Hypocrisy Unleashed - 9-29-2013

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

In the current state of idiocy that is the debate on budgets and debt limits, the founding fathers gave us the clear path to resolving the issues, answers found within our founding government document, the United States Constitution.

Consider this piece contained within Article 1 Section 8, relative to the authority bestowed upon the legislature:

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

The founders and framers had reason to be wary of the practice of having standing armies, so their reasonable and sensible response was to mandate that funding for such national needs were to have them judiciously reviewed every two years.

It is sad to believe that we have gotten to the point where lazy and intellectually challenged politicians have become so enamored of ‘comprehensive’ packages of legislation, with no though given to future review.

It is this insistence of such ‘comprehensive’ legislation that has led us to the current state of fiduciary foolishness.

There should be no gamesmanship played over the fair faith and credit of the nation, but no one seems to be questioning why we continue to face such a continual state of financial firestorms.

It is thus disillusioning to hear the President and Senate Leader Reid professing that their stance on no negotiations on such issues as the debt limit is somehow based upon their ‘principles’.

It would seem a reminder to both men is in order.

To wit:

Harry Reid, March 2006

“If my Republican friends believe that increasing our debt by almost $800 billion today and more than $3 trillion over the last five years is the right thing to do, they should be upfront about it. They should explain why they think more debt is good for the economy.

How can the Republican majority in this Congress explain to their constituents that trillions of dollars in new debt is good for our economy? How can they explain that they think it’s fair to force our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren to finance this debt through higher taxes. That’s what it will have to be. Why is it right to increase our nation’s dependence on foreign creditors?

They should explain this. Maybe they can convince the public they’re right. I doubt it. Because most Americans know that increasing debt is the last thing we should be doing. After all, I repeat, the Baby Boomers are about to retire. Under the circumstances, any credible economist would tell you we should be reducing debt, not increasing it.Democrats won’t be making argument to supper this legalization, which will weaken our country. Weaken our county.”

Well put, Senator. Yet, it is now acceptable to you to take the opposite opinion while railing about the ‘anarchists’ on the other side.

And speaking of hypocrisy, sadly:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. … It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government’s reckless fiscal policies.”

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaking on the Senate floor in 2006 just before he voted against raising the debt ceiling.

The Blogging Press

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

The freedom of the press, the voice of the electorate, is one of our most sacred constitutional tenets and protections.

The first amendment, as written:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It is clear, succinct and lacks any ambiguity. It does not quantify ‘the press’ in any manner.

It is therefore troubling to consider the following composite of information, drawn from various sources, demonstrating that the First Amendment is under assault, again: (the acquired information is reprinted here in a different font throughout the post)

The first version of a media shield law that handily made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday defined for the first time what constitutes a “real reporter” deserving of extra protection versus what Sen. Dianne Feinstein called a “17-year-old blogger” who doesn’t deserve a legal shield.

That Congress is attempting to define “journalist” at all in order to expand protections after a number of high-profile leak cases and ensuing Justice Department prosecutions  suggests that the law would subvert a free press by giving institutional advantage to government-approved media outlets.

In its attempt to define who’s a journalist and who’s not, is the US Senate trying to say that Thomas Paine, a corset-maker, wouldn’t have deserved the same protections from government heavy-handedness as a newspaper publisher like Ben Franklin?

While Mr. Paine eventually edited magazines in the United States, he’s best known for his pamphleteering days, when he self-published “Common Sense,” one of the American Revolution’s most poignant calls to arms. Modern bloggers, the Madison Conservative among them, see themselves as the inheritors of the pamphleteering tradition, and many wondered on Friday whether Paine would be covered under the proposed law.

The bill simply adds extra protections against being forced to testify about sources for established reporters and freelancers with a “considerable” amount of publishing experience. It also allows a judge to make a declaration as to who’s a journalist and who’s not in an attempt to build the shield as wide as possib

“All we’re doing is adding privilege to existing First Amendment rights, so there is, logically, zero First Amendment threat out of this,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, (D) of Rhode Island.

Any assault, in any form, against the press is a dangerous omen. Tyrants often start their reigns by commandeering the media, and doing so  for what they deem ‘the public interest’.

Congress must not be allowed to determine what is and what is not ‘the press’. The internet has given voice to society in ways never before seen, but the public must be allowed to determine what they deem to be viable press and what they deem to be nonsense.

