It was a moment brought to you by the First Amendment.Of course, he was booed by the "patriotic" Bush supporters in the crowd. The White House has a transcript of the event here. Here's the exchange from the transcript:
Minutes after finishing a face-to-face verbal assault on President Bush, Harry Taylor was talking about the experience with reporters who covered the president's visit Thursday to Charlotte.
Speaking from the balcony of a theater at Central Piedmont Community College, the 61-year-old commercial real estate broker had laced into Bush for his conduct of the war on terror, his environmental record and his opposition to legalized abortion.
"In my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of my leadership in Washington," Taylor told the president. "And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and grace to be ashamed of yourself."
Q You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are --What followed was the usual BS about how his "terrorist surveillance program" is really Constitutional. It was complete bullshit, of course. No one outside of Wingnuttia believes that.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what's your question?
Q Okay, I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I -- in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and --
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec -- let him speak.
Q And I would hope -- I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.
THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)
Q And I know that this doesn't come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.
THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate --
Q I don't have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.
Taylor said he was surprised to be given a ticket to one of Bush's "open" events (note to the undereducated: my use of the quotation marks around that word indicates that I am using it ironically. Same thing happened above when I did the same thing to the word "patriotic."). Good thing the current regime has more respect for the 1st Amendment than the 4th.
In any event, it was a great Norman Rockwell moment (and I am certainly not the first one to notice the similarity). Here take a look:
A few thoughts: I wonder how long it'll take the wingnuts to swiftboat this guy. One blogger got it right:
Well, one thing is for certain, Harry Taylor is not a member of the establishment media.Let's see, in one week Tom Delay abdicates, The Plame scandal touches the Oval Office and George Bush get's pwned in North Carolina. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Here's the video.
3 comments:
While listening to Mr. Taylor speak I found myself proud to be an American. In the face of this present administration, there are still intelligent citizens who are willing and brave enough to speak their minds and disagree with lemming minded voters. I salute you, Mr. Taylor!
People weren't just booing because they were "patriotic"-- as if that were a sin-- they were booing because of the lack of respect shown by so many on the left for their president, who has done none of the things of which they accuse him:
"...you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf..."
What rhetoric and hyperbole.
THERE IS NO "BushCo" conspiracy to take our rights:
They aren't tapping anyone's phones-- they are using a data-mining system first implemented by President Carter!
President Bush isn't detaining American citizens without charges.
The Bush administration isn't polluting the water or air, trying to kill Mr. Taylor.
Abortion is not a patriotic act.
“to SECURE these rights (LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) governments were instituted among men…”
President Bush acted with grace, honor and humility towards a man who was publicly slandering and trying to humiliate him.
It is Mr. Taylor who should be ashamed of himself, not President Bush.
I like how, instead of actually posting Bush's response (which was valid) you simply left us with: "What followed was the usual BS about..."
Naturally, you dont want your readers to hear what Bush had to say in return. Its the same reason you cant find ONE SINGLE youtube video of the incident that includes Bush's response.
That sounds a lot like the "censorship" that you lefties are always whining about.
Fun fact: Taylor, who thinks a woman's convenience is more important than the lives of 48.6 Million US persons who've had their constitutional Right to life taken away from them before they were born, has just endorsed the HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT...
If you'll excuse me, I've got to go look up some words in Webster...I think I'll start with IRONY and HYPOCRISY.
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