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Al Sharpton just may be right about the need to remove offensive statues from the American public way.

I'd been somewhat torn on the idea of erasing history by tearing down statues, even Civil War Confederate statues, since destroying public imagery and iconography isn't the kind of thing Americans do.

Actually, it's the kind of thing that ISIS does.

But Sharpton, the noted race hustler, helped me see things in a different way.

Usually, I don't listen to him. But he was interviewed on the Charlie Rose program and talked compellingly about the need to remove statues of white men of the South who fought in the Civil War for a South that wanted to keep slavery.

He said, rightly, that such statues are offensive to many African-Americans.

But he also said that such images should be removed, perhaps taken to private museums.

Sharpton also added that public funding of other offensive reminders of America's racist past, including the Jefferson Memorial, should stop.

"When you look at the fact that public monuments are supported by public funds, you are asking me to subsidize the insult of my family," Sharpton said. "And I would repeat that the public should not be paying to uphold somebody who had that kind of background. We're talking about, here, an open display of bigotry announced, and over and over again."

Thomas Jefferson, founding father, is the author of the Declaration of Independence, widely considered to be the most eloquent appeal for human liberty that has ever been written.

But Jefferson was also a slave owner who raped his slaves. That's history.

As an African-American, Sharpton believes that using federal tax dollars to subsidize the Jefferson Memorial is wrong. And even though the flames of Cultural Revolution are burning hot, you can understand this.

History is important, but history can also be quite offensive.

But there's one thing wrong with Sharpton. It's not that he goes too far. It's that he doesn't go far enough.

Because if he and others of the Cultural Revolution were being intellectually honest, they'd demand that along with racist statues, something else would be toppled.

And this, too, represents much of America's racist history:

The Democratic Party.

Jonathan Lemire and Darlene Superville

The Democratic Party historically is the party of slavery. The Democratic Party is the party of Jim Crow laws. The Democratic Party fought civil rights for a century.

And so by rights or at least by the standards established by the Cultural Revolutionaries of today's American left we should ban the Democratic Party.

Not only get rid of it in the present, but strike its very name from the history books, and topple all Democratic statues of leaders who benefited, prospered and became wealthy by cleaving to the party. And shame Democrats until they confess the truth of it.

The Democratic Party's military arm in the South was the KKK. The Democratic Party opposed the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, making the former slaves citizens of the United States and giving them the vote.

If the new Cultural Revolution was serious, wouldn't it also demand that the Democratic Party be put in a museum somewhere, away from decent people, along with those Confederate statues?

We could put Democrats in exhibits, behind glass, watching white political bosses chomp cigars and pass out goodies for votes, as minorities were relegated, as they are today, to failing schools and lost educational opportunity and neighborhoods that have become killing fields for the young and old.

And in great museums, the Democrats could be studied, safely, without endangering the sensibilities of the children.

We might even peer down on an animatronic Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, once a leader of the KKK. And with him, prominent animatronic Democrats who, just a few short years ago, said wonderful, moving things about Byrd after his funeral.

That's how it is with history. You can't say the Democratic Party wasn't the slavery party. It's historical fact.

Just as it is also historical fact that the Republican Party was the party of abolitionists.

I mentioned this to a Democrat who was all for the removal of Confederate statues in the South, and I told him I wasn't all that opposed, either.

He thought I was being sarcastic. But when I reminded him that his party was the slavery party, the KKK party, the anti-civil rights party from the 1860s to the 1960s, and should be put into a museum, he made a sour face.

"You're really taking this satire too far," he said. "The Democratic Party isn't a statue. It's an institution."

If the Cultural Revolutionaries want to topple statues, they can be my guest. They're so inflamed lately and if you don't believe it, just read the papers that if you dare disagree with them, you run the risk of being denounced by their high priests as a bigot or as someone without moral character.

My guess is that most Americans are afraid of social punishment. So, the offensive statues will go, and then perhaps offensive iconography, offensive images, offensive books.

One book comes to mind. Let me quote a passage from it.

"Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right."

George Orwell. "1984."

Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast with John Kass and Jeff Carlin at http://wgnradio.com/category/wgn-plus/thechicagoway.

jskass@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @John_Kass

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While we're toppling offensive symbols, what about the Democratic Party? - Chicago Tribune

(1 of ) A wall of flames hundreds of feet high burn on a ridge above Rowan Road south of Lolo, Montana, early Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. About 400 homes south and west of Lolo were evacuated because of the proximity of the Lolo Peak fire. (Kurt Wilson /The Missoulian via AP) (2 of ) A tree explodes into flames as the wind whips up the southern front of a wildfire as it burns near Sisters, Ore., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. (Andy Tullis /The Bulletin via AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS | August 18, 2017, 12:53PM

| Updated 14 hours ago.

