“We’ve heard from the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they feel betrayed by Senator Durbin. The men and women of the Armed Forces are some of the most generous contributors to this ad campaign,” said Howard Kaloogian, Move America Forward’s founder and other Co-Chair. “Dick Durbin has provided aid and comfort to the enemy by making false accusations against the heroic men and women of our military.”
“Senator Durbin is this generation’s Jane Fonda. At least you could understand Ms. Fonda’s misguided conduct, as she was merely an actress,” Kaloogian continued. “Senator Durbin has failed to honor his congressional oath, for he has become himself a domestic enemy who seeks to lower American support for our troops, and provide verbal fodder for America’s enemies abroad. He should be censured by his Senate colleagues – and held accountable by the people of Illinois.”
And the “Stab in the Back campaign, Summer of 2005” continues, this week with a video special:
Move America Forward, an organization “committed to supporting America
jmaier
I’m afraid that there are simply no rhetorical excesses in the pursuit of one’s agenda. While that applies, to some degree, to all sides of the spectrum today, it is axiomatic for rabid right. Frankly, I think that this level of venom and misjudgment is going to lead to critical electoral defections for the Republicans.
This assumes, of course, that Democrats can field and fund strong, credible and centrist candidates in key races. As a Democrat, I firmly believe that defeat is still well within our grasp.
Scott Chaffin
Would it be acceptable to bitch-slap you for dragging ever more bullshit into the light of day? Or do you feel like you’re performing a valuable service? Just wondering…
sidereal
“Dick Durbin has provided aid and comfort to the enemy by making false accusations against the heroic men and women of our military”
Uh, were his accusations false? And were they his accusations, or the FBI’s?
John Cole
Scott- I could post pictures of dancing pigs, if you would like…
Actually, I am working round the clock to finish a copy-editing project, and I get tired of squinting at technical manuals written in multiple languages, so I blog for a bit, and then get back to it.
I have no such illusion that anyone really cares what I write about.
Scott Chaffin
As I say — dancing pigs or more daft effers…what’s the diff? Do you feel like you’re helping anything along? Not that I care, one way or the other. Just wondering, mostly. how deep you go on finding bitch targets.
Looks like flaming autos.
Darrell
To the extent that our military does not behave like the Khmer Rouge, yes, his statement was false
The FBI report made mention of “Nazi” methods of torture?.. Having said that, John Cole is correct that it’s time to move forward. Durbin’s remarks have already been thoroughly condemned and well publicized.. and he has issued an apology. It’s not as if there is a shortage of outrageously stupid comments coming out of Dems or anything.
KC
Man, once they’ve got a target, drawing blood isn’t enough. They want the body sucked dry. I feel sorry for Durbin now.
Far North
Durbin never should have apologized. Just like Karl Rove never apologized. That’s the way the “game” is played now.
Reality matters not. It’s all about illusion. Such as the illusion of homeland security, the illusion of fighting terrorism and, of course, the illusion that we’re winning in Iraq. Durbin isn’t a traitor. The wacko right wants to keep up this illusion that he is because it plays well with the wingnuts.
It’s all about what the Bush machine can get you to accept and beleive, whether is true or not. It’s all about illusion. The extreme right make their own “reality”.
tim
Crap, I’d want the whole party to do a swan-dive. But who is left?
Wait, I still want the whole Republican Army to jump off a cliff. I don’t care who is left.
Sojourner
If folks are this upset about Durbin’s words, which impact no one, they should really be frothing at the mouth over Rove’s outing. But then that would require some honesty on their parts.
No chance of that.
