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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Appalling Judgement

Appalling Judgement

by John Cole|  February 23, 20049:52 pm| 15 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity

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Also via Mark Kleiman are these obscene remarks from Secretary of Education Rod Paige:

Education Secretary Rod Paige called the nation’s largest teachers union a “terrorist organization” during a private White House meeting with governors on Monday.

Democratic and Republican governors confirmed Paige’s remarks about the National Education Association.

“These were the words, ‘The NEA is a terrorist organization,”‘ said Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin.

“He was making a joke, probably not a very good one,” said Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. “Of course he immediately divorced the NEA from ordinary teachers, who he said he supports.”

Unbelievable. Almost as offensive as Sean Hannity’s new book title, which Sully correctly admonishes:

And then, along comes Sean Hannity, whose new book has the following obscene title: “Deliver Us From Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism and Liberalism.” Why obscene? It is obscene for Hannity to purloin a sentence from the Lord’s Prayer in order to advance his partisan political views. And yes, it is also obscene to equate terrorism and despotism with liberalism. Hannity isn’t worthy to speak the word “liberalism,” a long and complicated and deeply Western political tradition that is the only reason he can actually publish a book like this and face only criticism. To place it in the same context as “terrorism” reveals that this man has no understanding of what this war is about. It’s a war in defense of liberalism, in defense of pluralism, in defense of the various peaceful Western political traditions that Islamo-fascism would snuff out in an instant. Even if he wants the word “liberalism” to describe merely a kind of decadent left-liberalism, it’s still unconscionable. Peaceful Democratic leftists, however misguided, are not terrorists.

Well said. It was offensive when Julian Bond used the GOP and the Taliban in the same sentence, Patty Murray’s stupid remakrs about Osama and day care centers were absurd and offensive, and it was offensive when Kerry stated that we needed ‘regime change’ in Washington (something the MoveOn folks still haven’t figured out is offensive).

You would think that post 9/11, these so called intellects would be capable of understanding the difference between a legitimate political opposition and murderous thugs. Come to think of it, Paige’s remarks are more offensive than Hannity’s book title. Hannity is not a public servant.

I don’t care if some of you think I am playing into the Democrat party’s hands, and I don’t care that they defend their own when they make these egregious statements. It is time for Rod to go.

*** Update ***

Wow. Atrios and I agree– and that is twice in one month!

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15Comments

  1. 1.

    Emperor Misha I

    February 23, 2004 at 10:41 pm

    Hannity isn’t worthy to speak the word “liberalism,” a long and complicated and deeply Western political tradition

    …nor are the communist sympathizers that have hijacked the term for their own use.

    Not that I’d expect Andrew to know, but “liberal” as it is being used today (on this side of the Atlantic) and “liberal” as it was originally used are two diametrically opposed things. I suspect Hannity was referring to the first version.

    Is it fair to compare liberals to terrorists? Of course not. On the other hand, where exactly does Hannity do that? All he says is that they’re evil, and he’s spot on there.

    He really should stick to outraged posts about gay marriage.

    The Sec of Edu, on the other hand, should be sent away for a timeout for a few years.

    The NEA aren’t terrorists. They’re communists, statists, thugs and mindwashers, but terrorists they’re not.

  2. 2.

    Kimmitt

    February 24, 2004 at 12:55 am

    You can tell the NEA are Communists because the charter calls for the violent overthrow of the capitalist state and the implementation of a workers’ paradise.

    Misha, you have a quite well-trafficked blog with lots of fellow fascists to feed your already considerable ego. Please do us all the favor of continuing to self-segregate so we don’t have to read your insanity where we were expecting something vaguely resembling sanity.

  3. 3.

    M. Scott Eiland

    February 24, 2004 at 3:22 am

    “Well said. It was offensive when Julian Bond used the GOP and the Taliban in the same sentence, Patty Murray’s stupid remakrs about Osama and day care centers were absurd and offensive, and it was offensive when Kerry stated that we needed ‘regime change’ in Washington (something the MoveOn folks still haven’t figured out is offensive).”

    Well put, John–and it would be nice if those on the left would acknowledge those examples were all well beyond the pale (my memories suggest otherwise). Hopefully, a well-constructed and sincere apology will be forthcoming from Mr. Paige–or a pink slip from GWB. The NEA is far from one of my favorite organizations, but it isn’t terrorist, and not even Kimmitt-esque apologetics for grotesque hyperbole would justify calling it so.

  4. 4.

    SDN

    February 24, 2004 at 8:48 am

    In 1983 the National Commission on Education, Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, wrote “If a foreign nation had imposed this system of education on the United States we would rightly consider it an act of war.”

    Who is the organization most responsible for imposing and maintaining that system? The NEA would have to be a leading candidate. If you disagree with that 20-year-old quote, I’d like you to explain how things have gotten better, and whether or not the NEA has been a source of improvement or resistance.

    I’d rather deal with Al-Qaeda than union thugs. At least AQ is fairly obvious, instead of hiding behind the individual teachers who are (in many cases) forced to belong. How do I know this? My mother was a 4th grade teacher for 25 years.

  5. 5.

    Emperor Misha I

    February 24, 2004 at 9:40 am

    Please do us all the favor of continuing to self-segregate so we don’t have to read your insanity where we were expecting something vaguely resembling sanity.

    I’ll happily leave if asked, Kimwit, but not if you’re doing the asking.

