At this point it appears that you're going to just ignore reality and gainsay anthing you don't agree with.
I could say the same exact thing.
Organizations like MoveOn.org, InternationalAnswer, etc. have the membership numbers, budgets, and gravitas in the left wing orbit that shows they are representative of leftist thought in America. Or do organizations with hundreds of thousands of members and that can muster similar numbers for antiwar demonstrations not count somehow?
See the problem is that you're confusing anti-war with the leftist ideology, making the erroneous assumption that just because they're against the war that they represent the liberal ideology. Neither is inherently dependent on the other; they are not mutually inclusive. You're also still making the mistake that the anti-war movement is not patriotic.
You can claim "it isn't true" until the cows come home, solid evidence that would convinve any open minded person is abundent.
Example: A Code Pink demonstrator, who was invited to attend a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee session by Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA), attacking Secretary of State Rice:
How is Code Pink able to get this access, at the behest of Rep. Lantos (D-CA) one of the leaders of the political left in America, if they aren't in the leftist mainstream?
Maybe the same way the NRA is able to get access to leaders of the political right even though they don't represent the righty mainstream? Hurr.
No, again you're simply gainsaying anything you disagree with. Actions and statements by the political left in this country, which include things like thier expressed hope that the US military is defeated in Iraq, are clearly unpatriotic by any objective definition.
And once again, you're not only assuming that the anti-war position is specific to the left but you're implying that all left leaning folk (I guess we can use the word liberals?) are hoping for military defeat in Iraq. Or even the majority. Or even a significant portion.
Obama's refusal to show the common respect for the symbols of this nation, together with his tacit approval of 20 years of the rabid anti-Americanism of his pastor are strong indicators of a lack of patriotism on his part.
(BTW- his support for UN taxing authority over Americans is another.)
That's simply
your view and still doesn't alter the definition of patriotism nor does it justify pushing your belief that ones patriotism is shown by one's actions in front of the flag. There are pictures of Obama with his hand on his heart during the pledge and he sometimes
leads the Senate in saying the pledge.
What
you define as common respect does not necessarily mean others have to be held to that standard. I don't put my hand on my chest during the pledge. I don't even say it. But that in no way makes me less patriotic than you nor does it make me respect the flag any less.
Strawman argument, I never said that one couldn't. Look at the Stormfront website sometime for some extremely unpatriotic images and statements.
One logical fallacy in response to another. You're welcome.
The shrill anti-Americanism of the political left
Again, your perception. Doesn't make your view correct.
I've found I'm pretty liberal on a number of issue but that in no way makes me anti-American nor does it make anyone else that disagrees with the war or conservative beliefs anti-American. Again, patriotism is not a left/right issue. The right does not have a monopoly on it nor does it get to define it.
goes well beyond minor things like refusing to stand for the National Anthem or refusing to place thier hand over thier heart. And again, another strawman argument here, I never said that these things were the primary indicators of a lack of patriotism on the political left.
But those were the things you brought up and were referring to when claiming that anti-american beliefs stem from the left. Not my fault if they were the crux of your argument.
Come on down to Washington D.C. sometime. I'll take you over to watch the daily "Code Pink" harassment of the wounded Gulf War Vets outside the Walter Reed Army Medical Center gates. Or perhaps such actions fall within your definition of patriotic behavior.
Sure, then we can go to Topeka and I'll take you over to watch the Westboro Baptist Church harassment. But again, another strawman in response to your own logical fallacy. Daily harassment of wounded vets, huh? You sure it's not harassment of the government that deployed them in the first place? Or can you show evidence of them
actually harassing individual vets every single day?
Bitch all you want about Code Pink but they don't represent the left as a whole nor is what they're doing - trying to stop a war they don't believe in - inherently unpatriotic. Some of their methods may be distasteful but what you're talking about doesn't even represent Code Pink as a whole. I may not agree with their methods - and in some cases, their message - but I don't call them anti-American or unpatriotic.
Back to the original point: patriotism is not a left/right issue. Obama's decision to not put his hand on his heart during that photo op does
nothing to show him as a "lefty" unless you're putting
your bias on top of it.