No Holiday From Hate - The Angry Left Invades Cape May NJ

No Holiday From Hate - The Angry Left Invades Cape May NJ
BY ALAN BROMLEY
Friday, August 20, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

CAPE MAY, N.J.--Last weekend my family took a minivacation at this bucolic seaside resort, where we enjoyed the calming charm of our Victorian inn, the rush of the ocean waves, the honky-tonk arcades and fine food.

Every afternoon from 4 to 5, we found ourselves on the inn's porch with a dozen or so other guests, genteelly sipping iced tea in our rocking chairs as the afternoon breeze cooled our new sunburns. One day, sitting next to a couple from Philadelphia, I was asked what I thought about the Democratic Convention and who would win the election.

Being in a state between relaxation and boredom, I wasn't sure if I wanted to enter this discussion, so I replied by asking them what they thought the biggest issue was.

"Restoring trust to government," the wife replied, sounding like a Kerry bumper sticker. Her husband, munching a cracker with cheese, nodded in agreement.

I sensed my 17-year-old daughter's ears perk beneath her black hair and my wife's spine straighten, both sensing a political storm brewing.

"You don't mean the legend on our currency, 'In God we trust,' do you?" I teased.

"No!" the husband, who had swallowed his snack, sharply responded. "We're in favor of separation of church and state, and would prefer that those words not appear on our dollar bills, just as we want 'under God' removed from our pledge of allegiance. And you know what we mean," he continued, ratcheting-up the tone. "Bush lied to us about the war in Iraq!" The chairs rocked faster.

"How's that?" I replied. Before he could answer, I added, "Saddam Hussein used weapons of mass destruction three times, once against the Kurds in the north of Iraq, once against his 'marsh' people in the south, and against Iran. And every intelligence agency in the world, including the French, believed he had WMD, and that he was trying to acquire nuclear materials in Africa. If it was an intelligence miscalculation, all Saddam had to do was comply with U.N. inspections, but he refused. There was no lie, at worst a mistake that removed a brutal dictator who supported terrorism and who killed over 1.5 million people during his reign of terror."

"Screw you!" someone shouted from across the porch. My daughter's head swerved to the yelling miscreant, then back to me, somewhat fearful of my reaction.

I said: "And to you sir, may I ask, don't you see the irony of the Democrats using 'restore trust' as their slogan. Did you not see their lineup of speakers?

"Let's count: we had Ted Kennedy, who lied about trying to save Mary Jo Kopechne. We had Hillary Clinton, who lied about her billing records, about her commodities trading prowess, about kissing Arafat's wife right after Arafat accused the Israelis of poisoning Palestinian children. We had Al Sharpton, of Tawana Brawley fame, who later incited an anti-Semitic riot in Harlem with fatal consequences--funny how you blindly embrace these leaders of liberty, isn't it?

"And then we had your sweetheart, President Clinton, who never saw a big hairdo or a little lie he couldn't resist. We had John Edwards, who made his fortune convincing juries of the evils of doctors, and finally, Kerry himself, who is living the biggest lie of all--marrying rich, then richer, and feigning empathy for the downtrodden as he jets from home to home to home. Are those the men and women in who's hands and hearts you want to place, if not restore, trust?"

By now some had moved their chairs closer, while others had left, grumbling about the afternoon being ruined by this political hailstorm.

"Let me ask you something," I said to those with grimaces. "Are you happy the employment figures were dismal? Are you happy that we are having more troubles than anticipated in Iraq?"

"Speaking for myself," the Philly wife declared, "any news that helps defeat Bush makes me happy." Hubby nodded, as did a couple of others swinging on the veranda.

"So let me get this straight: Without offering a remedy for perceived economic woes, or a plan to win the war in Iraq, it's OK with you if a couple hundred thousand additional Americans are unemployed, let's say for a year or so. Your liberal 'scales of justice, of humanity' say that's a beneficial scenario--presumably because it's their sacrifice, not yours. And if we continue to move slowly in Iraq, costing additional American lives, not to mention the lives and freedom of Iraqi's, you will be satisfied as long as President Bush isn't re-elected?"

"You're a fascist! We're leaving!" the husband shouted.

"Your freedom of speech, to preach hatred of President Bush and to hope for American setbacks, even if it costs Americans their lives and livelihoods, is fine," I said to their backs, "but my questioning of your shallowness is offensive, right? Enjoy your trip back to the City of Brotherly Love. I'm sure your neighbors will be happy to see you return."

I turned to the southwest corner of the porch to see how my wife and daughter had weathered my latest electric storm. I caught a glimpse of a smile from my wife and a strong wink from my daughter, as the sun bent its way around the Victorian inn.

Mr. Bromley, who lives and writes in New York City, is looking for a new vacation spot next summer.