Many people do not trust the government, and rightly so.
Aside from having mistrust for the government over basic things such as health care, there are some Americans who still assert that the government played a hidden role in the Sept. 11 attacks.
In a Feb. 11 article in the Christian Science Monitor, Jimmy Orr reported that in an interview on his radio show, Glenn Beck asked Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina, “Do you believe the government was in any way involved in the bringing down of the World Trade Centers on 9/11?”
Medina replied, “There are some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all of the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that.”
After Medina’s comments made headlines, her campaign issued a statement through her Web site to clarify them.
Her explanation, however, directly contradicts what she said in the interview.
“I have not seen any evidence, nor have I ever believed that our government was involved or directed those individuals in any way,” Medina said in the statement.
In a short amount of time, Medina went from saying she hadn’t seen enough evidence to exclude government involvement in Sept. 11 to performing serious damage control in an attempt to salvage her campaign by contradicting herself.
Many of Medina’s supporters are tired of big government, but she failed to take a definitive stance on the issue when she was put on the spot. Perhaps Medina was attempting to appease two completely different sides of the issue, which in this case is virtually impossible.
Of course, Medina should not be written off for questioning the government.
In the months leading up to the election, she has gained ground on rival candidates Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry. This is because she seems to genuinely have her constituents’ best interests at heart.
Negligence on the part of the government likely did contribute — no matter how slightly — to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But the notion that the government played a malicious role in the attacks is absurd.
Medina’s comments will force voters to decide whether they want to elect a governor who is willing to support her beliefs robustly, no matter how radical her contentions may be considered by the public.
Patrick Levy is a communication freshman and may be reached at [email protected]