  6. 6.

    HH

    February 24, 2004 at 12:12 pm

    Unfortunately, Sully has decided to buy into the “same context” attack from the left on this book, instead of, you know, ACTUALLY READING THE BOOK. Hell, anyone who had the slightest bit of familiarity with his last book knows he is not placing them in the “same context.” This is “judging a book by its cover,” literally. Paige actually CALLED the NEA terrorists, Hannity has made no such comparison, never has and never would. That’s why Paige is more offensive.

  7. 7.

    HH

    February 24, 2004 at 12:40 pm

    Interview:

    COLMES: The title, “Defeating Terrorism, Despotism and Liberalism.” Are you then equating liberalism with terrorism and despotism?

    HANNITY: Now that you’ve read the book — you did read it?

    COLMES: I did read a good part of it.

    HANNITY: Do I?

    COLMES: You come right up to the edge. You don’t exactly say they’re exactly the same thing.

    Let me show you one thing you do say. Here’s on page 5, “Indeed, the great threat to our resolve today in the war on terror is the political liberalism and selfish opportunism of Democrats.”

    Are you saying that Democrats are a greater threat to terror?

    HANNITY: I’m not saying that. It’s the greatest threat to our resolve today in the war on terror — read it — is political liberalism and selfish opportunism. Let me tell you what…

    COLMES: Is that a greater threat, though, than those countries who would do us harm?

    HANNITY: Let me — Let me tell you what I mean by this. And this is a serious topic. Because you know what, Alan? I have two young children.

    COLMES: Right.

    HANNITY: Nothing has impacted me in my life more than what happened to this country on 9/11. And that memory, those nights that I broadcast this program from that tragedy, then that declaration of war, will forever be with me, and in part this is what this is about.

    We were together in Afghanistan (search). You agreed, you were supportive.

    COLMES: All of America was.

    HANNITY: Here’s what bothers me. I’m not talking about fringe people like Michael Moore (search) and the liberal establishment.

    I am talking about when you have Ted Kennedy (search), who is a leader — leading Democratic senator … saying that the president concocted a war for political gain. That is so beyond the pale.

    When you have, as we had, Al Gore screaming at the top of his lungs, how he betrayed us, how the president preordained a war with Iraq, prior to 9/11 even happening.

    When you have Dennis Kucinich saying the president authorized the bombing of civilians in this war, that he wants to…

    COLMES: That’s not mainstream people who said that.

    HANNITY: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Dennis Kucinich is a presidential candidate.

    Howard Dean put forward the theory, let me finish this, that we might have been warned about 9/11 ahead of time. The fact that he even repeated that.

    And what I’m saying here is, that Democrats out of power have now politicized our national security. I have a whole chapter in this book about that memo that I had leaked to me, from the Senate select committee on intelligence that talks at length about not how to preserve and protect liberty but how to hurt George W. Bush.

  8. 8.

    Sebastian Holsclaw

    February 24, 2004 at 12:47 pm

    Modern day liberals aren’t evil, they are misguided. But as a conservative, I don’t use ‘misguided’ as an excuse.

  9. 9.

    Misha I

    February 24, 2004 at 1:24 pm

    I agree, Sebastian.

    I don’t give a flying hoot about them having the best of intentions with what they’re doing to this country. I, my children and grandchildren have to live with their end result unless they’re stopped cold, once and for all.

    And that end result is evil. Pure, unadulterated, enslavement of both mind and body, statist thugocracy EVIL.

    Therefore, liberals are evil. Maybe not in thought, but certainly in deeds. And I don’t care about their thoughts.

  10. 10.

    HH

    February 24, 2004 at 2:33 pm

    Methinks you and Atrios won’t agree on all of these… More here and here… Once again, I’m reminded of Sully’s challenge to Atrios over partisanship, which Atrios flubbed spectacularly.

  11. 11.

    Kimmitt

    February 25, 2004 at 11:05 pm

    Some days, I figure conservatives are folks I disagree with about our common goals.

    Some days, I figure conservatives are damn fools who mean well but shouldn’t be allowed near heavy machinery.

    Some days, I figure conservatives are selfish pricks who have let greed blind them to the necessities of handling community issues.

    And some days . . . some days, conservatives are people who call teachers terrorists and want to write bigotry back into the Constitution of the United States of America.

  12. 12.

    HH

    February 26, 2004 at 11:11 am

    Now Andrew Sullivan and Bob Somerby are using the same arguments… It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know they haven’t read a page of Hannity’s book and have no idea what it’s actually arguing.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Signifying Nothing says:
    February 23, 2004 at 11:24 pm

    Er, uh, run that one by me again…

    The Secretary of Education (thank Dick Nixon for that great idea) talked to some governors today. His speech, er, didn’t go very well: Education Secretary Rod Paige said Monday that the National Education Association, one of the nation’s la…

  2. Obsidian Wings says:
    February 24, 2004 at 12:07 am

    Let Him Twist.

    Secretary of Education Rod Paige, that is. I don’t care how much you may not like the National Education Association (I don’t, much): explicitly calling it a terrorist organization – even if it was supposed to be a joke –

  3. dcthornton.com says:
    February 24, 2004 at 1:06 am

    Tyrants? Yes. Terrorists? Heck No.

    I know that I’ve been a harsh critic in the past of the leadership in the National Education Association. However,…

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