You've never sacrificed anything for your country. Did you know that? You may have worked hard for your entire life, you've dutifully paid your taxes, you've given to charities, you've been there to help your neighbor when he needs it, you've chopped the wood, dug the ditches, operated the machine, tilled the field, and raised a family. But you haven't sacrificed anything for your country.
Captain Humayun Kahn was killed by an IED in Iraq in 2004 as his Humvee was patrolling a neighborhood in a stupid war supported by Hillary Clinton and waged by George W. Bush. His death, like all deaths in most modern wars, is tragic. His death was 12 years ago. In that 12 year period, Obama withdrew from Iraq, leaving a power vacuum now occupied by ISIS and Russia. Clinton supported the withdrawal, which has turned out to be the second greatest strategic blunder the U.S. has committed in that region. Tens of millions of people have been killed, tortured, raped, enslaved, or displaced as a result of that epic lack of judgment. But that's not what Clinton or the media want to talk about. They want to talk about racial politics, and they used the memory of Captain Kahn to do it.
Who knows what Captain Kahn would've thought of his leaders 12 years later. Who knows whether he would've voted for Hillary Clinton, or voted at all. I would venture to guess that his feelings would mirror those of most other veterans, who felt sick as they watched ISIS march into hard fought towns like Fallujah, where so many of their friends were killed. I would also venture to guess that Captain Kahn, like most other veterans, was not thinking about his racial or religious background the day he died.
The Clinton campaign put Captain Kahn's father on the stage of the Democratic National Convention, not to celebrate his son's life, not to highlight the importance of fighting terrorism, not to honor the memories of all our fallen Iraq War veterans. No, it was none of those things. Hillary Clinton wanted Captain Kahn's father to talk about his son's race and religion and use his death to accuse Donald Trump, and anyone else who wants to suspend immigration or build a wall, of being racists. Moreover, as Mr. Kahn intimated, unless you've served or lost a child to the service, "you haven't sacrificed anything" for your country.
The Media, of course, loved it. His speech was a perfect amalgamation of all things progressive; race, religion, identity politics, and an opportunity to insult Americans who want to curtail illegal immigration and keep terrorists out. The problem is, the media and Hillary Clinton are in the minority in their views. In three different polls, anywhere between 48% and 54% of Americans (all Americans) support a "temporary ban on Muslim immigration." If the question is phrased in terms of banning "immigration from Muslim countries that support terrorism," the percentage jumps up significantly. Likewise, Rasmussen, NBC and FoxNews polls show that anywhere between 51% and 55% of Americans (again, all Americans) support "building the wall."
The message coming out of the Democratic Convention to the majority of Americans is this: You are a racist bigot who never sacrificed anything for your country.
The Clinton campaign used Captain Kahn's family to deliver those insults to Americans in flyover country, assuming that a Gold Star Family would be beyond reproach. It was clever and cynical, but they were right. That said, it represents the worst of Establishment politics and Progressive ideology. "You didn't build that;" "you've never sacrificed anything for your country;" "you are a bigot," and "you're not allowed to argue with me about it because I have a protected status."
Do not be fooled. These are insults, regardless of who says them. They may also be the determining factor in this election as they were in the primaries. Americans are sick of being told that they are stupid, lazy, bigots by a bunch of elites who in turn ask us to sacrifice even more of our hard work on the alter of liberalism.
Trump is often a poor messenger for those of us who are now staunchly opposed to Establishment politics. He is clumsy and often misses the mark with his criticism. To some degree, that's what people like about him. He is genuine, even if he is sometimes inarticulate, but it is pretty obvious that Americans are open to his message. Part of the reason for this is that the liberal Establishment continues to insult and out right harm white, blue collar workers who make up a huge portion of the electorate. When Hillary Clinton promises to "put a lot of miners out of work," she is telling the truth. When Mr. Kahn, speaking on behalf of the Clinton campaign, accuses Donald Trump or people like him of having never sacrificed anything for the country, those same miners hear it. It is doubtful that they are impressed by that message.
The tenor and tone of American politics has fallen far below what should be acceptable to voters. However, it is voter anger that is fueling much of that negative tone, and the anger stems from the complete and utter failure of the political Establishment to govern effectively. For example, Captain Kahn should never have been in Iraq in the first place, but he was, due to the poor judgment of our leaders in both parties. If you want to honor his sacrifice, vote for the candidate that won't send our heroes to fight a perpetual war without any strategy for victory.
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