Compassionate Liberals Oppose Hospital That Serves Poor

Liberals are the most open and generous people you'll ever find...when it's someone else they expect to do the giving.

The evidence has been out there for a couple of years now, and it's pretty overwhelming, that while liberals talk a good "compassion" game, it's conservatives who do most of the giving. We've seen it around the country and here in South Dakota: liberals talk, conservatives do.

Ultra-libs Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins continue to illustrate this symbolism over substance with their opposition to St. Vincent's Hospital's plan to revamp and build a better hospital three blocks from their home.

The hospital provides $40 million in medical care to the poor each year, so one might think St. Vincent's would be especially beloved by these liberals. Well, as long as they don't ruin the neighborhood and expose their privileged eyes to all these icky little people.

The New York Post has coverage, as does the New York Times.

From the Times:

Ms. Sarandon said at the microphone that she went to the hospital only “as a last resort,” adding, “I would not want to bring my children there.” Ms. Sarandon and Mr. Robbins, who are partners, have two teenage sons.

She says there are long lines and "dirty" facilities at St. Vincent's. How sad. How terrible to experience this frightening brush with reality and the "little people."

Mr. Robbins, Sarandon's shackup partner, is also repulsed by the common folk:

“I live a block from this hospital, and unless it was a life-and-death situation, I wouldn’t go there.” He said that the proposed hospital tower was “an architectural abomination.”

Liberals are always generous...with your money. Liberals are always for services to the poor and indigent...as long as it's in your neighborhood. Liberals are aways caring and compassionate...as long as they can keep icky reality at arm's length.

Their hypocrisy even extends to the energy debate. Liberals are always pushing windmills and such over drilling for more oil...unless those icky windmills show up in their neighborhood.

Remember a couple of years ago when Senator Ted Kennedy came out against the Cape Wind Project? They wanted to erect 130 windmills in Nantucket Sound for a project that could supply 3/4 of the power for Cape Cod the surrounding area--an area currently served by coal-fired power plants.

Why would liberal environment-loving Ted Kennedy oppose such a clean project? It would ruin the Kennedy's sailing and yachting. Ick!

Maybe liberals aren't as compassionate and altruistic as they'd have us believe. Maybe a lot of that has just been pretense to guilt us into backing their pet projects.

It isn't a perfect illustration, but I'm reminded of the parable of the two sons from Matthew 21:

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered.

To paraphrase for this situation, doing something means a whole lot more than carping about it.