LOLO, Mont. One of several wildfires burning in Montana destroyed two homes after jumping control lines as firefighters braved another day Friday of high temperatures, gusty winds and low humidity.

The homes, southwest of the town of Lolo, were among 750 residences evacuated after the fire, started by lightning in July, blew up late Wednesday. Several outbuildings were burned late Thursday.

"We've got a couple of very challenging days ahead of us," fire operations manager Mark Goeller said late Thursday. "You're going to see a lot of smoke in the air and a lot of ash fallout."

The blaze burned nearly 30 square miles (76 square kilometers) of forest land. Evacuations were in effect along the U.S. Highway 93 and U.S. Highway 12 corridors. The town of Florence was under an evacuation warning.

Fire commander Greg Poncin said the fire is going to burn for a long time, and he did not know how long people would be out of their homes.

"I wish at this point I could give you a definitive answer," Poncin said.

Heavy smoke from other wildfires made air quality hazardous in the town of Seeley Lake in northwestern Montana and unhealthy in Butte.

In Oregon, more than two dozen wildfires were burning around the state, including 10 fires in the so-called "zone of totality" for Monday's solar eclipse. Totality is when the moon appears to completely blot out the sun.

The blazes prompted authorities to close large portions of Mt. Jefferson Wilderness and Three Sisters Wilderness, both in central Oregon's Willamette National Forest and both considered top eclipse-viewing locations.

Residents about 6 miles (10 kilometers) west of Three Sisters were told to prepare for evacuation after a wildfire there grew Thursday.

In California, crews fighting a fire in Yosemite National Park were trying to guide the flames away from the small town of Wawona and into wilderness. The fire has closed campgrounds and trails in the park but authorities have not ordered anyone to leave. No structures have been damaged.

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Growing Montana wildfire destroys 2 homes - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

If he decides to run, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine will be the most enigmatic and unpredictable candidate for Florida governor in 2018.

Many political elites doubt the self-described "radical centrist" entrepreneur will jump into a Democratic primary that already includes Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham and Winter Park businessman Chris King.

But the fact is Levine, 55, is far more likely to run than not, and he could quickly emerge as the Democratic front-runner. He intends to make his announcement in October.

Unlike the other, better-known multimillionaire considering a run (trial lawyer John Morgan), Levine is traveling the state talking to Democratic groups and raising money, and he has a core group of veteran political advisers on the payroll. (SiriusXM is promoting Levine's tour through Florida for a weekly radio show.)

Still, it's easy to see how people can doubt his level of interest in the Democratic nomination.

He almost never fires off press releases or tweets criticizing President Donald Trump or Gov. Rick Scott.

At a time when many liberals are hungry for a champion fighter, Levine dismisses Bernie Sanders' message.

"Bernie Sanders lost the Florida primary to Hillary Clinton, okay? I love the idea of a revolution, but unfortunately in South Florida the term 'revolution' doesn't sound like such a good idea," he quipped to a group of Democrats in Miami recently.

Last month, he sat down for a radio interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade and sounded like he was sympathetic to President Trump's attacks on CNN.

"I want Walter Cronkite to come back. I think we need objective news," Levine said when asked about Trump tweeting out a clip of himself body-slamming someone with a CNN logo over their face.

In May, Levine threw the door wide open to shunning the Democratic label and running as an independent candidate for governor.

"I love the Democratic Party. But you know what's interesting? I actually like the Republican Party, and I like a lot of Republican ideas, and I like a lot of the people in the Republican Party as well," he declared in Tampa, again more or less poking hard-core liberal Democrats in the eye.

Whether he was just winging it or seriously considering the move is unclear, but that door has closed. State law requires a candidate for governor to change parties more than 365 days before qualifying for office, and the deadline passed in June.

What's especially striking about Levine's pattern of inviting liberal partisans to attack or dismiss him is that he may have the most progressive record of any Democrat running.

He bucked state law to try to mandate a higher minimum wage in Miami Beach; he has been among the country's most vocal champions of combating sea level rise; he is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights; and he oversaw police department reforms.

Levine, a close pal of former President Bill Clinton, was all over national TV last year as a surrogate for Hillary Clinton. Some Florida political observers speculate that his media consultant, Adam Goodman of St. Petersburg an adviser to Republican Pam Bondi and a frequent Trump defender is largely shaping Levine's emphasis on nonpartisanship and bipartisanship.

