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Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman has made the Drudge Report and national headlines with his Facebook comments, but he really did express the sentiments of many American mothers and fathers.
“Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch ‘The Charlie Brown Christmas Special’ and our muslim president is there, what a load…..try to convince me that wasn’t done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it….w…hen the answer should simply be ‘yes’….” – CA
The man made the comments ‘tongue-in-cheek’, so get over it folks. He made them on his Facebook page, which he should have known would have gotten around to more than just his close circle. That is part of politics. I do the same thing in monitoring elected officials, and often that is how they communicate to a larger audience (remember Sarah Palin’s ‘death panels’?). Yet I bet he did not expect to gain national attention.
Obama uses religion to get what he wants. He does not attend Church, and when he did it was a radical anti-American preacher in the pulpit. He did come from a Muslim background, and as far as we know, he is one privately. He claims to be a Christian, but so did Adolph Hitler. Personally, I don’t think he has a personal faith, but that is just my opinion.
I heard on the radio this morning talk about his comments being racist, How the heck are they racist?!?! And why is a small town Tennessee mayor’s comments making national headlines?
However, the bigger question is what idiot scheduled the One to speak during Charlie Brown? The only thing worse would have been if he preempted Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer!
Update (December 8, 2009):
Wiseman statement…
Regarding all of the reports about my recent Facebook remarks, I want to take this opportunity to say how much I regret that I offended anyone with my poor attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor amongst friends. While my comments were certainly blown way out of proportion, I do recognize that I allowed things to go too far.
As you might have guessed, I don’t really care for President Obama or his policies. That being said, I understand how my comments might have been interpreted by people who don’t know me and who have no reason to give me the benefit of the doubt. When defenders of President Obama started chiming in on the Facebook comment thread, I’m afraid I let my frustrations and my sarcastic and joking nature get the best of me, and so I egged and goaded them on within the confines of what I considered at the time to be a semi-private conversation among friends. – Memphis Flyer
AMEN BROTHER! He said exactly the truth!!!!!
Obviously this guy is a liberal just trying to make R’s look bad. Nobody is stupid enough to believe the Kenya, Muslim, or Death Panel nonsense. It is a good way to distract people by making R’s look like redneck idiots.
I don’t need any help looking like a redneck idiot. I can handle that all by myself.
Editorial note: We don’t play that here homey - BCR
Dave’s comment deleted. We don’t give out home addresses and telephone numbers here.
Wow. What an interesting site to stumble upon. I can’t tell who’s serious & who’s not…
Joe, I’m afraid people do believe in all this “Birthers”,” Deathers”, Muslim nonsense. Remember all those Town Hall meetings? Weren’t those mostly Republicans? Why yes they were. And Congressman & Senators made themselves & their supporters look like idiots by not discrediting these absurd Movements.
As long as Rush Limbaugh is “the most influential Republican” & stokes the fears of a certain segment of Americans these untruths will continue to divide us. I would like to see all this fear mongering stop, & religion left out of all political discourse.
I don’t know who wrote that first post, but I have no personal knowledge that Wiseman was speaking “tongue in cheek” & neither do you. You also have no personal knowledge of Obama’s beliefs either. Character, not religion, is what matters in America. Freedom of religion is what we’re so fortunate to have in the US, or it used to be…..
And for Pete’s sake. Charlie Brown is on DVD. Buy it!. Rent it! Play it some other time. I would rather hear the President speak about something as crtical as ramping up the war in Afghanistan no matter what TV show is preempted.
“Can’t we all just get along?” – Rodney King
Character, not religion, is what matters in America
Agreed, too bad Obama has none.
Cynthia,
The thing I agree most with in your post is the “character counts” comment. The true character of many of those who posted comments on the many sites about Russell’s remarks showed their true character. While they slaughtered Russell’s name and character, they showed their true colors. The mountain of threats, slurs and general “crap” from these many so-called Christians and Americans was abominable. I received personally nearly 40 emails asking me “what are you all gonna do” about this man? As an Arlington citizen and elected official, I am going to do nothing but allow him and anyone else use their protected Freedom of Speech in stating their opinions and thoughts, whether tongue in cheek or not. That same Freedom that allowed Russell to say what he said also allows those posters and emailers the same freedom to send their hate filled emails…
He has a right to say what he wants.
I do think he has shown the character of his heart.
The only thing to “do about it” is decide whether or not to be part of the crowd that wishes to re-elect him or part of the crowd that wishes to replace him.
What makes you say that the good Mayor’s comment was tongue in check? I must of missed that part.