Delineation by a government as to what constitutes ‘the press’ is a harbinger of ill intent.

The American people must not surrender their rights and responsibilities to a free press.

The First 39 of 55.

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

This week is of grand historical consequence for the American people, but it is assured to escape any acknowledgement of sustentative note.

That is sad, because this week holds the anniversary of the seed of the greatest country the world has ever known.

Consider the following 39 names:

Washington, George, VA

Franklin, Benjamin, PA

Madison, James, VA

Hamilton, Alexander, NY

Morris, Gouverneur, PA

Morris, Robert, PA

Wilson, James, PA

Pinckney, Chas, SC

Rutledge, John, SC

Butler, Pierce, SC

Sherman, Roger, CT

Johnson, William Samuel, CT

McHenry, James, MD

Read, George, DE

Bassett, Richard, DE

Spaight, Richard Dobbs, NC

Blount, William, NC

Williamson, Hugh, NC

Jenifer, Daniel of St. Thomas, MD

King, Rufus, MA

Gorham, Nathaniel, MA

Dayton, Jonathan, NJ

Carroll, Daniel, MD

Few, William, GA

Baldwin, Abraham, GA

Langdon, John, NH

Gilman, Nicholas, NH

Livingston, William, NJ

Paterson, William, NJ

Mifflin, Thomas, PA

Clymer, George, PA

FitzSimons, Thomas, PA

Ingersoll, Jared, PA

Bedford, Gunning, Jr., DE

Brearley, David, NJ

Dickinson, John, DE

Blair, John, VA

Broom, Jacob, DE

This week marks the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. On September 17, 1787, these 39 men were the first of the eventual 55 signers of our founding document.

The signers, founders and framers of that august document had the audacity to construct a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Their overriding focus was the government could only function by the consent of the governed.

The Constitution is a limitation on the powers of government, which by definition is the definition of the freedoms reserved by the people.

This week, the Madison Conservative would ask that you reflect on the bravery of those original 55 signers, and of the significance of that day, 226 years ago this very week, when the sense of the American spirit was put to paper, when the hopes and dreams of freedom were given voice for posterity.

In an era of ad hominum attacks from all sides, it would be of use for the American people to pause and consider the gift of the Constitution that has been offered for them, and their posterity.

For those who believe that there is little anyone can do to affect positive change, please re-read those 39 names and reconsider your opinion on the futility of action.

We the People indeed.

9/11 - Twelve Years On...

There is much going on in the world, and with the passage of time, some events lose their significance. This week will mark the twelfth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and with 12 not being a particularly notable number, combined with the current hysteria over Syria, it is possible that some of the impact of 9/11 will get lost in the shuffle.

That should never be allowed to happen.

We must NEVER FORGET.

Below are two links to 9/11 projects I am proud to be associated with, and would humbly ask that should you find them of value, to share with as many people as possible.

The blog will return next week; in the meantime, please check out both videos.

343 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHayXNAuD8A

Braveheart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT6tCQioI9E

An American Message

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

To the dismay of the Madison Conservative, any voice which might contrast with the shallow and narrow minded views of the liberals in charge of the observance on the National Mall of the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Kings' ‘I Have A Dream’ speech were noticeably absent. This arrogance by the civil rights movement on the left is shameful. There were many speeches, including by the President, to the effect that Dr. King would have supported this or that. There were no voices allowed to convey what was at the heart of what Dr. King was trying to achieve in his all too short life.

As noted in previous blogs, the Madison Conservative is woefully ill-equipped to even remotely attempt to convey the breadth of Dr. Kings vision, and so will not attempt to do so here.

Rather, the following speech excerpt will have to suffice. It is sad that this particular message, in any context, was not conveyed at the 50^th anniversary celebration. It is neither to be branded a conservative or liberal message, but rather what Americans as a people should be striving for, and the message that should be heard by ALL of America’s’ youth.

The specifics on this message will be noted below, so as to not effect ones opinion either way.

To wit:

“I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?

Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint.

Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint.

Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you feel that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be.

Set out to do it well.

And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door."

This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school.

And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. Don’t just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley.

Be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.

Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.

Six months before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King spoke these words to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.