Nope. Levine insists that's who he is and he believes it's the winning campaign message.

"It's no longer a party message," said Levine, who plans to attend a Pinellas Democratic Party meeting Thursday. "I really believe it's a message of being pro-business and being pro-people."

You don't win an election just by attacking the other guy, he says, you win by drawing people to you and offering solutions.

The Kumbaya talk belies his short fuse, which has popped up in frequent skirmishes with the Miami Herald on covering his administration, a videotape of him berating a double-parked delivery driver in Miami Beach and Twitter barbs ripping Airbnb.

"But this millionaire Democrat also is making headlines with words like 'tirade' and 'flies off handle' because of his off-the-cuff remarks and juvenile posts on social media," the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorialized in March. "With the gubernatorial field beginning to take shape, Democrats should be asking themselves whether they really want a nominee whose temperament draws comparisons to that of President Donald Trump."

Levine makes no apologies. He's not a career politician, but a businessman interested in results. He is finishing his second two-year term as part-time mayor, his first elective office, and in September will marry for the first time and welcome a baby boy.

The real model for leaders, Levine argues, can be found in the employee handbooks of innovating companies including Apple, Tesla, Amazon and Boeing. These are companies that value their employees and diversity and invest in them.

"It's a message of economic opportunity for everybody. It's not dividing, but unifying and bringing America together," Levine said.

Don't expect him to start criticizing the unpopular Republican president, as the other Democrats do.

"I may not respect the occupant of the office, but I respect the office," Levine said. "Right now he's the pilot, and I'm on the plane like everybody else. I don't wish the pilot failure. I want a smooth and safe landing."

A lot of campaign professionals would dismiss this feel-good talk as a nonstarter among rabidly partisan primary voters. They may be right. But the way the other Democratic candidates are struggling to raise money so far, nobody should underestimate the little-known mayor.

He has raised about $4 million for his political committee without hosting a single fundraising event. That includes nearly $2.6 million of his own money, and his campaign has signaled he may put in at least $10 million total.

The national leader he sees as the best model for Democrats?

"I'd have to say Michael Bloomberg, and I don't even know his party registration," Levine said of the billionaire former New York mayor, who is registered to neither major party.

Bloomberg looked at running for president in 2016 and concluded he couldn't win.

So far, Levine seems to think he can win Florida.

Contact Adam C. Smith at asmith@tampabay.com. Follow @adamsmithtimes.

Democrat Philip Levine won't attack Trump. Can he be Florida governor? 08/18/17 [Last modified: Friday, August 18, 2017 11:10am] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Democrat Philip Levine won't attack Trump. Can he be Florida governor? - Tampabay.com (blog)

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- It's Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield - and that means Republicans like Gov Rauner and President Trump are getting an earful.

A handful of Democratic officials stopped by the fair today but there was no formal event, the party did not have its traditional rally.

Instead, officials, activists and candidates packed the ballroom of a Springfield hotel for the breakfast.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth and House Speaking Michael Madigan to swings at the GOP.

We Democrats will campaign on a record of opposition to the Rauner hostage taking, Madigan said.

The Democratic candidates for governor also made an appearance.

There's a realization that too many people sat on the sideline during the last election and that resulted in the election of Donald Trump, Chris Kennedy said.

I plan to meet everybody I can meet in Illinois and do my best to secure a vote, Tio Hardiman said.

The candidates focused on Charlottesville attacking President Trump.

J.B. Pritzker said, Donald Trump is a racist and a bigot and a xenophobe and a liar.

Governor Rauner was also a favorite target and nearly every candidate took a shot at him.

We're talking about race and class and how Bruce Rauner pits poor white people against poor black and brown people, Ameya Pawar said.

Today, State Senator Daniel Biss scored the endorsement of Congresswoman Robin Kelly. Biss is pushing a progressive agenda.

Do we follow the herd or do we follow our hearts? he said.

Activists gave the biggest applause to 83-year-old Secretary of State Jesse White, who announced he will seek a sixth term.

I am your man and I will be at my duty station every day, he said.

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Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair - WGN-TV

U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur's new effort to write health care legislation intended to help stabilize insurance marketplaces without repealing the Affordable Care Act has garnered the attention of the Democrats interested in replacing him in Congress.

And they aren't exactly applauding him.

Democrats Andy Kim and Katherine Hartman took turns blasting the 3rd District Republican on Thursday for once again partnering with Rep. Mark Meadows on health care reform.

The North Carolina congressman chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and he was MacArthur's partner in writing a key amendment to the Republicans' Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace legislation that helped the measure garner enough votes to advance from the House.

