"Republicans and Tea Partiers are making a farce of American exceptionalism"

[Clio the Leo]

Republicans and Tea Partiers are making a farce of American exceptionalism

An interesting piece by Karen Tumulty:

Is this a great country or what?

“American exceptionalism” is a phrase that, until recently, was rarely heard outside the confines of think tanks, opinion journals and university history departments.

But with Republicans and tea party activists accusing President Obama and the Democrats of turning the country toward socialism, the idea that the United States is inherently superior to the world’s other nations has become the battle cry from a new front in the ongoing culture wars. Lately, it seems to be on the lips of just about every Republican who is giving any thought to running for president in 2012.
… The proposition of American exceptionalism, which goes at least as far back as the writing of French aristocrat and historian Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1830s, asserts that this country has a unique character.

It is also rooted in religious belief. A recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution found that 58 percent of Americans agreed with the statement: “God has granted America a special role in human history.”

(Newt) Gingrich says Obama fails to understand that “American exceptionalism refers directly to the grant of rights asserted in the Declaration of Independence,” and that it is a term “which relates directly to our unique assertion of an unprecedented set of rights granted by God.”

Here’s the farce: From Bush to Palin, Gingrich to Limbaugh, the Tea Party to the GOP, any claim to American exceptionalism is being undermined. Spurred by the simplistic and contorted worldview of the aforementioned, science is under assault, the environment is being ravaged, women’s right and gay rights are regressing, religious tolerance is evaporating, civil liberties are being dismantled, wealth disparities are exploding, privacy is disappearing, and wars are being waged with no end.

It’s a nightmarish joke that Republicans and Tea Partiers want to assail President Obama for denying American exceptionalism, while doing everything possible to undercut it.


http://peterdaou.com/2010/11/farce-of-american-exceptionalism/

[wtmusic]

1. Since it's become trés declassé to compare any group to the Nazis...

I won't.

[JoePhilly]

2. The GOP screaming about "American Exceptionalism" reminds me of ...

an old SNL commercial parody in which Will Farrell is a male model who is wearing a hat that says "I'm #1" on it, and women are drawn to him as a result.

I wish I could find the video.

[jaxx]

3. Seems like this is coming from Sister Sarah's book......

Full quote of Obama's answer to question:

"I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I'm enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world. If you think about the site of this summit and what it means, I don't think America should be embarrassed to see evidence of the sacrifices of our troops, the enormous amount of resources that were put into Europe postwar, and our leadership in crafting an Alliance that ultimately led to the unification of Europe. We should take great pride in that.

"And if you think of our current situation, the United States remains the largest economy in the world. We have unmatched military capability. And I think that we have a core set of values that are enshrined in our Constitution, in our body of law, in our democratic practices, in our belief in free speech and equality, that, though imperfect, are exceptional.

"Now, the fact that I am very proud of my country and I think that we've got a whole lot to offer the world does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we're not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us.

"And so I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we create partnerships because we can't solve these problems alone."

article here: http://mediamatters.org/blog/201011230017

[mrcheerful]

4. And what made America exceptional? It sure wasn't right wing ideology

What it was goes against everything wing nuts believe. What made America exceptional was the way the citizens would come together to solve national problems for the good of all it's citizens not just those who looked like us. What is even more amazing is it was liberal elitists that made America exceptional while dragging the wing nut along kicking and screaming as America strove to wards exceptionalism.

Remember it was conservatives who didn't want to go up against King George. It was conservatives who decided that because they didn't like a man elected to the presidency to start a war that conservatives also lost. It was conservatives who decided that not all men were equal and strove to fight others to enjoy the same freedoms granted to them by the liberal bill of rights. Just name one thing that conservatives has done to advance America into exceptionalism.

[jaxx]

5. What was all that about?

[mrcheerful]

6. Every wing nut always talks about how they made this country great with

their hard work, though it is just wing nut crap as wing nuts only work harder then the next guy in their own minds. Reminds me of a wing nut who always talked about how his minority co workers cheated the time clock then he turned around and did the same thing for an 8 hour day when he only worked 2 hours. The conservative has done nothing for the country except try to kill progress, then they turn around and claim they were the ones who done the deed they fought against.

