SIT DOWN & SHUT UP by T. Edwin Perry
Do you ever feel like the only argument that ever seems to come from the Progressive/Liberal side of the Political Aisle is “Sit Down and Shut Up?” Al Gore has used it, claiming that the “Debate” over the issue of “Global Warming” is over. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have used it in regards to the Healthcare Reform Bill back in March, 2010. Barack Obama has used it…well, pretty much every time he’s opened his mouth. And their side of the aisle has a long tradition of using that tactic.
In 1856, Democrat Congressman Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane on the floor of the Senate over comments contained in a speech over the issue of Slavery. Sumner had compared Andrew Butler, a relative of Brooks, and Stephen Douglas of Illinois, as being similar to Don Quixote for foolishly supporting Slavery. Seeing this comparison as slanderous libel, Brooks had intended to challenge Sumner to a duel. Instead, he simply beat him with a cane, trapping Sumner behind a heavy desk that was bolted to the Senate floor. Battered and bloody, Sumner finally escaped from behind the desk, but Brooks continued to beat him into unconsciousness until the cane finally broke.
Brooks’ constituents in South Carolina, who primarily supported the institution of Slavery and, as you may recall, were the first to secede from the Union at the start of the Civil War, supported the attack, and Brooks received gifts of dozens of new canes, one of which read “Hit Him Again!” An article in the Richmond Enquirer read, “We consider the act good in conception, better in execution, and best of all in consequences. These vulgar abolitionists in the Senate must be lashed into submission.” The lashing of Sumner resulted in his absence from the Senate for more than three years while he recovered from his injuries, but he came back, rising to become one of the most influential of the Radical Republicans through the early years of Post Civil War Reconstruction, pushing to extend Equal Civil Rights to the Freedman (former slaves) throughout the South!
I bring up the story of Brooks and the “Hit Him Again” Cane because of a clear trend in the Congress, on the Senate Floor, and, particularly, in the Liberally-biased media. When Conservatives speak out against injustice, inequality and the tyranny of this Administration, they are accused of slander, of libel, and of racism. No argument is ever presented, no explanation given, and no answers ever shared: just name calling and aggression. If you argue against the expanded Social Spending, you hate minorities. If you question the policies of the President, you’re a racist. And if you dare go to a “Tea Party” rally, you’re just part of some “Astroturf” protest.
Right now, their actions are akin to beating us over the head with a cane. They offer no justification. They simply attack, trying to beat us into submission, and their supporters are shouting, “Hit Him Again!” What we, as Conservatives, must do is to stand our ground, take our lumps, and come back STRONGER. Like Sumner, we’ve been battered, but we aren’t beaten, and we are now recovering…and they are SCARED! Don’t let up and don’t give up. Push your candidates to be CONSERVATIVES, and make sure they know what’s at risk. We can’t go back to politics as usual, and we can’t just elect Progressives of a Different Party.
Let them break their canes. It only makes us stronger.
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