The Belgravia Dispatch pretty much sums up my opinion about the SOTU address (and I sorry for the delay posting this, but I have been busy):
This SOTU felt like something of a requiem. It was almost painful to watch. Like, say, Jacques Chirac, the President seemed a dead man walking. The domestic policy part, despite some initiatives of arguable import (energy conservation, health insurance), reeked of half-hearted delivery, a sense that little of it would come to fruition, in short, that is was mere filler/prologue. Put simply, Bush’s heart wasn’t in the domestic policy section (and Cheney even mischievously winked to the gallery during one of the reduction in energy usage parts). None of it was truly convincing, in the least.
Then Bush transitioned to foreign policy (after the obligatory homeland security boiler-plate), the linch-pin of his Presidency, and how his legacy will largely be determined. And of this section, what can one say? His tactical political goal was clear, stop the hemorrhaging in support of Republicans on the Hill. Might he have swayed a Norm Coleman, say, to stay on the reservation and support Plus-Up? Maybe, but it was weak fare, a recitation of much that had been said before, and nothing I heard tonight gave any additional faith that injection of 17,500 troops into a raging civil war in the capital city of Iraq will change the direction of the conflict absent massive crisis management with all the key neighbors via a diplomatic offensive led by a chief diplomat of real caliber (if one were available).
On the domestic issues, I heard a political version of the Peanuts teacher- “Waah wah wah Health care wah wah wah oil consumption waha wah wah.” My eyes just glazed over. I know none of that isgoing to happen. You know none of that is going to happen. The people applauding in the chamber know it is not going to happen. Bush and his speechwriters knew it was not going to happen. It was silliness, and even if the policies have merit and should happen, do you really trust this band of imbeciles to implement them? I sure as hell don’t, and Belgravia nailed it (although minor quibble- the title of his post should have been Dead Man Talking).
As to the foreign policy stuff, meh. The usual lofty rhetoric was present (although I didn’t see any axis of evil stuff):
In the sixth year since our nation was attacked, I wish I could report to you that the dangers have ended. They have not. And so it remains the policy of this government to use every lawful and proper tool of intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and military action to do our duty, to find these enemies, and to protect the American people.
This war is more than a clash of arms — it is a decisive ideological struggle, and the security of our nation is in the balance. To prevail, we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred, and drove 19 men to get onto airplanes and come to kill us. What every terrorist fears most is human freedom — societies where men and women make their own choices, answer to their own conscience, and live by their hopes instead of their resentments. Free people are not drawn to violent and malignant ideologies — and most will choose a better way when they are given a chance. So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates, reformers, and brave voices for democracy. The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say, for the sake of our own security … we must.
Blah blah blah. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Most silly of all is that his rhetoric about the severity and importance of this struggle does not even have any internal consistency, for a little bit later we learn:
One of the first steps we can take together is to add to the ranks of our military — so that the American Armed Forces are ready for all the challenges ahead. Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next five years. A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time.
Six years in to the greatest threat to our society EVAH, and the decider has chosen now is the time, over the course of five years, to increase the military by 92,000 men. That isn’t even enough to handle what is needed to address our losing affair in Iraq and our mission in Afghanistan, and those won’t be ready for five years.
Q: How serious is this struggle if we don’t have any sense of urgency about it?
A: About as serious as Hugh Hewitt and the Bush dead enders, I presume. Faced with the prospect of actual dissent and treason within the Republican ranks after Hagel’s well-deserved and passionate speech yesterday, brave bloggers worldwide created a bizarre and troubling pledge for everyone to ‘sign.’ The pledge:
If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.
The current signatories include serious military thinkers such as Hugh “HARRIET MIERS IS THE BOMB” Hewitt and Dan “God hates fags” Riehl, and, of course Red State, which used to be conservative but now is little more than a sad exercise in Rovian doublespeak (but they hate Democrats, so that counts for something!). The whole list of signatories can be found here. It is hard to describe how creepy and, well, authoritarian this nonsense is, but Glenn Greenwald does an able job of it.
I tried to think of some other pledges to take the place of this exercise in lunacy, and this is what I came up with for all these Bush diehards:
“Follow Bush over a cliff or we will make sure that we are a Southern regional religionist party with 12 seats in the Senate!”
Not only is supporting Bush with this piddling surge a terrible idea for Iraq and for our troops, it is politically stupid. The deep thinkers on the Bush diehard right have decided, however, to double down. Now not only will the GOP be under assault in 2008 externally for their hideous decision-making, horrible leadership, and sickening fealty to the rotting Bush regime, but now we can set up some internecine warfare to boot. Sounds like a plan, guys.
And that is where we are. Iraq is a disaster, our military is strained, the administration is drained, under assault, worried about the Libby trial, and devoid of leadership and bereft of ideas. If that wasn’t clear before the State of the Union, it sure as hell should be now. It would be premature to call the Bush Presidency dead, as we still have two years of watching them slowly rot while spreading further their cancer into the body politic. Personally, I am going to hold my nose and try to pretend it is not partially my fault we are in this mess.