Anyway, is this the way any Mayor should act?
I would have thought it pretty concerning to know that the POTUS was basing his decision about when to make such an important speech as this on what time a cartoon might be on TV.
I don’t know if it was race or religion based bigotry. I do know it was just plain STUPID.
What makes you say that the good Mayor’s comment was tongue in check?
That is what he said, or at least that is what Debbie Hall says.
I absolutely do not think those morons at town hall meetings were Rs. Elitist liberal “performance artists” are trying to pull the more rational of the two parties into the reactionary zone to destroy it. Seriously, do you know personally anyone stupid enough to believe the birther crap? We should be as smart and register as Dems and have Stalin fan clubs.
Cynthia, the Tea Party people have a right to protest and be heard just like any other American, no matter whether they be Democrat, Republican, or Independent.How many other movements were considered absurd in our history? I imagine Women’s Suffrage movement was considered absurd at one time also!
Holy Cow BCR. I think Obama has more character than any president we’ve had in a long time. As much as I disagreed with Ronald Reagan’s politics I think he had character with a capital “C”. I get that you loathe Obama, but don’t understand why this makes his character suspect. (BTW, loved your Dec.5th, 1:44 pm post)
You can probably tell I run on the liberal side. I absolutely hated George Bush. I can’t think of one decision he made that didn’t make me froth at the mouth, but I do think he did what he thought was right. I would never impugn his character because we were at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
Hi Susie -
I completely agree folks have the right to their beliefs & protests (no matter my opinion). I’m objecting to attention given issues already proven false that are kept alive by politicians, TV & radio personalities to keep folks fired up & divert our attention from really serious political issues – The Economy, Bail Out, Health Care, two ongoing Wars. This goes for both Left & Right. We’re the ones being treated like idiots now that I think about it. Look at what started this thread, although interesting posts have come from it!
I think of Women’s Suffrage akin to the Civil Rights Movement. Those who fought were demanding equal rights that all other white male Americans had. Historically those in power like to keep it that way. I have no doubt most of the “haves” thought women voting was absurd at the very least, but more likely dangerous.
Suffragettes were jailed & force fed when they went on hunger strikes while incarcerated. Comparing this to Tea Partys seems demeaning to all the women who suffered & fought for our right to vote, but I get your point.
People once believed the world was flat (apparently some still do). When Galileo proved it was round, it was thought absurd, but also dangerous since the Church jailed Galileo for heresy.
I live in San Francisco &, believe it or not, am probably considered “centrist liberal”. in any other part of the country, I’d be a plain old liberal. WE don’t have many Republicans here, but I get an interesting perspective on the FAR Left whom I think are as nuts as the far right. I’m hoping to learn different points of view from this blog, respectfully. I’m hoping it’s not all just sound bites.
Thanks for listening
Oh, I don’t loathe the man. He is my Prez just like he is yours, so he deserves and has my respect. I do however loathe his policies. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on his “character”, because I have yet to see any from the man.
Cynthia, I think I am the far right you are talking about and I welcome you to BCR with open arms. We are a rather unusual little group here. We are mostly opposed to Bush as you would not expect with a group calling themselves Republican. I have run for office a couple of times and was beaten to death by the people that are supposed to be on my side of the fence because I was not a Bush robot. I am against Obama as are most of us here for the same reason we were against Bush. No one that we have elected truly represents us because they are elitists that have no concept of what life is like for the rest of us.
I hope you enjoy it here and I am sure I will be the one that you disagree with the most, but know that I support your right to say what you want to say when you want to say it. Have FUN!!!!!!!!!
All social movements, including Tea Parties, are derived from a perceived (real/not real)threat or unequality. I think that most of the Tea Party folks feel threatened by higher taxes and loss of their livelihood by unwarranted big government programs that will cut jobs and increase costs. Middle class America pays most of the taxes that cover those programs. Nothing derogatory by comparing it to the Suffrage movement, quite the contrary.
Thanks Susie. Your post was humanizing & enlightening & moved me away from my own cranky ‘sound bite’ opinion I claim to abhor. Can’t disagree with a thing you said (although I’m still hanging tough with my Suffragets’ perspective).
Bob – look forward to reading more from you too. I agree that the economic stratosphere in which our elected officials live, no matter what party, has separated them from the concerns of the other 98% of us.
This is the kind of exchange of ideas I was hoping for. Look fwd to learning more.
Thank you, BCR, for having common sense!
Wiseman, I hope you know who your friends are now, and how quickly they can betray you. I hope you let everyone know who ratted you out over such a silly statement.
