How Hypocrisy Is Simply Not a Factor in the Right-Wing Mind

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http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/how-hypocrisy-works-right-wing-mind



It takes a Republican to be pro-death penalty, pro-war, pro-torture, and pro-bombing, yet be “pro-life.” It takes a Republican to be down with the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout of the big banks, but outraged when Obama offers a modest foreclosure relief bill for struggling families affected by Wall Street’s casino capitalism.

We all know this, and there are countless other examples that demonstrate right-wing hypocrisy, from Benghazi to healthcare from budget priorities to placards that read, “Keep your big government hands off my Medicare.” But in her new release A Fighting Chance, Sen. Elizabeth Warren articulates the far right’s hypocrisy eloquently.

During the heady days of establishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in the face of hostile opposition from banking lobbyists and congressional Republicans, Warren continued calling on members of the House and Senate, both Republican and Democrat, to garner support for the fledgling agency designed to protect American families from unscrupulous lending practices.

Warren recounts a story of her meeting with Tea Party Republican Michael Grimm (R-NY). Grimm is the guy who threatened to throw a TV news reporter off the Capitol building’s balcony after this year’s State of the Union address. “I’ll throw you off this f---ing balcony. I’ll break you in half like a boy,” he threatened. And last month, Grimm was indicted by the U.S. attorney in New York on 20 counts of mail, wire and tax fraud. Irony, anyone? Warren writes of Grimm:

“He told me all about himself. He’d joined the U.S. Marines when he was 19, and he had been decorated for his service in Desert Storm. He got a degree from Baruch College, a public university in New York, went to law school, and joined the FBI, where among other things, he was part of the Financial Fraud Squad. He talked in animated terms about the great work he’d done with the FBI and the terrific training he’d received. Then he launched a small business before running for office."

[Laelth]

1. k&r for Elizabeth Warren. n/t

-Laelth