Dissent is Patriotic? Not Under the Obama Administration

From Debra Saunders, "Dissent is Patriotic - Not":

Imagine it's four years ago and an aide to President George W. Bush posted a blog on the Whitehouse.gov Web site that bemoaned Internet criticism of the Iraq war, then continued: "These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain e-mails or through casual conversations.

we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an e-mail or see something on the Web about anti-war protests that seem fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

Substitute the words "health insurance reform" for "anti-war protests," and you get the exact wording of a blog posted by Macon Phillips, the White House director of new media, on Tuesday.

"I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward e-mails critical of his politics to the White House," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wrote in a letter to President Obama. "I suspect that you would have been leading the charge in condemning such a program."

No lie.

Now I don't think Obamaland was working on an "enemies list" - as some conservatives have charged. But I do want to note how deftly the left has abandoned its old rallying cry, "Dissent is patriotic" ...

I want to be clear: I want nothing to do with any protesters who carry swastikas, hang our leaders in effigy or show up to disrupt when a duly-elected official speaks. Over the years, I've seen too many signs depicting the president as a Nazi and too many extremists who think they are so right that they don't have to respect the free-speech rights of others.

The problem is: When anti-Bush protesters behaved badly, when Code Pinkers shouted and anti-war protesters brandished signs with swastikas, they did not rate nearly as much press scrutiny as the ObamaCare protesters. There seems to be the impression in my profession that comparisons of Bush with Hitler were to be expected, but not of Obama with Hitler. That's below the belt.

Below the belt ... that pretty much summarizes all the Democratic activities of late, from the White House down to the local union office. (Read the whole thing at the link.)

Cartoon Credit: Nate Beeler, "In Defense of Dissent on Health Care Reform."