Jake
You mean like societies where women can determine how many children they have, where people don’t piss their pants over politians who don’t follow a specific religion, where people can marry whom they want or refrain from marrying, serve in the military regardless of sexuality and that sort of thing?
Uh oh. Beware the Lavender Jihad!
Mike
This is great news. I sure hope lots of Rethugs sign the petition. Hold on to the Bush anchor all the way down….
tBone
I think the Pledge is a great idea, actually.*
*Assuming we build a Golgafrincham Ark, with pledge signatories in place of the hairdressers, phone sanitizers, TV producers, et al.
pharniel
wow. so right.
*sigh*
Jake
Heh, my favourite signature so far:
Davebo
I’ll sign on to that. Gotta link?
dreggas
No most silly and perhaps most blood-pressure raising of all was when the turd burglar had the nerve to say we are in a fight (with regard to Iraq) that we did not ask to be put in. That was one of the most idiotic things I ever heard and I swear my head was about to explode.
With regard to the surge in general I keep envisioning the old commercials for, ironically enough, Surge. I mean I hear these dipwads say surge and immediately picture commercials of a bunch of caffeine addicts running down an alley, vaulting over furniture, to get a bottle of highly caffeinated citrus soda (which was actually really good and a hackers best friend back in the days of dial-up).
With regard to Hewitt’s little loyalty oath…BWAHAHAHAHA
Tsulagi
Good to see on the pledge site Hugh Hewitt stands proud among others giving their URLs. Like Huckleberry Buttsizer. Huckleberry’s ‘site’ might not be safe for work, but you can see some true American family values hetero porn there rather than the gay stuff most Republicans are used to. And if you are bored at work and want to toss Bush around some bubbles that escaped from his head, give Jomamma Sofugly’s site a try.
I’m sure there are more names on the linked sites that give The Pledge the proper respect its due.
jg
Can you imagine populating an entire planet with them? That poor planet.
Jane Finch
Yet more evidence that Hewitt and Riehl live in their own realities…and I’m sure the RNC is quaking in its collective boots because brave individuals like “Booboo kitty” and “NZ Bear” have signed the petition. And I am happy to see that Haywood Jablomy and Jesus’ General have signed on.
David
Replace “in place of” with “in addition to,” and you’ve got my vote.
Michael Demmons
Well, I see O.J. Simpson has signed the pledge, as well as quite a few people who’ve signed it twice. Lord knows how much of this nonsense is made up.
Tsulagi
“The Pledge” is just another minor head shaker. Long ago I learned not to ask the rhetorical question “Can these idiots be more retarded assholes?” They just don’t fail to keep trying.
They have no clue what those guys on Mt. Rushmore stood for. Instead, they’re proud serving members of the Mountain of Stupid. That’s the MOS chosen by these patriot warriors.
Bombadil
Well, things are looking up here, anyway. This year, John realizes how silly this pledge thing is. Last year he would have threatened to remove anyone who didn’t sign it from his blog roll.
SeesThroughIt
My thoughts exactly.
That’s really funny. I remember those commercials, too. Yeesh. But that also reminds me of the good ol’ days before we took our eye off the ball and blundered into Iraq, we were actually doing some good in Afghanistan. Bush kept insisting that we were going to “smoke out the Taliban,” which made me picture U.S. soldiers and Taliban members sitting down for an evening of bong hits, pizza, laughter, and, ultimately, a peace agreement.
At any rate, you covered an awful lot of stupid in this post, John. Kudos to you and your intestinal fortitude to be able to slog through it. BTW, does anybody else thing this unbelievably stupid “pledge” is sort of the political version of the Silver Ring Thing?
Sherard
BRILLIANT!!! Nothing like a little misdirection, eh ?
Q: How serious is this struggle if we don’t have any sense of urgency about it?
A: Uh, hhmmmm… Hey look, Bush supporters want you sign a petition.
Good thing you did that. Otherwise you might have to supply the non-existant answer from the left about why there ISN’T a struggle, and therefore doesn’t actually require any urgency. He suggests adding a Civilian Reserve Corps and 92,000 troops and your answer is… wait for it… NOW is the time for this ? So, I take it you support these initiatives, then ??? I am, of course, left to assume so since, as per the lefty playbook, no actual IDEAS are required. Only criticism.
Neat trick. I also like the waah waah waah, I couldn’t be bothered trick too. That is precious.
Paddy O'Shea
When 9-11 happened I believed that the nation would wake up to the phoniness of the appointed president, and that the blame for this disaster would fall firmly upon the flabby rounded shoulders of the White House Republican leadership. After all, hadn’t The Washington Post reported just a month before how George W. Bush spent 42% of his first 9 months in office in some stage of a vacation?
But instead Bush became enormously popular used the resulting political capital to embroil us in needless wars and other destructive nonsense that will haunt us for decades.
