Consistently Inconsistent

By William L. Garvin

In many religious discussions, there is a premise that all religions are fundamentally the same. A closer study clearly reveals that religions may be superficially similar but they are fundamentally different. Much the same false premise permeates the media comparisons of the Occupy Wall Street protests and the Tea Party.

The OWS gang is weeping and wailing over the salaries, perks, and bonuses received by bank executives, oil executives and all the brass in their evil corporate enemies. Of course, they are spending their nights in sleeping bags made by corporations and sheltering in tents made by corporations. They text on their corporate smart phones, type on their corporate computers, and carry signs made by union corporations. Very few of their clothes are homespun or handmade. No one in New York or Oakland is growing their own food. Consistently inconsistent.

OWS mindlessly drones on about “people before profits” and “destroy capitalism.” In their childish, utopian view of “social justice,” everyone is equal regardless of their contributions. They have yet to explain how all those hardworking employees that make their cars, homes, cell phones, food, clothing, and computers have “exploited” and “ripped off the poor.” They are apparently unaware and unable to explain how this free market capitalism in the USA has spread more wealth over a broader segment of our society than has ever occurred in history. Somewhere along the line (given their outrageous student debt!), they should at least have the capacity to recognize and the decency to admit that we have the richest poor people on the earth! Their concept of forcibly redistributing the wealth is the antithesis of Tea Party principles. Consistently inconsistent.

Another superficial similarity is their outrage about the corporate cronyism and excessive bonuses paid to executives on Wall Street. Curiously (but predictably), the OWS denizens ignore the failings among their pet green energy corporations. They have nothing to say about the failed Solyndra and similar crony capitalist solar projects. They probably didn’t even read the Bloomberg report that Rob Gillette, the ousted CEO of First Solar, may be eligible for an $8.9 million severance package after collecting $29.9 million for his initial fifteen months on the job! Where did this money come from? Over the last year, First Solar’s stock has dropped from over $175 to less than $50! Maybe it’s from the $3.07 billion in loan guarantees from Uncle Sam and his hard working tax payers! Consistently inconsistent.

The media consistently portrayed the Tea Party movement as a fringe element but romanticizes the OWS crowds as emblematic of their self-proclaimed 99%. Unfortunately, Democrat pollster Doug Schoen actually surveyed the OWS protestors. In his findings, he found that 74% voted for Obama and there were ZERO Republicans in the crowd. Any way you cut it, it’s consistently inconsistent.

Look at the furor and outrage over Herman Cain’s campaign ad that showed his campaign manager smoking. Yet there’s no criticism of the President smoking in the White House. We heard the President promise that he would not take money from lobbyists but the New York Times says that fifteen “bundlers” who raised $5 million dollars “…are involved in lobbying for Washington consulting shops or private companies.” We have White House pledges of transparency (remember the health care debates would be televised on CSPAN?) but this administration is setting a new record for stonewalling. No one is taking Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to task for his many failings, especially his blatant refusal to cooperate in the horrendously flawed “Fast and Furious” fiasco. Consistently inconsistent.

Finally, you have the media covering up Bill Clinton’s escapades in the Oval Office with Monica Lewinsky (and numerous other sexual imbroglios), avoiding coverage of John Edwards’ love child and extramarital affair until the National Enquirer broke the story, and initially reluctance to condemn Anthony Weiner’s sexting because “there was no proof.” They were “innocent until proven guilty” and “private matters had no bearing on their ability to govern.” However, Herman Cain, a black Conservative is guilty until proven innocent to obscure charges by anonymous sources. Somehow he has the burden of proof…shameful shades of Clarence Thomas’s “high tech lynching.” Cowardly consistent inconsistency.