Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has caught a bit of the media spotlight lately, after her and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's visit with their gravely wounded friend Gabby Giffords coincided with a major physical sign of recovery Wednesday.
Gillibrand has told her heartfelt and moving story of what happened when Gabby first opened her eyes on her own on several cable and network news shows, including this morning on Morning Joe.
Here's some of what she said (h/t Think Progress):
(Giffords) embodies everything that President Obama was trying to say that we have to be better than we are, that we all have to conduct ourselves better than we do.
Pretty uncontroversial and nonpolitical, especially in a culture that prizes and pursues self-improvement.
Unless you're that paragon of perfection Rush Limbaugh, who slammed Gillibrand on his show today.
Details, and a great pic of three friends, below.
Before we get to Limbaugh's latest faux outrage about nothing, here's a nice photo of Giffords, Gillibrand and Wasserman Schultz in better days:
Here's Limbaugh's take on Gillibrand saying we should try to be better:
What I don’t like about this is the assumption that we are no good! The premise that we are no good! Yes that’s true. We really stink. We have to work a lot harder to become better people. We are going to really have to work harder to become better than we are. Who are they to castigate all the rest of us?! If they want to catagorize some of us as not good enough, fine and dandy! But who are they? Why do we have to listen to these people tell us we’re not as good as we can be? What message are we supposed to hear here? What’s the message that we have to -– we’re all ready for improvement? The GOP is supposed to capitulate? That’s how we get along with everybody?
Limbaugh makes up a premise strawman -- that Gillibrand is really saying "we are no good ... we really stink" -- and then attacks that figment of his fevered imagination.
His point is to portray himself and other conservatives as victims, yet again, of a sneaky liberal, media-promoted slur -- this one with the hidden meaning, heard only by Limbaugh, that Gillibrand is calling on the GOP to capitulate.
Read what Gillibrand said, or even better watch her say it at the above link, and you will not find any hint of partisanship or the arrogance of the self-styled perfect person.
Read or listen to what Limbaugh said, and that's all you get.
This is a microcosm of a basic philosophical divide between liberals and conservatives.
Liberals believe the country can be better, can make progress on a wide range of domestic and foreign issues.
Conservatives believe the country is already perfect, exceptional is the synonym used a lot lately, and that any progress would diminish that perfection/exceptionalism.
Hopefully, those who represent us in the federal government will listen more to Obama and Gillibrand, and less to provocateurs like Limbaugh who profit from preaching hateful division to their fearful flock.
P.S. Gillibrand will be on "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press" Sunday, I believe it's the first time she's been on any of the Sunday shows. Must-see TV, IMHO.