TEA PARTY

Alan Obermann recently provided us with an example of double-speak. Obermann is the coalition co-leader of the Moses Lake Grant County Tea Party and the author of a Jan. 20 guest editorial entitled "Tea Party addresses civility, recent rhetoric." 

Obermann thinks that using the language of gun violence in politics is really non-violent language. He thinks that asking for and end to the use of gun violence language in politics is really violent language.

For example, consider Sarah Palin. Palin is a leader in the Tea Party. She uses riflescope cross hairs on a map on her Web site to target vulnerable voter districts. She uses phrases like "lock and load." And yet Obermann writes that this is not violent language.

For comparison, Obermann considers President Barack Obama's recent speech in Arizona after the tragic shooting. President Obama called for an end to the use of the language of gun violence in our political rhetoric. And yet Obermann writes that liberals "really are violent and uncivil." 

Perhaps in future essays Obermann can claim that black is really white and that up is really down.

Dennis Knepp

Moses Lake