[jaxx]

8. Well we all know conservatives aren't worth a plug nickel.

They just run their mouths and lie....like Sister Sarah did in her book and now all the pubbies are lying about it too.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. edging towards theocracy. nt

[blindpig]

9. If they perform that service...

then I thank them, it is a stupid idea.

[starroute]

10. So for Gingrich, saying in the Declaration that "all men are created equal"

...amounts to a statement that Americans are inherently better than everyone else.

Can somebody help me with the logic there? I'm having trouble getting it to add up.

[Angry Dragon]

14. I believe it is the republican new math

[pampango]

11. American Exceptionalism: A Nicer Way to Say Obama Isn't One of Us?

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/American-Exceptionalism-A-Nicer-Way-to-Say-Obama-Isnt-One-of-Us-5955

Is America awesome or too awesome? This question appears to be the most pressing campaign issue among the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and a handful of other hopefuls have weighed in on whether President Obama believes in "American exceptionalism," a phrase once relegated to history departments...

"Some," Tumulty writes, "wonder whether Obama's conservative critics are sounding an alarm about the United States' place in the world - or making an insidious suggestion about the president himself. With a more intellectual sheen than the false assertions that Obama is secretly a Muslim or that he was born in Kenya, an argument over American exceptionalism" is a classier way to imply that Obama isn't like the rest of us.

* A Rallying Cry for Sarah Palin's Aggrieved White Voters, Amanda Marcotte writes at The Guardian. In her latest book, Palin writes at Americans aren't "saying we're better than anyone else," and then proceeds to say exactly that, Marcotte writes. "The hint (if you missed it) should be clear for her readers – America is better than everyone else. At least, their version of America. Which is another way of saying that they – aggrieved white conservative voters – have some unique, if hard-to-pin-down quality of awesomeness lacking in all foreigners and all merely technical Americans whom Palin has excluded from her beloved category of Real Americans."

* This Explains the Tea Party, Ed Morrissey writes at Hot Air. Pointing to Bill Whittle's video series about what conservatives believe--one that concludes with a discussion of American exceptionalism--Morrissey observes that American dominance can't be an accident, given that we have just 5 percent of the world's population. "We have achieved leadership in military, economic, scientific, and cultural arenas because of the environment fostered by the American state — a state that allows its citizens the widest latitude for creativity and innovation, where success gets rewarded without government approvals and bureaucratic interference. That environment is in danger of disappearing, which is why the Tea Party has arisen: to stop the trend towards nanny-state stagnation and the inexorable erosion of the very freedoms that have put the US into the position of global leadership."

[political_Dem]

12. Yes, they are and they don't give a damn.

To the Teabaggers and their Republican cohorts, American Exceptionalism speaks directly to their over-inflated sense of privilege and superiority. As a result, the self-centeredness involved blocks the RW from seeing the bigger picture that their actions of conquest and domination lead to devestating consequences. Invading foreign lands and taking the possessions of other countries are nothing to them because they only see these acts as "spreading demcracy".

Mr. Obama represents a road block to the RW due to the fact that the POTUS' mere position deflates their view of the "old boys club" having all the marbles in terms of political power in this country. Thus, the GOP will do anything (even using other people of color to put a "happy face" on such an authoritarian party) in order to get back into the position of domination. So, it's not surprising that they will use such nefarious skills to not only poison the public against the American leader; they will take any chance they get to show the country how much they publicly disrespect Mr. Obama, his family, his supporters and those he is politically allied with.

They go out of their way to demonstrate that the POTUS does not demonstrate "American" ideals simply because he does not look like the leaders of the RW.

That's why the story of releasing the documents is not a "what" question; it is a "how" and "why" issue. The impact here is trying to make people distrust this Administration by giving into outrage. In that manner, mangling American Exceptionalidm is only a means to an end as long as it causes the American people to turn their back against Mr. Obama by appealing to fear, anger and bias.

[Angry Dragon]

13. “God has granted America a special role in human history.”

You know I have searched all the Bibles I have and can not
find this in any of them. Unless it is their bible.

(Newt) Gingrich says Obama fails to understand that “American exceptionalism refers directly to the grant of rights asserted in the Declaration of Independence,” and that it is a term “which relates directly to our unique assertion of an unprecedented set of rights granted by God.”
I can not find this either.