Hello, My Name is Thom Schuyler and I am a Xenophobic, Racist Bastard

I was just passing through a room in my house in which a television was tuned to MSNBC (or, as my profoundly witty and astute pal, KVD calls it: PMSNOBC.) Former governor, presidential candidate and constant Democrat mouthpiece, Howard Dean, was being interviewed. He is an easy person to distrust and dislike – at least for me. I recall in ’04 when he started out of the campaign gates so swiftly and many of my friends jumped on his presidential bandwagon only to be humiliated by his shrieking and creepy victory speech following an early primary. During that 5-minute stretch I think most Americans surmised that he would be more suited to a straightjacket and solitary confinement than to the Oval Office. Anyway, how soon we forget how terribly weird and off-center this guy is. Following his tirade on national television he dropped out of the race only to surface as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. But today Governor Dean was waxing poetic regarding the stubbornness of Republican Senators, the xenophobia and racism of the citizens of Arizona and the general disdain for anyone who had the audacity to push back against the ideals and ideas of the Obama administration.

I am not a Republican but I am very much a conservative. I happen to respect the resistance Republican lawmakers had to the recent health care debacle. No average citizen in this country has any idea what just happened, what is in the bill or how it will impact our lives, health or pocketbooks. And frankly, I suspect few representatives or senators understood it, either – which was a perfectly sane reason to pushback and slow-walk the process. For this Mr. Dean has tagged these Republicans ‘The Party of No.’ Of course, Doc Dean got his pockets full long ago so what does he have to lose?

For this same man – a son of the elite northeast – to have any posture or opinion on the challenges of the citizens of the great state of Arizona to bring civility and safety to their neighborhoods is preposterous! How dare he declare these Americans xenophobic and racist because they are attempting to do the job his Almighty Feds have failed to do? Murders, shoot-outs, drug deals, illegal immigrants, law-breakers – this is Howard Dean’s America. Sure, let them in; give them everything they need; ‘We’re so glad you’re here!’ This is simply outrageous! But somehow The Dean finds a curious way to blame the Republican party for all of this.

I had the singular privilege of growing up in a working-class neighborhood in one of Pennsylvania’s famous steel industry towns. My parents purchased one side of a ‘double home’ shared by a first generation couple from Italy. Next to our property was another duplex shared by immigrants from Russia and Germany. Next to that home were two more families from Puerto Rico and Hungary. And it continued down the block and across the street. Yes, most of the parents and all of the grandparents in these immigrant homes spoke in their mother tongue. That was actually fun, interesting and edifying. I can still cuss anyone out in about five languages! However, there is one thing very different from our current crisis: all these beautiful and grateful Americans immigrated legally. Therein is the great problem.

I am greatly offended by Howie’s arrogant posture on all of these matters, but what else is new. Perhaps he and his family can afford to send a check to The Almighty Fed to underwrite the costs of these health care, immigration, banking reform and deficit problems. The fact is, I cannot continue to do this and I suspect I am in the majority. My hope is that The Mighty Doctor from Vermont will eat so much maple syrup one morning that his lips will stick together – forever.