The hucksters and charlatans of the civil rights movement today should be ashamed of themselves for disgracing the mission of Dr. King for their own petty and disgusting political aims.

The Dream of an American

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. Martin Luther King

Thomas Jefferson put the promise to paper, James Madison wrote the framework for within the promise was to function, Abraham Lincoln fought a Civil War to preserve the promise, and Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us that the promise has not yet been kept.

We are a nation continually in pursuit of ‘a more perfect union’. Those who feel we have kept the promise ‘that all men are created equal’ are ignorant. Those who claim that no progress has been made since the inception of ‘a racist nation stained by the sin of slavery’ are imbeciles.

We have done more than any nation in history to pursue the goal of a more perfect union where indeed all men are created equal.

There remains much work left to do.

This week will mark the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Kings’ address in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It is sad to hear so many cowards espouse such self serving short term political ideals in addresses intended to honor Dr. King.

Such individuals and organizations should be shunned by the American electorate as having no clear understanding of what is meant by the Constitution of the United States.

The Madison Conservative would never dare to encapsulate in a blog post what Dr. King said on that memorable speech.

To that point, here is the complete speech, the transcription approved by Dr. King’s estate.

Delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

The Rodeo Clown

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

The founders and framers gave their new nation protections from an intrusive government, and the right to speak freely without fear of retribution from that government. The freedom of speech is one of the sacred foundations of this country.

Citizens have the right to openly criticize their elected leaders, to give voice to their dissatisfaction.

These facts are never in dispute, yet recent attacks on President Obama seem to be held by his supporters and political sycophants in the media as being beyond the pale and are demanding action to muzzle the people.

The event in question centers on a rodeo clown.

Yes, a rodeo clown who used a Pressddient Obama mask and had the rodeo announcer announce to the audience of they would like to see the clown, wearing the mask, get trampled by a bull.

The crowd roared its approval at the request.

This is a time honored tradition at ropdeos – to poke fum at elected officials.

Yet this free expression of speech is under assault.

Consider these posts from various media outlets covering the story about, yes, a rodeo clown and the accompanying reactions from the elected leaders who cannot balance a budget, but can weigh in on the matters surrounding the free speech of a rodeo clown.

Missouri State Fair officials have banned for life the rodeo clown who wore a President Obama mask while facing bulls at the event over the weekend.

The clown in question engaged in an “unconscionable stunt” and will never perform at the Show Me state venue again, the Missouri State Fair Commission said Monday, in a statement. Fair officials are also reviewing their contract with the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association, the contractor responsible for hiring and overseeing bull ring clowns.

The performance was “inappropriate and not in keeping with the Fair’s standards," said the statement.

The fair did not reveal the clown’s identity.

During a bull riding contest on Sunday, the clown appeared wearing a rubber mask of the president with an upside down broomstick trailing from his backside, as if it were a tail. The audience was asked, over a public address system, if it wanted to see Mr. Obama “run down by a bull.” Many people present clapped and cheered, according to one witness, Perry Beam.

“It was feeling like some kind of Klan rally,” said Mr. Beam.

Others defended the act as within the mainstream of rodeo ring entertainment. The clown was meant to be imitating a dummy, another witness, Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association member David Berry, told the Associated Press. Bull ring clowns often dress as sitting presidents, Mr. Berry said.

“The joke is not that it was the president. They drag out this person dressed like a dummy and all of a sudden this dummy just takes off running. That’s what’s funny,” Berry told AP.

The public address announcer at the rodeo, Mark Ficken, is trying to distance himself from the fracas. Mr. Ficken, president of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association and superintendent of the Boonville School District, said the clown was wearing a wireless mike and made most of the comments heard by the audience. Ficken said through an attorney that he was “as surprised as anyone” at the appearance of an Obama mask.

The speed with which fair officials responded to the uproar may be indicative of both the seriousness with which they took the stunt.

Ficken became president of the Missouri Cowboy Rodeo Association Saturday morning, a post he resigned after just two days Monday.

Regardless of the resignation, St. Louis attorney Albert Watkins says Ficken wants to “set the story straight.” According to the lawyer, a “rogue rodeo clown” wearing the mask was not part of the scripted show and Ficken had no advance knowledge of it. Furthermore, the lawyer says audio heard in video of the event came from the clown himself, wearing a wireless microphone, not his client.

