may hope, that leaders in the GOP aren't playing to a fringe when they spout off far-right rhetoric, but to the mainstream of the right.
-- The left wasn't blameless either, though. Several on the right decided that Reagan must have been a racist to allow South Africa to have apartheid. The simply reason that the Reagan administration didn't believe that it was a good policy for America to tell any government how to run their country, especially its allies. And South Africa was an ally against Communism. Even when Reagan went to Germany and told the communists to "tear down this wall", he wasn't talking to the masses to overthrow the government, he was telling the government what he thought they should do. I doubt race had any thought in Reagan's mind when making his decision on this.
-- The GOP those many years ago was wrong about Mandela, was wrong about Iraq and 9/11, was wrong about WMDs in Iraq, and how the US military would be greeted by Iraqis. Other than George H. Bush's decision to kick Saddam out of Kuwait and then not attack Iraq, when was the last time the GOP got something right about foreign policies? Why do we still listen to them when it comes to diplomacy and war?
--Finally, the statements by Nancy Pelosi and Speaker Boehner on the death of Mandela showed why she was such a better Speaker than Boehner. The Speaker, who was writing for the entire House, wrote a short, uncaring note that had the warmth of a cookbook, while's Pelosi's note had warmth and feeling. In other words, how they interact with others were perfectly illustrated in their notes.
Nelson Mandela died Thursday, and the world lost a giant of a man, a true leader and legend. He hadn't been President of South Africa for several years, but his passing showed he still a great affect on US politics.
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