This time around, the two are working on legislation intended to help stabilize individual insurance markets in some parts of the country that are in danger of collapsing due to rising premiums and the exodus of insurers willing to sell individual health plans.

Details about their proposal have not been released, but MacArthur has said it includes funding for cost-sharing reduction subsidies paid to insurers to keep out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments manageable for low- and moderate-income consumers.

The subsidies, which are separate from the ACA's tax credits awarded to consumers to help defer some of the expense of their premiums, have become the focus of the health care debate following the Senate's failure to pass an overhaul of "Obamacare."

Democrats and many Republicans have called for the subsidies to be funded and distributed, but President Donald Trump has called them a "bailout" for insurers and has threatened to withhold them.

MacArthur has said his plan would fund the subsidies and would also include provisions intended to bring down costs.

In his statement, Kim said MacArthur could not be trusted following his first foray into health care reform with Meadows.

"None of us will forget what MacArthur did by leading the charge to take away health care from millions of Americans. We can't trust anything he does after he authored one of the worst pieces of legislation that would jeopardize many lives," the Evesham resident said. "After he burned his bridges with the moderate Republicans' Tuesday Group, MacArthur is now working with the most extreme right-wing leaders who are strong supporters of Steve Bannon, refuse to condemn Trump's statements on Charlottesville, and just introduced a measure for a straight repeal of the ACA with no replacement."

Hartman, of Moorestown, said she was concerned that MacArthur would use funding for the cost-sharing reduction payments as cover to also try to weaken Affordable Care Act protections guaranteeing that insurers cover necessities such as hospitalization, prescription drugs, prenatal care, and mental illness and substance abuse treatment.

"The cost-sharing reduction payments need to be funded, with no change to essential benefits. The attempts by President Trump and congressional Republicans to hold these payments hostage is another example of putting politics over the needs of constituents," Hartman said. "This gamesmanship will negatively affect the people of our district, and I will not stand for it. We cannot play games with people's health."

Chris Russell, a consultant and spokesman for MacArthur's re-election campaign, said that MacArthur continues to show leadership on health care and that the Democrats' attacks were the equivalent of "shooting spitballs from the sidelines."

"Do Katherine Hartman and Andy Kim even know what they are talking about? Every Democrat in Congress wants cost-sharing reductions funded, which Congressman MacArthurs proposal does. Second, many Democrats have called for the most onerous Obamacare taxes to be repealed, which Congressman MacArthurs proposal also does," Russell said. "Attacking the congressman for advancing bipartisan ideas within the framework of the current law proves that Hartman and Kim dont really care about fixing health care. They are just looking for an excuse to push for a European-style, single-payer system that will bankrupt the country, destroy our growing economy, and increase taxes on every American."

The back-and-forth on the issue marks an early start to what's expected to be an active 2018 campaign for the 3rd District seat, which represents almost all of Burlington County and a large portion of neighboring Ocean County.

The district has been represented by a Democrat only once during the last century, but Democrats have become energized in the wake of MacArthur's role in writing the Republicans' health care overhaul legislation and the election ofTrump, who headlined a fundraiser for the congressman at his golf club in Bedminster, Somerset County.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has listed MacArthur's seat among its top targets in 2018 and was also critical of his renewed partnership with Meadows.

Once again, Rep. MacArthur is showing his true colors by aligning with the most extreme right-wing members of the Republican Party. The centrist Tuesday Group already kicked MacArthur out of its leadership for the MacArthur Amendment, which gutted protections for pre-existing conditions and led to the passage of the destructive Republican repeal bill. This recent scheme should finally put an end to the myth of MacArthur as moderate," said Evan Lukaske, a spokesman for the DCCC.

Russell said that MacArthur is willing to work with Republicans and Democrats to fix health care, and that voters deserve to know if Kim and Hartman are in favor of a single-payer system being pushed by far-left Democrats.

"The fact remains that the current health care system is a mess, and rising premiums are making health insurance unaffordable for tens of millions of middle-class Americans. Doing nothing and letting it collapse isn't an option. Neither is President Trump's plan to repeal Obamacare with no replacement," Russell said.

"That's why Congressman MacArthur is once again leading the fight to stabilize the markets, and ultimately pass a more patient-centered and consumer-friendly health care system that creates a strong safety net for the less fortunate, while allowing Americans to customize plans that best suit them and their families. Hes shown leadership and put forward a plan. What do Katherine Hartman and Andy Kim stand for?"

Excerpt from:
Democrat challengers attack MacArthur's new health care plan - Burlington County Times