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It has been reported to me that Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) ("my" congressman) said this at a "town hall meeting" in Orange Beach, AL yesterday, March 22. I haven't seen it reported in MSM yet.
I'm working on a reply (below) to go out to major dailies in Alabama, but in the meantime, if you have seen a report of this happening please let me know where. Link if possible.
Thanks,
trof
Author's note: I do not like to write about occurrences when I don't have first-hand knowledge of them. The words of one of my journalism professors, many years ago, echo in my thoughts. He claimed it was wisdom passed to him by his childhood nursemaid. "It ain't what you DON'T know that gets you in trouble. It's what you DO know that ain't so." Indeed. Even so, the quote I write about below comes to me from an eyewitness whose recollection and truthfulness I trust implicitly.
America...love it or leave it?
Did Jo Bonner really say that?
I was out of town and unable to attend one of Rep. Josiah Bonner's (R-AL) "Town Hall Meetings" in Baldwin County on Tuesday, March 22. But I heard about them. Oh yes, I heard a lot about them.
I must commend Rep. Bonner. His town hall meetings are not nearly so controlled nor as scripted at George W. Bush's. Unlike the Bush "pep rallies", I understand attendees at Rep. Bonner's meetings are not required to obtain tickets beforehand, nor are they chosen from a roster of "approved" supporters. Evidently there's not even a list of "undesirables" who would be summarily turned away. Perhaps because of this, it's impossible for all questions or comments from the audience to be previously vetted and scripted.
Unfortunately, some of Tuesday's gatherings didn't go quite as smoothly as hoped. Again unlike the Bush public relations/propaganda shows, participants (both Democrat and Republican, I am told) did not go along with absolutely every action of the current Washington administration. Each and every of these actions are apparently wholeheartedly endorsed by Rep. Bonner.
Many citizens who attended questioned and commented on the Iraq invasion and subsequent aftermath, the cost and conduct of same, the record-breaking federal deficit, and, of course, the proposed privatization of Social Security. I understand how frustrating it can be to meet with constituents who do not completely share your opinions, especially constituents who may actually oppose and disapprove of what you want to do.
Maybe it was because of the frustration level, and maybe it was also just the end of a tiring day, but towards the conclusion of one meeting a member of the audience quoted Rep. Bonner as saying "If you don't like it in America, then you can leave!"
"America...love it or leave it." I thought we had gotten past this short-sighted, anti-democratic, and un-American bumper-sticker mentality after Viet Nam. Wiser and cooler heads prevailed. "If you don't like it, change it." is the remedy endorsed by the vast majority of freedom loving Americans. That's the great thing about living in a democratic republic. If we don't like the course our elected leaders have set out upon, we can change them and change that course of action.
Maybe it's time for such a change.
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