“Unfortunately, in this day of internet piling on, once an outlet published an incorrect statement of facts, the erroneous attribution to my client of comments made by a rogue rodeo clown went viral,” Watkins says in the statement Monday morning. “My client is now being inundated by responsive and retaliatory action, all of which is premised on a false recital of facts. It is respectfully suggested that the media needs to cut out the bull and get the facts straight.”

In a statement Monday, Missouri State Fair officials called on the Rodeo Cowboy Association to “hold all those responsible for this offensive stunt accountable.”

Also Monday, several statewide and congressional politicians weighed in on the controversy which has garnered national headlines.

U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, said he was “amazed that in 2013 such hatred, intolerance and disrespect towards the President of the United States could take place at the Missouri State Fair.”

“Our fair is supposed to showcase the best of Missouri, instead, it showed an ugly face of intolerance and ignorance to the world,” Clay added.

Gov. Jay Nixon was asked about the controversy while in Kirkwood Monday. He called on the Office of Administration to review the contracts of those who hosted Saturday’s rodeo.

“I think that’s a lot better and more reasonable approach to this than canceling events that Missouri families and others look forward to each year,” he said. “The Missouri State Fair is an important part of the traditions of our state and when people mess with that tradition, certainly it upsets us.”

Missouri Rep. Steve Webb, D-Florissant, said he was “incensed” by the incident.

“Sometimes apologies just won’t do. While I do not believe this represents all of rural Missouri, the racial undertones of a taunted rodeo clown dressed as our nation’s first black president is what the nation woke up to this morning,” Webb said. “It’s time for all of us, from both rural and urban areas, to fight this type of sentiment with a united front. Leaders of this state need to do more than accept a pressured apology.”

Webb called on Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to cancel his annual State Fair ham breakfast Thursday in protest.

A day earlier, as word of the show spread on social media, politicians on both sides of the aisle spoke out in condemnation.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, released a statement Sunday, calling the event “shameful” and “unacceptable.”

Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, tweeted late Sunday afternoon that the Missouri State Fair “celebrates Missouri and our people. I condemn the actions disrespectful to POTUS the other night. We are better than this.”

Missouri Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, D-Kansas City, wrote on Twitter that he would no longer attend Missouri State Fair events and Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, called the event “racist and degrading.”

Rep. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, tweeted “I don’t agree w/ this Prez on many things. But he is deserving of respect and shouldn’t be the object of political stunts. Out of line!”

Much of the controversy has centered on the fair’s status as a publicly funded event which is generally void of overt political pandering. Estimates differ on how many taxpayer dollars go to the fair each year, ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to as many as $5 million.

Calls by the Missouri chapter of the NAACP for a federal investigation into a rodeo clown who donned a President Obama mask at the state fair last week are misguided and hypocritical, a Texas Republican congressman told FoxNews.com on Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, who has invited the clown who wore the mask to perform in Texas, said the request for probes into the incident by the Justice Department and Secret Service are “silly” and should be ignored.

“A rodeo clown is really a nominal thing and it hurt no one,” Stockman told FoxNews.com. “They didn’t speak out when George Bush was being portrayed as a murderer. To become relevant again, they need to become more of an honest broker and not have contrived anger.”

Stockman said the NAACP would better serve its constituents by focusing on ways to decrease unemployment among the black community. He also noted that the national civil rights group was silent after a July incident on a Florida bus where three black teens beat a fellow white student. Though Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent told Fox News the attack did not appear to be racially motivated, former Florida Rep. Allen West, who is black, chided Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, noting they condemned Florida's laws in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting yet remained mum on the bus attack.

“We can’t get the Justice Department to look at Benghazi, so it would be ironic that the Justice Department would investigate a clown."

“It’s really patently false that they’re angry at this, but not angry at other issues,” Stockman continued. “There has to be some consistency.”

Still, the rodeo clown has been widely condemned for his off-color act.

On Wednesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the rodeo clown incident was “not one of the finer moments” for The Show-Me State.

“I haven’t heard about the president’s reaction or if he had one,” Earnest told reporters. “I can tell you as a native Missourian, it was certainly not one of the finer moments for our state and not the way I like to see our state depicted in the news.”

Stockman said widespread reports of Saturday’s bull riding event at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia was an example of what he calls “pop news,” distractions from serious issues facing the country.