"That's far and away much more serious than calling Rs moronic. Don't you agree?"
Any specific attack on an individual, especially when it is based in falsehood, is far worse than stating your bigotry about an oppositional group... because it is personal. Personal attacks are mean and can be harmful to an individual, the latter is generally dismissed for what it is, aggression, based in bigotry, brought on by ignorance and fear of others.
WRT Jerry Brown; he has enjoyed the endorsement of hippydom for most of his career. Had it been a friend who first called him moonbeam, he probably would have got a kick out of it. Coming as a sneer from adversaries, the name 'Moonbeam' carries a negative connotation, and is obviously meant to impugn his credibility as a serious politician. In either case, there is a basis in history that gives it the ring of authenticity it deserves.
WRT Obama being a Muslim; he is not a Muslim and everyone knows that. He does empathise with Muslims and his adversaries use that to suggest some sort of allegiance with radicals. They do it by calling him a Muslim, which gets a rise out of like minded folk. His entrance into public life was flavored with anti-establisment and anti-mainstream influences, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that people question his loyalties. We now know he was born in Hawaii, but lots of people on both sides played that issue. Dems who were afraid his Cert might be a fake wanted everyone to stop talking about it and even suggested it doesn't matter after the election. While Repubs who thought it was fake insisted it matters and demanded something be done about it. Other presidents have been empathetic to Muslims and have not be so disparaged. Other presidents have not been hounded about their heritage. Obama's associations with radical types early on have made him more suspect. It is up to him to clear the air, but some of the personal attacks are over the edge which make that hard to near impossible for him.
None of which justifies labeling half the political representation in America as morons, an attack based in clear falsehood right on the surface. I figure 98%+ of politicians are corrupt but that is not because of any particular demographic and has nothing to do with their innate intelligence. |
