The Memory of Coretta Scott King and the GOP Spin

Yesterday, I was able to catch some of the eulogies from the Coretta Scott King funeral on CSPAN. There were many moving speeches from Atallah Shabazz (daughter of Malcolm X), Reverend Joseph Lowry, President Jimmy Carter, and President Bill Clinton. Oh, and W was there too.

President Clinton received a standing ovation from the congregation. I’m sure that this was very hard for W to comprehend. President Clinton spoke about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. He spoke about how it is everyone’s responsibility to keep their legacy alive. During the speech, W remained slouched in his chair, looking like a child that was dragged off to church. The former presidents (including father Bush) looked very presidential and their speaking skills were very presidential. W? Not so much.

Shortly after the funeral last week, the Republicans had already started their spin. The Republicans cried foul and claimed that they were playing politics at the woman’s funeral. This comes from remarks made by Reverend Joseph Lowry (“there were no weapons of mass destruction”) and President Jimmy Carter (“The King family were victims of domestic spying”). Why did the Republicans do this? Partly because it was a funeral of a well known figure in history and they knew it would be reported on and because their beloved president was there, all by himself in front of an unscreened audience listening to what real Americans think about his policies. Did the Republicans pay any respect to a civil rights leader? No, they wanted to play the victim card. This is the same tactic they used after Senator Paul Wellstone’s funeral. Never mind the fact that their lives were about politics. I’m sure if these members of the Republican party were around for Dr. Martin Luther King’s funeral and Bobby Kennedy’s funeral, they would have done the same.

This is a typical response from the right. Knock down your opponent, claim them as un-patriotic when they disagree, claim that they are on the side of the enemy, and make yourself out as the victim. They want to say that liberals are wimps, but who are the ones crying every time the Democrats speak out?

So who has had a long history of being victimized? Is it the Republican party? Why not ask the congregation at Coretta Scott King’s funeral.

Worth reading: “Whitewashing a Legacy” from Democratic Underground.