Pam is a non Stick Spray
What constitutes behaving like the Khmer Rouge? What constitutes behaving like a Nazi? Does one have to literally murder 6 million jews to make a comparrison to Nazis just, or can we look at, say, Nazi propoganda techniques, Nazi detention tactics, Nazi foreign policy, or Nazi torture techniques as facets of Nazism by comparrison to which someone’s actions can be said to recall Nazism? Durbin said the account of prisoner treatment reminded him of Nazism. He did not say it reminded him of genocide, fascist ideology, or dictatorial war mongering. Did anyone think to ask Durbin if he was aware specifically of a case of Nazi, Stalinist or Cambodian conduct that involved extreme temperatures, deprivation of water, or being chained hand to foot on the floor? If these tactics, or any tactics patently similar within the bounds of metaphorical acceptability, were indeed used by any of the regimes he mentioned, the comparrisons simply cannot be said to be false, however tasteless and ill advised they may be.
Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to evalutate the accuracy of the claim “you would most certainly believe” on account of the subjectivity of such a claim. If the FBI report personally and genuinely reminded Durbin of a description of Nazi or Stalinist conduct, his statement would represent a truthful expression of that impression. If he said that it did not in the least remind him of such conduct, when it in fact had, he would be misrepresenting his impression, and that would something akin to a falsity.
It is my belief that just as he wasn’t broadly employing a total, measured metaphoric commodification of Nazism, Stalinism or whatever ism is Pol Pot’s ism, nor was he, in his condemnation of the actions of specific U.S. personel, employing such a commodification or general impression of our troops as a whole. If my beliefs are based on valid assumptions, the generalizations of you and many on the right are at best not fully considered and at worst deliberate mischaracterizations of his statements. While with you I doubt the latter, if some politically motivated voices on the right are deliberately mischaracterizing his views of the prisoner treatment policy, and those who committed and sanctioned it, as a characterization of the U.S. military, broadly defined, it is they, not Durbin, who have committed a morally degrading act.
Kimmitt
Nah, if you give a person the choice between a Republican and a Democrat who sounds like a Republican, they’ll vote Republican every time.
Hokie
To the extent that our military does not behave like the Khmer Rouge, yes, his statement was false
Ok, repeat after me: “Dick Durbin never said our military behaved like the Khmer Rouge, Nazis, or Soviets.”
Is that so hard? Look, Durbin used stupid rhetoric, but there’s no need to actually misrepresent what he said.
Tim F
That’s obviously not true. These guys need Durbin outrage like a sinking boat needs a bilge pump.
Hokie
Touche, Tim, touche.
I forgot about the cathartic power of manufactured outrage.
Halffasthero
Please note the logo of this blog is Hot Air and Ill-Informed Banter, Scott. If you don’t feel like joining in and adding your own ill-informed banter – and you probably have more than most – no one is forcing you to read. I actually agree with most of what he posts. The rest of it I write off as too much caffeine.
guyermo
interesting note about lemmings……they don’t actually run off cliffs to their deaths. the guy who reported it actually made it up because his report was so abyssmally boring.
Rick
Nah, if you give a person the choice between a Republican and a Democrat who sounds like a Republican, they’ll vote Republican every time.
Kimmitt,
Perhaps not; I could see voting for Evan Bayh over Rudy Guliani. And in ’92, I wrote in a choice rather than pick between Poppy and Bubba.
Of course, being an oppressed pubbie minority in DC, it makes no difference whatsover who I vote for.
Cordially…
James Emerson
About lemmings…It is true they don’t jump off cliffs to their deaths, but they do inexplicably set out swimming in the Artic Ocean for points unknown and eventually drown. You would expect a rational lemming would change course a little to the portside and head back towards the safety of land, but the little buggers are so caught up in their futile endeavours that they never once consider the risks associated with swimming far from shore in dangerous waters. But such a behavioural change is beyond their scope of understanding. They are destined to become crab fodder…
Pam – Excellent commentary.
ppgaz
See the wooden spoon. See the pot. See the spoon stir the pot.
Theater, distraction, deflection. What Durbin said, of course, was factually accurate (100%, to my knowledge) and both politically and morally appropriate.
Under the No Good Deed Shall Go Unpunished clause of politics, of course, he must be slapped on the private parts for doing such a thing. And, the NeoCons desperately need diversions.
Luckily, we have the blogosphere to keep the flame of diversion burning. Without hands to hold the spoon, you see …..