Here we go again. Another trip on the partisan modern partisan merry-go-round. It goes something like this:
1.) Party 1 poo-bah makes outrageous statement about Party 2 or its members.
2.) Party 2 poo-bahs get outraged, demand apology.
3.) Party 1 poo-bah hedges his remarks or tells his critics to pound sand.
4.) Party 2 poo-bahs demand further retribution.
5.) Party 1 poo-bah either retracts remarks or invites Party 2 pooh-bahs to commit biologically impossible act.
6.) Party 2 message-meisters merge Party 1 pooh-bahs remarks into narrative about unreasonableness of Party 1.
7.) Party 1 message-meisters merge Party 2 reactions into ongoing narrative of evils of Party 2.
8.) Lather.
9.) Rinse.
10.) Repeat.
I am starting to feel a bit like Dark Helmet:
Dark Helmet: “Careful you idiot! I said across her nose, not up it!”
Laser Gunner: “Sorry, sir! I’m doing my best!”
Dark Helmet: “Who made that man a gunner?”
Major: “I did, sir. He’s my cousin.”
Dark Helmet: “Who is he?”
Colonel Sandurz: “He’s an asshole, sir.”
Dark Helmet: “I know that! What’s his name?”
Colonel Sandurz: “That is his name, sir. Asshole- Major Asshole!”
Dark Helmet: “And his cousin?
Colonel Sandurz: “He’s an asshole too, sir. Gunner’s mate- First Class Philip Asshole!”
Dark Helmet: “How many assholes we got on this ship, anyhow?!”
Assholes (in unison): “Yo!”
Dark Helmet: “I knew it! I’m surrounded by assholes! Keep firing, Assholes!”
Unitarian jihad is sounding better by the day. At least now that we have become a nation of assholes.
Tim F
You’re drifting back into equivalence. Do you really believe that Rove’s statement is qualitatively the same as anything any Democrat has said?
The entire idea of the rightwing outrage machine is to make it look like a hesaid-shesaid when Trent Lott or Karl Rove lets slip something truly egregious. Throw your hands up if you like but don’t forget your own words below. There is a party gaming the system here and it isn’t the Democrats.
John Cole
Think in general, not in specifics. Both sides game the system, it just so happens the Democrats aren’t very good at it as of late- at least not since Clinton left office.
The Republicans have found one area they truly excel- spin.
Tim F
True that. That probably goes some way towards explaining why Bill drove his opponents positively apeshit.
If Bill invented the “permanent campaign” (did Nixon beat him to it? debatable) then it’s a double shame that his party never really picked up the idea.
CalDevil
Equivalent? Let’s see.
One guy compares running the AC too high for terrorist detainees to gassing millions of innocent Jews. No factual support. Just a vicious slur on American troops, who, believe it or not, are not composed of SS wannabes. Of course, except for the “Right-Wing Partisan Media Machine” he pretty much gets a pass.
Now, a couple weeks later, another guy compares the response to 9/11 of liberals and conservatives. Numerous senators who swear up and down that they aren’t liberals are certain he was talking about them.
Let’s look at what this second guy stated. He said that some liberals responded to the attacks by calling for “moderation and restraint”. Is this false? Hmmm, it appears that the answer is absolutely not!
It turns out that this language was adopted word for word and endorsed by an entity known as Moveon.org (now also known as the de facto DNC) within days of the attack. 500,000 people (liberals maybe?) sign the petition in the first 2 weeks following the attacks (see http://www.cta-usa.org/watch10-01/peaceactivities.html).
To further substantiate these facts, please feel free to turn to this bastion of right wing propaganda, Mother Jones (http://www.markels.com/Mother%20Jones%20-%20Virtual%20Peacenik.htm).
So let’s review: Durbin says U.S. troops = Nazis. No factual support. Offensive defamatory claim. Potentially causes them increased risk of physical harm as Islamofascists use the remarks as justification for further killing. Dems give pass.
Rove says that a number of liberals and conservatives differed in their perspectives on 9/11. Factual support plentiful. True statement. Dems and self-congratulatory “moderates” go berserk.
BTW, which one do you think the MSM will make more of? Hint: by tomorrow morning (day 2 of the story), the NYT will have already devoted more column inches to Rove’s remarks than it has for Durbin’s over the past 2 weeks.
SeesThroughIt
Congratulations on missing the point entirely, CalDevil. Your party blinders are a true testament to…well, partisan blindness.
John, you’re exactly right.
pennywit
John:
Does this mean that you’re really my father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate?
–|PW|–
JG
‘One guy compares running the AC too high for terrorist detainees to gassing millions of innocent Jews.’
No he didn’t. He ‘said’ mistreating POWs is un-american. Do you disagree? If the prisoner was misbehaving, fine. This is his punishment. We should have documents that show his behavior and his punishment. It may be excessive punishment but thats a different issue. Prison life is hard. But if this was done to extract information its wrong. Its torture and we don’t do that.
Kimmitt
Both sides game the system,
It used to be a different system.
caleb
Being so tired of all this, all I can say is…..Spaceballs kicks serious ass!
Far North
CalDevil, you dumbshit, pay fucking attention. Nobody wants to read your spin. The point here is the destructiveness of spin. The point here is the spin / bullshit machine of the Republican party and the spin / bullshit machine of the Democatic party (the former works like a Maytag and the other has parts on order). There cannot be honest debate with spin.
p.lukasiak
Face it, Rove’s remarks stripped the mask off of the GOP’s strategy that relies on the politics of division and rancor.
Even if you are stupid enough to believe that Dick Durbin insulted the troops and compared them to Nazis, no one can seriously believe that was his intention. It was clear that Durbin was trying to say that America was, and had to be, better than what had been described by the FBI agent.
And as offensive as one may have found Howard Dean’s “White Christian” remarks, they were extemporaneous.
But Rove’s remarks were part of a prepared speech given at a Republican fundraiser in New York City. They were clearly intended to be provocative, and that provocation was pre-meditated. This is George W. Bush’s chief political strategist — and its now abundantly clear why there is so much partisan rancor in Washington DC — and that its source is the White House.
Most amazingly, the GOP is actually standing by Rove’s remarks — and doing so by citing stuff that appeared on Move-On’s website, and remarks made by Democratic politicians years after 9-11 when it has become obvious that Bush’s approach to the war on terror has been a complete failure.
The worst part is, history has shown us that “move-on” was right. More importantly, perhaps, is that the American people are beginning to realize that “militarizing” the war on terror is completely counter-productive, that bombs create more terrorists than they kill, and that the most critical battle of the war on terror is the battle for hearts and minds.
And it is this increasing awareness on the part of the American people that Rove is most afraid of — and its why he has resorted to the kind of slanderous and vile statements he made.
Rove’s attempt to exploit 9-11 in order to denigrate those who are now becoming aware that the Bush regime is making America less safe than it was is even more reprehensible. He shouldn’t resign, he should be fired.
Dave
Good Stuff!