Report on Iraq Exposes Divide Within G.O.P.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 — The release of the report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group this week exposed deep fissures among Republicans over how to manage a war that many fear will haunt their party — and the nation — for years to come. A document that many in Washington had hoped would pave the way for a bipartisan compromise on Iraq instead drew sharp condemnation from the right, with hawks saying it was a wasted effort that advocated a shameful American retreat. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page described the report as a “strategic muddle,” Richard Perle called it “absurd,” Rush Limbaugh labeled it “stupid,” and The New York Post portrayed the leaders of the group, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic member of Congress, as “surrender monkeys.”
So, Republicans really DO eat their young…politically speaking. I must admit that I’m truly enjoying the GOP fracture into various bickering factions. You know…in the right light, they almost look like Democrats.
I also find it amusing that the Iraq Study Group’s report is the catalyst for so much recrimination and bad blood. The political world recognizes the reality that Democrats are a fractious, disputatious lot. I’m not certain that anyone really expected that Republican ideological cohesiveness would erode into fits of angry finger-pointing. Then again, I suppose losing an election badly will do that. Everybody wants to rule the world, and when you’re knocked off your perch, it’s only natural to be looking for someone to blame.
Realistically, though, the GOP has never been a monolithic or ideologically homogeneous collection. Between religious conservatives bent on creating a theocracy, economic conservatives bent on enshrining the teachings of Adam Smith into government, and moderates who are pragmatists open to compromise and negotiation, the GOP is really quite diverse. With the ascension of Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader to the Presidency in 2000, the GOP has been in thrall to the neoConservative, theocratic minority who, once in power, worshipped at the altar of Machiavelli and the absolute righteousness and infallibility.
The divisions could make it more difficult for Republicans to coalesce on national security policy and avoid a bitter intraparty fight going into the 2008 campaign.
Senator John McCain of Arizona, a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, rejected the major recommendations of the group because they did not present a formula for victory. Mr. McCain, hoping to claim the Republican mantle on national security issues, has staked out a muscular position on Iraq, calling for an immediate increase in American forces to try to bring order to Baghdad and crush the insurgency….
[T]he debate will go to the heart of the party’s identity — and its image as the party of strength on national security — after Mr. Bush’s aggressive post-Sept. 11 foreign policy brought electoral successes in 2002 and 2004 but was profoundly challenged by voters this year.
After watching Democrats wander in the wilderness for the past few years, it’s rather enjoyable to watch Republicans getting their comeuppance. Of course, politics being cyclical, the shoe will be on the other foot eventually. That’s just how these things work. We spent the last 12 years flailing in the breeze riptide; now it’s the GOP’s turn. Damn the bad luck….
At some point, Republicans are going to have to assess and admit the reality that their leader is a common war-criminal whose lies are directly responsible for the deaths of untold thousands, including close to 3,000 American soldiers (and counting). Until, and unless, they can come to grips with that reality and their role in the fiasco in Iraq, they’ll likely be condemned to indefinite, continued infighting.
And I couldn’t be happier….
NOW CAN WE IMPEACH THE LYING BASTARD??
