On a sunny Saturday morning, locals and tourists were lined up in a Southwest Florida supermarket checkout line, when a regular customer proclaimed for all to hear: “The IRS screws us, Obama and Hillary sleep through the killings in Benghazi, and our Border Patrol Agent’s death is said to be the imagination of right-wing nuts living in the past. I may be a Democrat, but how long will it take for Americans to speak up?”
Tourists in the checkout line seemed stunned, but year-round residents took the comment as a cue to voice their thoughts.
A handyman spoke up, “I see Homeland Security is dictating that radical Muslim speech attacking America must be protected. Obama ignores the Benghazi killings, they’re okay. The Obama IRS attacks Americans who want to be patriots — they’re not okay. We should do away with the IRS. The Lerner woman got $100,000 bonuses and salary of $170,000 after taking the fifth, and her tax lawyer husband was a money bundler for Obama. Who’s the crook?”
A nurse turned to those in line, speaking as if lecturing a class, “Obamacare is bad medicine. We in Florida, since my first days as a public health nurse, saw to it that Floridians had medical care, good care, for the poor and uninsured. Nobody went untreated. When Obama claims that the poor have no healthcare, he lies. For decades, Florida has had free medical care for the poor, and it includes illegal aliens too. The IRS controlling Obamacare is a problem.”
The reaction was silence in the checkout line. Then, after mulling over what she said, some clapped, some looked bewildered, and others voiced their agreement.
A town leader noted, “Obamacare, which the majority of Americans is against, is a fraud. Democrats have no problem with Benghazi and the killing of four Americans. Where was President Obama? — campaigning. The attorney general lies about a newsman’s phone records, and IRS officials take the Fifth. Is this Obama’s transparency? Mr. President, the entitlement takers — not the workers — voted for you. The takers just want money and you give it to them — they are the greedy ones.”
Stunned silence was followed by applause in the checkout line.
A white-haired Hispanic lawyer replied, “I agree with Seth, which is a shock.” He continued, “I just returned from Washington, D.C. During my time there, I heard two Cal Berkley students admit they could not name the vice president of the United States. A University of Virginia student could not name her U.S. senators or her congressman.
"Is this the level of current university education? In Maryland, 64 percent of high school graduates in that state’s allegedly most educated and wealthiest county are flunking math courses — algebra and geometry.
"The schools are dumbing down because of multiculturalism, as ultra-left teachers and professors push Obama’s change, but not for bettering America, but for making America more like the Third World. U.S. students now rank 25
th in the world in math and worse in science. In Detroit, 65 percent of high school graduates are functional illiterates; where is the presidential outrage?”
He paused, looking up and down the checkout line, “What I said might offend someone, but too bad!”
A Marine veteran declared, “It’s my turn at this impromptu town hall.” Looking around, he continued, “Benghazi is a disgrace. You don’t leave a buddy hanging out there. You go for him — regardless of the odds.”
He continued, “Veterans want to know: Who ordered the stand down? We believe it was a political decision and to hell with the front-line guys — they were just stupid American mercenaries. As Chris Matthews brags, he was in the Peace Corps, inferring that smart people go in the Peace Corps, while dumb-ass peasants fight for America rather than blaming it.
"We ask, ‘Mr. President, where were you on September 11, 2012, at 7 p.m.? Madame secretary of state, where were you at 7 p.m. on September 11, 2012?’”
With exasperation, the Marine concluded, “Obama’s people are not veterans, in fact, many of them hate the military. The Muslim Fort Hood shooter is still getting his pay, while his victims, the ones that lived, get no benefits. Obama says it was ‘workplace violence’ and not terrorism. Enough said!”
The store manager, looking concerned, told the cashiers to move the lines along. Those in line clapped, one man shouted, “Right on.” As the speakers exited quietly, they shook hands with some of the shoppers and gave thumbs up to the others.
In a whisper, a young woman tourist asked a cashier, “Are the people always this outspoken? I mean, do these people always talk like that?”
In an equally quiet voice, the cashier replied, “It happens usually on Saturday mornings — especially when politicians have been unusually stupid. Unfortunately, that’s happened a lot lately.”
James H. Walsh was associate general counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1983 to 1994. Read more reports from James Walsh — Click Here Now.