Jeremiah Crows...but Should be Eating Crow Instead

Time once again, boys and girls, for another deconstruction of your favorite fundie and mine, good ol' Rev. Jeremiah. Are you seated comfortably? Then let's begin.

In his latest foray into our common sense, Jeremiah celebrates the Brown special election victory in Massachusetts. (I guess he didn't read the part of Brown's platform that says he believes an abortion should be a decision "ultimately" made between a woman and her doctor...) But, oh, the dissonant places he goes in his paean to the glory that is Teabagger Brown!

Brown Wins!

I know I'm a little late on this, due to too many irons in the fire, of course, but ... I'd like to take this moment to congratulate Scott Brown on his magnificent victory last night over the Democratic Senator Coakley.

Way to go, Mr. Brown!

So far, so good. No bankrupt talking points, no slander. Honest enough for our Jer.

How long has it been since Massachusetts had a Republican for Senator? Well, from what I've heard, it's been a long time, long even before I was born. I think it's forty some years since Ted Kennedy occupied that seat and even before then, if I'm not mistaken. So that's getting close to the century mark.

Er...wrong. JFK defeated then Republican Senator from Massachusetts, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in 1952 - still well this side of the 100-year milestone. Still, thanks for playing, and we have this splendid selection of Tupperware and the collected works of Ann Coulter for you.

Also, Jer, when you're looking for, you know, actual historical facts beyond "from what I've heard," The Google can be your friend.

This says something major is happening in our political world, and my thinking is that it has something to do with this healthcare bill that the liberals (communists) in our Congress are trying foist upon taxpaying Americans, is what I think. I know, it might appear as if I've not been keeping up on this, but I have...and I don't like what I see coming from the communist power-structure that has manifested itself in our nation's headquarters. My, what a dangerous bill.

Ooh! Cue the Red Menace rhetoric (after all, what stronger strategy than to call anyone who disagrees with you a communist?). Someone blast out O Fortuna at high volume. Jeremiah's about to expose all the dire peril lurking in this piece of taped-together legislation...

Anyways, this victory in Massachusetts shows that the people are finally beginning to see this for themselves, and are taking advantage of our electoral process to turn it around while we still have an electoral process, because from the signs it was becoming more and more evident that our White House and representatives were going to eventually change all of that if they could fool the American people into going along with it. Thank goodness that's not the case.

Whaaa? That was anticlimactic, Jeremiah, to say the least. Not even the slightest attempt at actual evidence...just this Rumsfeldian "My, what a dangerous bill," which I imagine voiced in the same tones as "Oh, dear me, little Pookie has had another accident on the carpet."

So, a little data-checking:

1) Those Democratic (ooh! Communist!) majorities in the House and Senate were, in fact, Jer, elected by "taxpaying Americans." So it's worth considering that they're not so much in the business of foisting as in the business of enacting the will of their constituents. Well, maybe not you, of course...but then you're not a representative sampling, now are you?

2) You did know, Jer, that Massachusetts already has statewide health care, yes? A program that is, in fact, more generous to the citizens of Massachusetts than the proposed national legislation would be (you can read up on it here). Republican then-Governor Mitt Romney was the one who signed it into law. So, by your lights, Massachusetts residents voted in a national election primarily against a benefit they enjoy as a state...all in order for their guy to work to deny the other states in the Union a less progressive plan than the one they already possess. Somehow, I don't think that's how the average voter's mind works.

3) Also, explain the recurrence of that "communist" label, would you? Because I seem to recall a seminal document of American politics which includes the charge to "form a more perfect Union" and "promote the general Welfare." How does accessible, affordable healthcare for all citizens not serve these worthy goals, pray tell? You seem to be all for going it alone apart from questions of belief, in which cases you would be happy to foist your views on others.

So, it's time to go to work, and put the commie elites in their rightful places, and that's some place getting them a real job, not in Washington D.C.

Such a short sentence, and so much that is wrong contained within it. The biggest dissonance first: "commie elites" and "[get] a real job"? Can you perhaps connect those two in some sane way, Jeremiah? I mean...either all these people you disagree with are elite snobs looking down on and shafting you, Joe Average Applepious (h/t Stephen Colbert for that last), or they're lazy parasites feeding off the public dole at your generous expense. Which is it? Because it sure reads like you're trying to equate apples with turnips.

And by suggesting that none of the jobs in DC are "real jobs," I assume you feel that Scott Brown is actually doomed. And, come to that, I'm curious...what is your "real job," exactly? What do you do that makes for gainful employment - that lines your pockets, or enriches the corporate trough at which you are pleased to feast? You seem to have a lot of time to devote to nature photography and blogging.

Serious challenge, Jer. Tell us what you actually do for a living. Explain those "irons in the fire," please. I'll even start so you don't have to be shy. I co-own and operate a technology web site. Have done for nearly a decade, while freelancing on the side.

If you're currently unemployed and have time on your hands, I'm sure there are some online correspondence courses that will help you build your capacity to craft a cogent, rational argument for a given point of view. Because given the quality of even this brief post, you could do with the tutelage.