Dept. of Misdirection: With Iraq a Disaster, GOP Goes Crazy Over a Newspaper Ad
Does anybody really believe the problem with the war in Iraq is too much questioning of those in authority, too much bluntness, and not enough deference to those who have been in charge of the war for the last four years? That’s apparently the feeling of all the conservative talk-show hosts and GOP presidential candidates who came down with the vapors over the MoveOn ad that had the temerity to question Gen. David Petraeus. Tens of thousands of dead civilians, nearly 4,000 dead American soldiers, half a trillion dollars spent, and the squandering of America’s moral authority — none of that seems to have ruffled their feathers very much. But the ad? Now that has got them royally steamed…. It’s the political version of the old lawyer’s axiom: When the law is against you, argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When both are against you, attack the plaintiff. And when the war is an unmitigated disaster, the facts on the ground are against you, and your only plan for the future is ‘more of the same,’ go crazy over a newspaper ad.
Gee, I don’t recall the Bill of Rights qualifying the right to free speech and expression. Did I miss something, or is free speech really limited to only forms of speech and expression that dovetail with Right-wing talking points/propaganda? No? Right; I didn’t think so…and yet, if you listen to prominent Republicans, you could be forgiven for thinking that MoveOn.org was responsible for attempting to incite violent insurrection and revolution. Of course, this sort of thing is perfectly acceptable when groups who trend to the far right do it- like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (and yes, everytime I say the name of that vile group I throw up a little). But when Left-wing groups like MoveOn commit the very same “sins”, the hue and cry and weeping and metaphorical gnashing of teeth can be heard from coast to coast. Oh, the lack of patriotism. Oh, the hypocrisy. Oh, the humanity….
This is a clear-cut case of “If you’re going to be willing to dish it out, you’d damn well better be willing to take it”. If you’re going to allow “unaffiliated” groups to do your rhetorical dirty work, you have NO right to piss and moan when the exact same sort of thing emerges from the other side of the aisle. Except that this really ISN’T the exact same sort of thing. MoveOn is not engaging in mean-spirited, undocumented propaganda and twisting of historical reality. All MoveOn was doing was hoisting Gen. Petraeus on his own petard. MoveOn was not engaging in egregious character assassination, no matter what all manner of Right-wing apologists would have you believe. They were making an argument that they believed, and continue to believe, can be buttressed by facts. Frankly, I think they’re right on the money. Yes, Gen. David Petraeus is a brave and capable soldier. Unfortunately, he’s allowing himself to be used by The Worst President EVER © as political cover. The fact that Petraeus has made no secrets of his own Presidential ambitions certainly isn’t doing him any good.
The problem is that the Right will brook no dissent, or really anything that might turn into a legitimate debate on the war in Iraq. They know that they cannot win on the merits of their argument. They know that the war is and will continue to be indefensible. They know that Americans are fighting and dying for a cause that can only be fully explain by using propaganda, talking points, and outright lies. They know that they are fully behind this generation’s Vietnam because that’s the discipline demanded of them by their own propaganda…and yet they cannot see their way clear to admit their folly. To do so would mean admitting that they and Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © were wrong- horribly wrong- and that they just might be called to account for their willingness to bring so many Americans home in flag-draped boxes.
How silly has this argument become? Try this one on for size:
John McCain thinks “MoveOn.org ought to be thrown out of this country.”
Yes, that’s right…a sitting Republican senator and candidate for President is perfectly willing to subvert the Constitution he fought for in Vietnam and is sworn to uphold, simply because he’s offended by MoveOn’s ad. Is this the sort of ignorant, narrow-minded, intolerant zealot we want sitting in the White House? As difficult as it is for me to believe that an enlightened nation such as ours could tolerate this sort of crap, y’all did give us eight years of King George the Worst © . This means that anything’s possible, no?
Remember, 9.11 changed EVERYTHING. Free speech? We’re at war…or have y’all forgotten that loose lips sink ships??
