Oj, Gop Activists, Foley, Haggard And Rush – Much In Common
The classic definition of chutzpah is generally given as, a boy is on trial for murdering his parents, and he begs for leniency, because he is an orphan. The term has many English close-synonyms, but none quite capture the flavor of the Yiddish. Some terms that come close are gall, arrogance or hubris, the latter term itself defined as overconfident pride and arrogance.
There have recently been a spate of instances which illustrate the essence of chutzpah.
OJ’s new book, I didn’t kill them, but if I had . . .
On June 12, 1994, O.J. Simpson’s former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman were found dead outside Brown’s condominium. Simpson was soon charged with their murders. The arrest and trial were among the most widely publicized in American history. On October 3, 1995, Simpson was found not guilty of the two murders. Notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, only four people in the entire country felt Mr. Simpson had not killed them.
Three years later, in a civil suit for wrongful death, the Brown and Goldman families won a verdict against Simpson for $33.5 million. Since the standard of proof for a criminal verdict is “beyond all reasonable doubt” and that of a civil trial, “a preponderance of the evidence”, the judicial determination is that he is between 51% and 99% guilty!
Now, in 2006, after, according to Simpson, searching for the “real” murderer (on golf courses throughout Florida), Simpson has written a book and is the subject of a Fox special (“fair and balanced”) in which he outlines how he would have murdered Brown and Goldman, were he the one responsible for the killings. Simpson is said to be making $3.5 million for this exploitation, par for the course for a man who did the same to many of his trusted friends, who after learning all of the facts under oath said clear and convincingly—he did it.
GOP operatives assert that Bill Clinton’s presidency was marred by his preoccupation with sex and scandal.
Pure chutzpah is the criticism of Bill Clinton’s presidency by GOP stalwarts that his administration was marred by his preoccupation with sex scandals and the aftermath of the Whitewater investigations surrounding loyal estate transactions in Arkansas. The Whitewater investigations, pursued by right-wing conservative opponents of President Clinton, failed to establish any wrong doing on his part or that of his wife. Some individuals went so far as to accuse Mr. or Mrs. Clinton of murder! The eventual impeachment of Mr. Clinton was a result of those same voices trying to transform a private, albeit gloomy, personal scandal into a matter of region. The Clinton administration was characterized by peace, a budget surplus, a reduction in governmental size and operations and, in addition, the longest sustained period of economic growth in American history.
What could have been accomplished if his opponents had not taken the position that Mr. Clinton was a usurper of George Bush (# 41)’s right to be president and that any fabrications or innuendo were permissible to destroy him.
Mark Foley, Chutzpah or just hypocrisy?
Mark Foley, recently resigned Florida Congressman, is an example of chutzpah, not because he is gay. He was “outed” as a result of suggestive e-mail messages to congressional pages. My problem with Mr. Foley is that he was a leader in the anti-gay bashing program of the Republican party.
When an alternative newspaper in South Florida ran an article headlined, ”’Why won’t U.S. Congressman Mark Foley just say that he’s gay? ”’ Mr. Foley held a news conference to complain about the ”’revolting and unforgivable”’ speculation. He was a leader in the fight to enact the Defense of Marriage Act and was quite vociferous in his gay bashing.
It’s OK to be gay, but to condemn others who are is inexcusable.
While building a spiritual empire that became one of the most influential evangelical operations in American politics, the Rev. Ted Haggard “staked out gay bars, engrossing men to come to his church,” according to a May 2005 profile of the pastor in Harper’s magazine.
Haggard — who led both the 30 million-strong National Association of Evangelicals and his own 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado — endured a mighty fall from grace, power and political influence, after admitting to “thinking thoughts and experiencing desires that were contrary to everything I fill and teach.
“The fact is, I am guilty of sexual immorality,” Haggard wrote in a letter read to his parishioners. His confession came days after a gay male escort accused the charismatic Christian leader of moving in crystal meth-fueled sex with him for more than three years. Again, the issue is not whether the Rev. Mr. Haggard is or is not homosexual or a drug user; the issue is that he had condemned gay people and drug users to Hell repeatedly over the years.
And then there’s Rush. . .
Rush Limbaugh has made a career out of right-wing messages sent to his “Dittoheads”, those folks who, without examination, simply accept what he spouts. On October 5, 1995, Limbaugh supported harsh penalties for those who were druggies, especially white people:
“What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with drug sales. Too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The acknowledge to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we’re not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.”
It is Mr. Limbaugh’s right to espouse those opinions, but at the same time he now admits being addicted to drugs. Huh?
Even Rush’s political right-wing drivel was apparently not sincere. After the mid-term election results were known, Limbaugh blithely acknowledged that he had been disingenuous in supporting some conservatives. Actually, he had lied!
There will be hypocrites and those who illustrate chutzpah forever. We must be alert to identify them and grant them no leniency.
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Filed under Wrongful Death Case by on Jan 24th, 2012. 