The latest salvo in the Republicans’ War on Muslims comes as a two-fer – simultaneously an attempt to delegitimize the health care debate and the use of a cheap stereotype of radical Islam, in the form of a cartoon:
There seems to be an affinity for cartoons among Islamophobes. And that’s exactly what the cartoon represents, pure unadulteraded JAFI-ism. The imagery of a suicide bomber is intended to evoke a visceral response – it’s a cheap way of scoring a political point by trotting out a scarecrow of something recognizably EVIL, and then equating it to whatever happens to be the target of the GOP’s latest 5-Minute Hate. It even manages a sly allusion to the Obama muslim smear.
It’s about as honest a commentary on the health reform debate as Sarah Palin’s “Death Panels” remark (which earned her a “Pants on Fire” designation from Politifact). The real threat to the American people is if the bill does not pass, and another 40-50,000 Americans die every year for lack of health insurance coverage, and the poorest of us on Medicaid – which pays for half of all childbirths! – are dropped by their doctors due to continual budget cuts on reimbursement rates. And the real health care jihadists are the conservatives who are so desperate to kill the bill that they employ the language of fear – fear of muslims, fear of tyranny, fear of immigrants – to try and argue against the basic moral principles of social justice, central to Christianity and Islam.
posted March 16, 2010 at 12:18 pm
“And the real health care jihadists are the conservatives”
Why am I not surprised to hear this from you?
I remember you promising on Dean’s World that you will no longer post political articles like this worthless crap? Seems you’ve gone back on your word.
You are not much farther along than a 16 year old, grow up.
posted March 16, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Oh please, you are seriously taking a single cartoon and painting the entire Republican party with it? Do I even need to cite the thousands of offensive lefty cartoons of the last decade? This is so lame. And the cartoon itself is not remotely as offensive as you claim. Cartoons are by nature visual hyperbole. I find this toon to be quite applicable and much, much funnier than, say, Oliphant’s typical rant.
posted March 16, 2010 at 3:21 pm
As I said from the start, if they had concerned themselves with covering the actual uninsured and putting in the doctor fix, this would have passed back in June.
And yeah, you killed your own argument with the gratuitous “real jihadists” line. Especially when plenty of fear has been used to try to push this abomination, including trotting out various “uninsured” people who all turn out to be people who either chose not to pay for insurance that they could afford, or who actually do have financial assistance.
posted March 17, 2010 at 8:28 am
Aziz,
I never have been interested in arguments based on so-called social justice, and I am less interested in programs likely to bankrupt the United States within four years. Assuming the vote for obamahealth is lost, the US Congress will come up with a more bipartisan plan will close off some of the outstanding loopholes in the current system.
In addition, I’m no longer interested in promoting any kind of congressional victory for Obama. I did not vote for him in November 2008, and I am increasingly convinced he will be retired from office some 18 months from now.
Sure, the cartoon was a cheap shot. But this is a free society in which cartoonists get to draw and say whatever want and can get published. And lacking the latter, they all can muddy up their own websites.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
posted March 17, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I find this cartoon offensive and the conservatives who support and make excuses for crap like this. Islamphobia is alive and among ignorant unwilling to learn people mostly conservatives. people who partake in suicide bombings are not following islam, but their own political agenda. It’s sad that they are muslims. also if obama wants to become a muslim then so be it .1 that has nothing to do with his status. its the prejudice, ignorant *****people who have a problem. get over it. you people have come and tried to ,if not destroyed almost every other nation unlike you! or DIFFERENT from YOU. Look at history! There is no remorse by conservatives for the poor or disenfranchised. they are only about money, they don’t care about people’s lives. And to use islam or Obama as a scapegoat is typical behavior for you sick people. May God have Mercy on you and forgive your arrogance and ignorance.