Okay, question for EVERYONE who loves this country just as much as I do….actually, two questions…
ONE: IF Obama was a Muslim does it really matter?
Question TWO: Where in our great United States Constitution does it state the person who becomes President has to be Christain or any other religion? Does the Constitution ony matter if Dem’s are trying to take away your Guns….? Just wondering,, and please, do not say oh just another libreal bhal bhal bhal….I LOVE THE United States Constitution That is who I vote For…!!!!
A lot of critics believed Thomas Jefferson was an athiest because of his views, he was still overwhelmingly popular. I believe the reason is that he stood his ground, he was humble, and he had common sense. So no it doesn’t matter if Obama is a Muslim, just don’t tread on Christianity, which he is appearing to do. The Constitution should be adhered to, not altered by Progressives as a “living document”.
BoB…Arlington is as far from a “non white, non-Christian” ” hating place as you can possibly get…As I stated in my earlier posting, you do have that right to say those things, but I also have the same right to disagree with you and state the truth…It is very difficult for someone to judge what a town or person is about if they do not live there, or they are not walking with that person…
I dare say that Arlington would welcome you sir if you chose to visit, although I am sure that would never happen. You would rather sit in your own little “hole” in America and judge and gripe about others who disagree with your view…
this site smells of white supremacists. the good name of the A-Hole Mayor was ruined by his own stupid conspiracy theory and driven home by his idiotic assertions. Cynthia only sounds like another fool making a case for lying about someone because she believes he or she doesn’t understand their poor tired lives.
Arlington is sounding more and more like a non white, non christian hating hole everyday.
Yeah baby, wanna come to the cross-burning at Susies house Friday night
This sort of talk gets in the way of real conservative views from being heard. Our party should distance itself from idiots like Wiseman. We shouldn’t care if someone is a Christian or not…..The Republican party isn’t a Christian party. Conservative ideals don’t belong to one religion.
The worst comment from Wiseman is that one about land owners only should be able to vote!
Oh….so now I have to buy a plot of land to have the right to vote……………
Kirk, you are so right, property owners should not be the only ones allowed to vote. That was a really stupid European idea from the 1700′s. Every American citizen has the right to vote if they are over 18 and are not Felons. As for BoB, you need to tune in to BCR more often.
Wiseman’s comment about land owners being able to vote is his sly way of bringing into question yet again, the Presidents nationality. His entire rant about missing The Charlie Brown Christmas Special revolved around his absurd conspiracy theory. He’s the fringe element that he pointed his finger at in his insincere response to the outrage he set off.
Bob, you really love Obama don’t ya?! I am sure his feelings are not hurt over Wiseman’s statement, so don’t you cry anymore.
no McFarland, I don’t love Obama. I also don’t love hysterical people who make crap up and create these scenarios in their head then spread them around to other unbalanced people. the only crying to do is for those irrational people. know what I mean McFarland?
Well, the same disinformation comes from all sides. I believe everyone has an opinion and that they have a right to speak it and we have a right to not listen. I am sure that Wiseman thought he was speaking to “friends”, but as we all know “friends” do betray you. I am sure he has learned a valuable lesson from all of this. We try to speak openly on this site, so feel free to come back.
Healthcare,economy, and war are my main concerns. I want the real truth not just a politician spewing rhetoric. Read your history, John Q public is not the priority of politicians on the National level, it is power. They create social programs to hold down the trodden, example: during the Civil Rights movement, Welfare was established to bribe the community. It has worked and held the communities down and expecting more handouts for their vote. It is a power play.
i’m sure that each of you blue collar, caucasian republican men are just as privately christian as sc’s governor sanford.
you judgmental hypocrites. take the log out of your own eye before you condemn the speck in president obama’s. (mt. 7:5)
Rachel, feel free to speak your mind, that’s Ok. But give us some tangible argument as to why we should trust Obama. I know I decided that he would be just as good or bad as McCain. But as his Progressive views shine through, it has me concerned about his policies. He is pushing the views of the UN and the European community, such as Global Warming in order to gain political power. These views will cause loss of freedom to you and me. Don’t believe for one moment that he cares about you, he has a political agenda that has nothing to do with the common man’s plight.
Obama is not the only one making policies, so are the people behind the scenes such as the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The Progressives, such as Rockefeller, are pushing the Health Care Issue and Climate Change to gain control of population growth (Eugenics). Feel free to look up the Rockefeller Institute and look at their agenda. Read your American History and educate yourself on the Progressive movement.