The Political Universe 09.25.07
Posted by Jason Easley on 09.25.2007
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a controversial appearance at Columbia University on Monday. However, the controversy wasn’t in what he said, but that he spoke at all. I’ll tell you why the American people should be more concerned about those who don’t care about free speech than the remarks of the Iranian president. Plus Arnold speaks to the UN about climate change, and I’ll discuss why the Republican Party would be wise to take a page for the Terminator’s book. All of this and plenty more is inside the Tuesday editon of this column.
The debate over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Columbia University and free speech
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a controversial appearance at Columbia University in New York City on Monday. What was controversial wasn't anything that he said during the speech, but the fact that he was invited to speak at all. Those on the right like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) believe that Ahmadinejad should never have been invited to speak, and apparantly prejudged the Iranian's remarks before he ever said a word.
"By opening its gates to this man's hateful ideology, Columbia University is allowing him to take full advantage of a golden opportunity to spread it — and giving it a level of deference it does not deserve… There is a world of difference between not preventing Ahmadinejad from speaking and handing a megalomaniac a megaphone, and a stage to use it," McConnell said.
Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said, "A man who is directing the maiming and killing of Americans troops should not be given an invitation to speak at an American university. Rather than rolling out the red carpet for the leader of a terrorist-sponsoring regime, Columbia should be welcoming the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) back on campus to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line every day defending our freedom."
It seems that this criticism got to Columbia University President Lee Bollinger who attempted to use his introductory remarks to turn the audience against Ahmadinejad. "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said. He assailed the Iranian president's denying" of the Holocaust as "ridiculous" and "dangerous propaganda." He said that Ahmadinejad is either brazenly provocative "or astonishingly uneducated."
Ahmadinejad won the audience over a bit after these remarks by replying, "I think the text read by the dear gentleman here, more than addressing me, was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here, present here. In a university environment we must allow people to speak their mind, to allow everyone to talk so that the truth is eventually revealed by all." Ahmadinejad's speech to the audience was fairly tame. He did hint at his anti-Jewish feelings, and question the official explaination of 9/11.
However he also said, "We love all nations. We are friends with the Jewish people. There are many Jews living in Iran with security. You must understand that in our constitution and our laws and the parliamentary elections for every 150,000 people we get one representative in the parliament. For the Jewish community one-fifth of this number they still get one independent representative in the parliament. Our proposal to the Palestinian plight is a humanitarian and a democratic proposal. What we say is that to solve this 60-year problem, we must allow the Palestinian people to decide about its future for itself."
He also defended Iran's right to have a nuclear program. "Some big powers create a monopoly over science and prevent other nations in achieving scientific development as well. This, too, is one of the surprises of our time. Some big powers do not want to see the progress of other societies and nations. They turn to thousands of reasons; make allegations, place economic sanctions to prevent other nations from developing and advancing, all resulting from their distance from human values and the teachings of the divine prophets. Regretfully, they have not been trained to serve mankind."
Let me be perfectly clear, Ahmadinejad's speech was propaganda, but to me the question is, do Americans have the right to hear from the Iranian president himself, and make up their own minds about Iran? I think that Columbia University has the right to invite anybody that they want to come speak at their school. It isn't up to critics like McCain, Romney, or McConnell to tell us who can and can't hear from. If Ahmadinejad wants to make a fool of himself by questioning the Holocaust or the official explaination for 9/11, that's fine with me.
The right to free speech means that sometimes we are all going to have to listen to things that we dislike or disagree with, but an individual's ability to express their views is one of the things that makes America great. President Bush was right on the money when he said that if Columbia University thinks that having Ahmadinejad speak is an educational experience then, "I guess it's OK with me." Bush also told Fox News that this, "speaks volumes about really the greatness of America." I think the American people should be tired of having their media filtered, and it blows my mind that some people have no problem with the repression of free speech.
