Sick, disgusting, and evil. These are the words that come to mind when I read about the billboard paid for the Ralph Smeed Foundation, an Idaho-based group that espouses limited government and individual liberty. Twenty-six miles out of Boise anyone can read the message comparing President Barack Obama and James Holmes, who killed 12 people and wounded another 49 in an Aurora movie theater.
“Kills 12 in a movie theater with assault rifle, everyone freaks out,” reads the sign’s left half, which displays a photo of Holmes. “Kills thousands with foreign policy, wins Nobel Peace Prize,” reads the right side of the panel, which shows a photo of Obama. The point of this vicious complaint about the president is what the foundation perceives as the president’s handling of the Afghanistan war.
Conservatives now accuse the president and his supporters of blaming George W. Bush for the problems that the country has. They ignore the fact that Bush declared war on the basis of a lie about the existence of “weapons of mass destruction” and to satisfy his own personal ego.
This hateful, offensive act follows several years of bigoted behavior about the first part-black president. Conservatives ignored all the killing done in the eight years before the election of Barack Obama; now they will do anything to get rid of the man who wants only to help the people of this country—which includes the people who despise him.
When I first read about this billboard, I thought it was another piece of satire. Sadly, it’s true. How much farther can the hate mongers of this country go?!
