On Tuesday, February 7th, the memorial service for civil rights activist Coretta Scott King — billed as a “celebration” of her life — turned suddenly political as one former president took a swipe at the current president, and an outspoken black pastor also lashed out at the current president. Mrs. King’s memorial service quickly morphed from a celebration to a petty, partisan political circus.
The outspoken Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, ripped into President Bush during his short speech, ostensibly about the wife of Martin Luther King Jr.
“We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we knew that there were weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance, poverty abound, for war billions more, but no more for the poor.”
Somehow he was left out of the news that anti-poverty spending has surged 39% under President Bush to a record 16% of all federal spending while entitlement spending is projected to nearly double over the next decade.
Remember now, this is a funeral for Mrs. King. What do WMDs have to do with her life and death? Just imagine the reaction if President Bush had made a political statement in his remarks at King’s funeral. Infantile, self absorbed, immature behavior that proves once again that the Liberals have neither the discipline nor the maturity to be trusted with power.
Then Jimmy Carter, supposedly a former US President, continued the bashing:
“It was difficult for them [the King family] then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps.”
Carter apparently neglected to mention that it was the Democrat John Kennedy administration, with Attorney General Robert Kennedy in particular, who authorized the “secret government wiretaps” on the Kings. Yep, a Democrat administration. But why allow history and facts to get in the way of a great nationally-televised Bush-bashing?
Why does the world forget that it was Democrat Bull Connor putting the hoses and the dogs on the marchers, and the Republicans standing up for civil rights?
Carter then brings up the Hurricane Katrina situation in such a way that points the bulk of the blame right to Bush. Nevermind the fact that more whites were affected than blacks. 64% of the residents living in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina were white. Despite his oversight of that detail, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Then the crowd goes wild for at least 3 minutes when Bill and Hillary Clinton take the stage.
This display of the audience more resembled a rock concert or World Series game than it did a memorial service. I have no problem with folks showing their admiration for someone. I do see it as a form of disrespect when that public show of admiration far exceeds the special moment of the dead person. But then, Clinton was America’s first black President, right?
The Associated Press commented:
The audience showed where its allegiance lay when former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, came to the podium to wild cheers and a long standing ovation. He opened by saying that he was honored to be with the other former presidents. Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Future president!” in reference to his wife’s possible 2008 bid.
Does anyone remember the 2002 Paul Wellstone funeral? Democrat Senator Paul Wellstone from Minnesota died just weeks before his re-election bid. During his funeral, Democrats once again hijacked the funeral for political purposes and ranted about political gains against Republicans - and lost big with the voters.
Only Liberals can get away with using the funeral of the wife of a civil rights leader to preach Bush hate and anti-War rhetoric, and only Liberals would do so. What Democrats did today was destructive and despicable. It dishonored the memory of both Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King. Funerals are meant to be times of respectful remembrance or celebration of the life of the person in the casket. Democrats follow the newer model that funerals are just another crowd draw with TV cameras that will transmit whatever political bile you wish to spew.
Chris Muir hits a home run with his cartoon:
Coretta Scott King, Joseph Lowery, Jimmy Carter