Giving Ahmadinejad a public forum works against the war mongers out there who would love nothing more than to paint him as the next Hitler. People like Sen. Joe Lieberman, McConnell, and McCain ,who seem to be crusading for a war with Iran, apparently don't understand that ramifications of taking a hard line with the Iranian government. It it debatable how important Ahmadinejad is within Iran, but no one should be questioning Columbia University's right to have him speak, or the American people's right to hear his views.
TPU Radio: Why are the 2008 Republicans ignoring minorities?
The big question on this week's radio show is why are the top candidates for the 2008 GOP nomination ignoring minorities? Do they seriously believe they can win in '08 with only conservative white votes? You can check out what George,Will, and I had to say on this topic and much more by using the media player below.
Arnold goes to the UN to talk about climate change
One of the most interesting stories in American politics has been the rise of Republican California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leading elected official in the United States in the battle against global warming. Yesterday, Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations on climate change and California's role as a leader on this issue.
"California is mobilizing—technologically, financially and politically—to fight global climate change. Now, we are not alone. While California is leading in the U.S., we are building on the work of the European countries who have led the way up to now. England has already met its Kyoto goals. Germany has pioneered solar. The EU has led with its trading system. But California, because of its unique position, is on the cutting edge of what is to come. And what is coming will benefit the countries and peoples represented in this chamber. Last year in California, we enacted groundbreaking greenhouse gas emission standards. We enacted the world's first low carbon fuel standard. Do I believe California's standards will solve global warming? No. What we're doing is changing the dynamic, preparing the way and encouraging the future," Schwarzenegger said.
Arnold also talked about the future. "Last year alone, California received more than $1.1 billion in clean tech investment. This amount is expected to grow 20-30% a year for a decade. More venture capital is being invested in clean tech than in telecommunications. So, what does all this mean for the nations in this chamber? The cell phone, which started as a tool for the rich, is now widespread in the developing world. The price has dropped dramatically. The same thing will happen with environmental technologies. And it is in the developed world's best interests to help the poor nations finance these advancements. When it comes to the environment, the technologies are changing; the economics are changing; the urgency is changing."
He went on to say that he believes that climate changed can be reversed and that it is time to look forward instead of looking backwards at the Kyoto protocol. It is common for most program innovations to occur at the state level, but it is rare that a governor, not only shows more leadership than the president, but also shows more leadership on an issue than his national party. I am no expert on Schwarzenegger's performance as governor, but the national GOP would be wise to take a page out of his book and jump on the global warming issue.
Arnold is demonstrating that Republicans can at the very least talk like they care about the environment. We all know though that the national Republican Party is stuck in the Stone Age, and the old, white, male dinosaurs who rule the party would never ever think that conservatism and environmental values are compatible. Props to Arnold for having a clue, and let's call this reason # 6,844 that the GOP is going down in flames.
Mark has your PC Live wrap up. Mark's show is just like mine, only with more poultry.
Andy Bracken is back with more politics from Down Under. Go read his A Tainted View.
Joe Rivett proclaims the MoveOn ad a hit. What nobody has mentioned is that the conservative screaming over this dumb ad was just another sad attempt to create a distraction issue to divert attention away from the important issues.
That's it for me today. I'll be back on late/Wednesday/early Thursday with a wrap up of Wednesday's Democratic debate, and I'll be around again on Friday with more political news and views. Have a great week.
"Republicans are still angry about this 10-day-old MoveOn.org ad. You know, the General Petraeus, he betrayed us. And the Senate actually voted to condemn an ad. That's what your government did yesterday, they held a vote to pass a resolution to condemn an ad with a pun it in. And then they had oreos and braided each other's hair." --Bill Maher
"The president of Iran ... is coming to New York to address the United Nations. Why isn't his name on the no-fly list? ... And you don't want to get stuck behind him in the security line. How long would that take? Actually, you know he'd go through the line in two minutes, but they'd strip search the 85-year-old grandmother standing behind him. " --Jay Leno
"Last night, yet another Democratic presidential debate. ... The Democratic presidential candidates took part in a debate sponsored by the senior citizen group AARP. To win over the crowd, each candidate came out strongly against the War of 1812" --Conan O'Brien
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