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April 13, 2012 · By Jim Bowman · 1 Comments
Rep. Allen West (R-FL)
How many of us were shocked yesterday with the news that there are communists in our Federal government? Or more appropriately, how many were aware of this recent replay of a Communist presence? Yes, it’s true, according to Florida Congressman Allen West. A day later, after patiently awaiting for any appreciable follow-up, I now am able to grasp the media’s chosen policy. And that policy is to ignore in hopes that it will drift into the sunset unnoticed.
Now, we are not reporting on what food our children should eat or where the First family will vacation this summer. No, the subject Rep. West raises concerns our country’s security and in view of our nation’s re-directed policies during the last three years, his remarks justifies immediate attention.
For those of my generation, this subject line was thoroughly trashed during the fifties. Senator Joseph McCarthy endured being censured by the Senate, ridiculed on a daily basis by our media and attacked from both a Democrat and a Republican administration.
One startling fact survives from that period. Senator McCarthy was portrayed as the brutish inquisitor. Protected was the Soviet infiltration of our federal government, most notably through our State Department. This intrigue inexplicably occurred during a time of war against the Communist forces from North Korea and Red China.
Combine this backdrop with the current seriousness of Rep. West’s charges. In yesterday’s brief three paragraph article, a very brief recap of “Joe McCarthy’s unsubstantiated 1950’s charges” was featured. This was followed by a Town Hall attendee’s question of “how many members of the American legislature are ‘card carrying Marxists?’” West answered, “there are about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat party that are members of the Communist Party.”
So other than this brief news note, where is our inquisitive media? For this subject to resurface, after all these years and after what Senator Joseph McCarthy (not “Joe McCarthy” as the article preferred) experienced, one would think that if there was a sliver of truth to the Congressman’s stated belief, a link back in time becomes an essential consideration. If only a mere possibility exists, it should nevertheless require the same degree of media sleuthing as was the case when that herd of “investigative reporters” took off in search of Palin dirt in Alaska a while back.
What should aggravate all Americans is that such a charge seems to be treated as ho-hum by our media. Its message, that Communists in our federal government are no big deal, comes through loud and clear.
Take into account that a Congressman, unlike a Senator, faces re-election every two years. The Congressman’s charge was made while realizing that his accountability is on display and judged in a more concise time frame.
Especially so since he is up for re-election shortly. This is certainly not the time for bringing on embarrassments.
As I previously stated, Senator McCarthy was taken apart from every angle. However, what he tried to uncover seemed to linger into our Vietnam years, if only judged by what was, again, the object for protection.
In August 1966, a time when this writer was in Vietnam, a State Department publication, “Private Boycotts vs. The National Interest,” was issued. Briefly, it denounced as anti-American all citizens who were against trading with the communists. To quote the publication: “All American citizens should know that any American businessman who chooses to engage in peaceful trade with the Soviet Union or Eastern European countries and to sell the goods he buys is acting within his rights and is following the policy of his government. So, too, is any American citizen who chooses to buy such goods.” This document continued to stipulate that, “any organization, however patriotic in intention, that undertakes to boycott, blacklist, or otherwise penalize or attack any American business for engaging in peaceful trade with Eastern European countries or the Soviet Union, is acting against the interests of the United States.”
The cold hard facts with this seemingly treacherous policy was underscored when on December 26th, 1966, the Chicago Tribune wrote: “Weapons of the Polish armed forces are being shipped from Stettin harbor in Poland in ever-increasing quantities to North Vietnam harbors…” Again, protective measures taken, during wartime, but not necessarily pro-American.
Unlike that Town Hall doubter, I’m not so much concerned with “card carrying” status of our elected officials as I am with their intentions, recorded votes and their overall loyalty to our Constitution. Do not misread, if it can be proven that an elected public servant is in fact a “card carrying” member of the Communist Party, proper actions should take place. But for too long, too many members of the Democrat Party have consistently exhibited an anti-Constitutional voting record which is both diametrically opposed to their sworn oath of office and which conjures up loyalty issues.
A while back, I became familiar with a report taken from the Congressional Record. It highlighted forty major pieces of legislation during the 111th Congressional Session. One grading area was whether the votes were in accordance with our Constitution. Sixteen Representatives, all Democrats, amassed a voting record devoid of one Constitutional vote. I might add that one of the sixteen was Nancy Pelosi while another was Florida’s Rep. Klein, who Allen West challenged and replaced.
Rep. West calls to light what seems to be at least an ongoing possibility if not a probability. The reference line suggests the latter. When realizing that during WWII, Communist were accepted as members of our Nation’s military, both at enlisted and officer levels, their subsequent integration into our Federal government during our post war years may well have gone unnoticed and most definitely without protest.
In retrospect, it mattered little at the time that Senator McCarthy was right as official protection came down on the side of the accused. During the Vietnam War, few were aware of that anti-American State Department document and fewer citizens understood that its source was from the same State Department which Senator McCarthy viewed as being compromised by a Communist element.
Just how many alerts must be voiced before the American public faces the fact that yes, there is a sinister force within. Ironically, this recent media policy of downplaying may actually serve to validate Rep. West’s beliefs.
Rep. West is to be commended and seriously considered. He speaks not for profit or self promotion but from a love of Country. It’s a message that many have heard before. When the current direction of our Country is taken into account, there is little time for being a naysayer. If our freedom is to be handed on, we must join Allen West and realize that Senator McCarthy’s efforts are due a revisit.
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"We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the party over to the so-called moderates wouldn't make any sense at all." - Ronald Reagan, Nov. 10, 1964 |
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