Is It Okay To *Hate* A Politician?

[ihavenobias]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/is-it-okay-to-hate-a-poli_b_85650.html


I know we're not supposed to use the word "hate" when talking about politicians. We're supposed to say we "dislike" their policies or even their tactics. We "disagree" with their positions and find their strategy "troublesome" and a "cause for concern."

The problem is I hate Mitt Romney. I don't just dislike him as a politician. I dislike him as a person.

Now you see, I'm not supposed to say that. That makes me sound angry and it's not allowed in the mainstream. On the other hand, of course, Mitt Romney can say anything he likes about us.

For example, today at CPAC, Romney said that if the Democrats won the election we would "surrender" to the terrorists. That's apparently perfectly acceptable thing to say. But I can't tell you what I really think of Mitt Romney.

First of all, I'd like to point out that his revered president never caught Osama bin Laden and said he was "not that concerned about him" (an idea Romney echoed at one point in the campaign). Can we call that surrendering? If Bush has given up trying, is there another word for it?

Of course, President Bush on Friday will say nearly the same thing at CPAC. He will say that our "prosperity and peace" will be jeopardized if we elect a Democrat. But we're supposed to respect this guy?

Remember this is a guy who got hundreds of thousands of people killed because he thought he was a messianic cowboy. His craven indifference to the lives of others cannot be mentioned in polite company. The fact that he is clearly a very, very stupid man is not a nice thing to say (watch Fred Kaplan of Slate and I debate this point here). And we are certainly not allowed to say that we hate him for getting all these people killed, for muddying the name of America, for authorizing torture and taking away our fundamental freedoms. No, that would be impolite and we can't have it.

Is what he did polite? Is his implication that Democrats are weak and would give in to the terrorists polite? Why are they allowed to be complete and utter assholes, but we're not allowed to call them out on it?

In the same CPAC speech, Romney implied that he was only in the race because America needed him. Please!!! Who doesn't hate this guy?

Remember this golden oldie below? Watch Mitt Romney pandering to the voters of Massachusetts when he was trying to prove he was more liberal than Ted Kennedy. As you watch him talk about abortion, remember that he switched positions and is now for imposing his personal beliefs on others...(For the rest, please click the Huffington Post link at the top of the page)

[zanne]

1. It all depends on your definition of "hate".

If you define "hate" as a strong enough emotion to kill, it's wrong; period. If you define "hate" as an intense dislike, it's human.

[DS1]

2. how about "would cheer if someone else did it"

:shrug:

[SoFlaJet]

6. and Joe LIEberman immediately comes to mind

-followed closely by McCain,Bush,Delay,Boener,that twerp congressman from NC, Cheney,Rove,I can go on and on

[backscatter712]

3. Yeah, it's OK to hate these guys.

I fucking hate Bush. I hate how he mangles the fucking English language. I hate that insufferable smirk on his face. I hate how he lied 935 times to start a war that killed thousands of our troops and millions of innocent Iraqi civilians.

Yeah. I hate the son of a bitch. Not just dislike. Not just disagree with. Hate. The real thing. It burns in my fucking heart like the heat of a thousand suns. If I went into any more detail over my feelings for Bush, I'd be arrested by the Secret Service.

And I can't wait until the day he dies, so I can go out and piss on his grave.

Don't confuse this with douchebaggery like bigotry. I don't hate people for their skin color, or their gender, or their religion. I hate people like Bush and Cheney for their actions. They brought it on themselves, and I don't feel the least bit guilty for it.

[Eurobabe]

4. Who cares, I *hate* him too.

What a phoney this guy is -- one of the most plastic politicians I have ever witnessed in my life.

[nightrider767]

5. It's not OK,,,

Hating a politician, or a fake person, is waste of human emotion.

[crikkett]

7. no

never

[HardWorkingDem]

8. Seriously, I hate the word "hate".....

it's thrown around too casually.

I personally do not "hate" Bush or Cheney, though I do hold so much contempt for these too assholes it is off any sort of measurable scale.

Still, I don't "hate" them.

[CherylK]

10. Is Everyone honestly even reading the full linked article or just responding to the subject line?!

At first my answer was "NO! Of course not!". But after I read the article I understand his position. That does not mean that I will go around saying I "hate" Mitt Romney but I also don't blame him for saying it.

[ihavenobias]

12. I doubt it. I think they're just having a visceral reaction to the subject line and then responding

without bothering to read a word of the actual article.

But I could be wrong, maybe some of them actually *did* read it. IF they did read the whole article and they still disagree, that's fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion! But if they didn't even bother reading the article that's another story. Also, I hope they click the link as the story includes some YouTube clips that supplement the writing.

[ihavenobias]

14. Sounds like a squabble of semantics here

I agree with an earlier poster who said it depends on how you define "hate"...if it's intense dislike, it's ok. And that I totally agree with.

Is it tossed around too casually? Maybe (even probably, as in "I hate this ice cream", etc.), I think we can have a reasonable disagreement about that, and obviously, no one is being forced to use the word against their will.

PS---I've come to realize just how true it is that you can't make all of the people happy all of the time, especially in politics. Cenk writes an article about "hate" and he gets slammed (I'm not saying you slammed him, I'm speaking generally and also anticipating some of the yet to come replies).

But when he spoke with the actor who played Jesus in The Passion Of The Christ and didn't totally rip him to shreds when explaining his thoughts on it afterward (as evidenced in this clip http://youtube.com/watch?v=R6YAZ-MYLqo&feature=user ), a lot of people were pissed that he didn't go off on the pro-life crowd (even though Cenk is an agnostic and does often criticize fundamentalists) and he instead seemed to have a very tolerant response.

[HardWorkingDem]

17. Nah...didn't read it...thought it was just a question...sorry...

Just thought it was a food for thought question; besides, I'm not going to waste my time reading an article about Mitt Romney....

[liberal N proud]

9. Are politicians human beings?

Depending on how you answer that question will determine if it is OK to hate politicians

[Capt. America]

11. yeah, I only really "hate" two people in the world...

Bush and Cheney.

It is not hyperoble to say that they, or at least their actions, are evil.

I can't say that about anyone else.

[indepat]

13. Dislike, loathe and despise the bastards, but don't hate 'cause hate hurts the hater more than the

hated.

[Demeter]

15. Sauce for the Gander is Sauce for the Goose

If somebody doesn't give a shit about me, I'm going to return the favor.

[Warpy]

16. Oh, if he ever shows his face here at a gathering in NM

I'll be there in full respectable yuppie regalia, catcalling and giving juicy raspberries. However, I don't hate the man.

I don't even hate what he stands for, since he seems to stand for absolutely nothing. Political opportunism dictates his views and political opportunism failed him miserably. He's $50 million of his own money in the hole for learning that lesson the hard way.

I don't hate the man because I'd rather see him than be him. I would hate going through life that shallow, vapid, and devoid of real understanding.

The worse these people act, the sorrier I feel for them, in other words.

Somehow, I think they'd find that worse than hate.

[navarth]

18. I just read the whole article. The use of the word 'hate'

doesn't bother me at all. Perhaps a case could be made that if you 'hate', you will lower yourself to their level.

I don't hate the mosquito that's biting me. But I'm damn sure going to kill him if he doesn't leave me alone.

Bu$h, Cheney, Rove, Perle, Rice, Snow, DeLay, all of these insects aren't worth my hate. But they damn sure deserve the bug spray. There's a whole mountain of dead bodies that ought to be answered for. I wish I could make it retroactive, so as to extend the same sentiment to Saint Reagan.

k/r