Guilt by association …

Hitler liked Beethoven’s music.  

So do I.  Does that make me a Nazi? 

Of course not. 

Yet when David Duke – a well-known racist nutjob – said he liked Trump’s stance on illegal immigration, many on the left and the media quickly reported that as proof that Trump was a white supremacist. And a racist, too. 

When the Family Research Council – opposed to gay marriage – came out in support of Trump, the left and the media used that as proof that Trump was homophobic.  That was probably a great surprise to Trump since he publicly supported gay marriage long before Obama did.    

Last night on Tucker Carlson’s show, some flake implied the “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a symbol of racism. Why? Because this person found that Confederate sympathizers in 1931 pushed for it to become our national anthem.  Forget for a moment that it was written in 1814, and has no lyrics related to race or in support of slavery.

That’s how insane it’s become. 

Because you agree with someone on certain things does not mean you agree with them on everything. Nor does it mean they agree with you on everything, either. 

I have a friend from college who many years later fell on hard times and committed a felony – embezzlement – for which he was convicted and did time in prison.  Yet he’s still my friend, we stay in touch, and I would still do anything for him.

But that doesn’t mean I endorse what he did.  Nor does that mean I am okay with embezzlement. 

You see, having a convicted felon as a dear friend doesn’t make you one. 

Just as having a racist agree with you that puppies are cute makes you a racist. Or having a friend who thinks all gay marriage is wrong means you agree with them. Or having a business relationship with someone who is a socialist makes you one. 

Guilt by association is the last resort of those have no actual proof of your own wrongdoing. 

We’ve been down that road before with Joe McCarthy and the House Un-American Committee hearings in the 1950s searching for Communists and Communist sympathizers.  Careers and reputations were destroyed in the process.  Most often with little or no proof, except by some specious association.    

It’s one of the most shameful episodes in our post-war history. 

And here we are again.  The use of guilt by association is now a common tool of the left and the media to try to destroy anyone with whom they disagree. Specifically Trump. 

When Obama was long-time pals with Bill Ayers – a cofounder of the violent Weather Underground that bombed government buildings in the 1960s – no one on the left or the media thought that meant Obama supported blowing up government facilities. When Obama followed a racist Jeremiah Wright, there was no tagging Obama as a racist because of that. 

But let some crackpot bigot say he or she thinks Trump is doing a good job, and suddenly Trump must share their looney-tune beliefs in toto. 

It’s dishonest.  And our media that report this nonsense should be ashamed.