A Republican Congressman tried, but failed, to compare Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to the North Korean dictator during a House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday afternoon…. Shimkus grew visibly agitated by her explanation and tried to compare Sebelius to the leaders of North Korea. But rather than referencing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Shimkus likened the Secretary to the “Republic of Korea” or South Korea, America’s ally in the region. “Alright, I got it. We’re just going to agree to disagree. It’s like talking to the Republic of Korea or something,” he said.
Hey, kids! Here’s a handy tip if you’re a low-information Republican Congressman desperate to get the upper hand on a Democratic cabinet secretary. When in doubt, it’s ALWAYS a good strategy to pull out the tyranny card. Accusing your adversary of being just like Hitler, or Stalin, or Castro, or…well, you get the idea…is a fabulous way to (not exactly) gain the advantage in a (probably not) winnable argument. Or it would be winnable…if only you actually knew what you were talking about.
In this case, Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), not exactly one of Congress’ brightest intellectual lights, lost control of an argument with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Normally, a good Conservative Congressman would have fallen back on a tried and true Right-wing strategy: smug arrogance. When a Conservative recognizes that they’re not going to be able to win an argument on the facts, ridiculing and dismissing your adversary can be a serviceable strategy. Shimkus is clearly a work in progress, because when he reached a point where he recognized that he was losing the argument with Sebelius, he lost his composure. Even worse, he displayed an incomplete understanding of the example he hoped to embarrass Sebelius with. If you’re going to compare your adversary to a tyrannical regime, it’s usually a good idea to at least get the name of said tyrannical regime correct. Turns out that attempting to denigrate the object of your anger by comparing them to a democratic government can be quite embarrassing.
With the above in mind, after the jump I offer and graphic depiction of the political realities of the Korean Peninsula. Keep in mind that the tyrannical dictatorship is North Korea- the country just above South Korea. You’re welcome.
The more you know….