So tell me this, when Gallup showed Bush’s disapproval rating at 6%, where you included in that number? And if not, how was it you were suckered in by these people?
Redhand
With apologies to Michael Jackson in the “Thriller” video, “What’s the problem?” Dick Cheney is still able to say of Iraq: “Bottom line is that we’ve had enormous successes and we will continue to have enormous successes.” You doubt the word/sanity of our VP?
I think you have to go back to the last two years of Jimmy Peanut’s Presidency to see any parallel with the presidential unraveling we are now witnessing. And in my opinion this is worse.
Cyrus
When I hear “loyalty oath”, the first association for me is Catch-22, and this effort deserves about as much respect as the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade. While the sentiment behind such oaths is stupid at best and horrifying in many cases, the signers of this represent at most 30 percent of America — those who still support Bush — and more likely, the roughly 10 percent who supported a “surge” while it was safely hypothetical. The national Republican leadership is not nearly dumb enough to take the oath seriously, unfortunately. Just a few more moderate Republican incumbents might get beat in the 2008 primaries, and the disastrous, unnecessary war will be tied just a little more closely to the Republican Party, but that’s about it. Hewitt, Riehl and Red State are shooting themselves in the foot… but only lightly.
Or, to put it more succinctly, “if they had a brain, they’d be dangerous.”
Bombadil
Yes.
Bombadil
Yes/yes.
dreggas
One needs looke no further than the words of your own taint in chief:
When asked what should Americans do after 9/11 and what sacrifices were to be made the squatter at 1600 said “Go shopping and carry on with your lives”.
When asked in December 06 about the sacrifices america should be making again the answer was none, go shopping.
However in your case Sherard I would recommend going out and having a nice big cup of shut the fuck up before coming back with your meaningless ass licking.
John Cole
Umm. Does this really even deserve an answer? Probably not, but I will give you one anyway.
It is much too late to do anything about Iraq. The damage has been done, the dye has been cast, and the piddling troop surge will do nothing to reverse the course of events. If we could immediately send 100k more combat troops and that would possible quell the violence and turn Iraq around, I would support it.
But that isn’t what Bush is proposing. So why am I even bothering answering you?
BTW- When did I become a member of the left? And you might check Red State out- some more members of ‘teh left’ are not supporting this ‘surge’ nor are they signing the silly ass petition. Leon Wolf- leftist.
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Wait, are you saying Bush is oh so serious about this war, while the two-thirds of the nation against it are not?
I’ve asked this before and I’ll ask again:
tBone
Says Sherard, in a post containing no ideas, only criticism.
Your spoofing has grown tiresome. Begone with you.
Dave
When you started speaking ill of God’s Own President…
…simple answers to simple questions and all that…
Pb
They never asked me. However, I was hopeful after hearing the bullhorn speech that he might turn out to be competent. However, that all evaporated in the run-up to war with Iraq.
Andrei
One thing I think you could do, and maybe you could influence other conservative to moderate bloggers as well, is to start removing blog roll links to sites that have gone over the deep. I’m hoping the Peter Dauo at Salon will do this someday soon as well. I’m of the opinion he links to sites like Sister Toldjah as a wink and a nod to how absurd some of these people have become, but a link is passive support and eyeballs to feed the ego nonetheless.
It’s time to let internet Darwinism start to take its course, and let them live in their own echo chambers, sucking all the oygen from each other as they fade away into extinction.
tBone
It would be an abortion-free, immigrant-free, terrorist-free, gay-sex-free paradise, where every tree branch would droop with succulent liberty berries, and streams would run full with delicious, refreshing freedom juice. I’m sure you’d hate it, moonbat.
Tony J
Aren’t these the same Bushlickers who made a big deal about how disgracefully anti-democratic and ‘Stalinist’ it was for the Left-Wing Blogosphere to try and ‘Purge’ that ever so moderate Joe Lieberman because they couldn’t stomach opposing views within their Party?
Mmmm. Credibility + Gap = These people are a danger to themselves.
dreggas
And have the atmosphere of venus with the flora and fauna of mars no doubt.
pharniel
just remember, it’s treasonus and hurts the country if you critizie the president, AND i learned on redstate that the president is commander in chief and no one else can do anything about it.
Wilfred
The Right can wrap itself in as many piss-stained flags as it wants, but the Left is its usual bogus self in not demanding for a complete withdrawl right now.
Next to starting this imbecilic war, the second biggest mistake was in backing the wrong side. Holy Mother of Redstate! If a combined 80% of Iraq, Shia and Kurds combined, aided by the world’s only Stupidpower, can’t beat the Sunnis, then we absolutely have to get the fuck out yesterday. This mealy mouthed ‘non-binding’ crap is for people who already have shit their pants.
Bubblegum Tate
Amen to all of this, Pb.
Jake
Now if the people who signed the Purge the Anti-Surge Oath would just sign up at the nearest recruitment center…
Bite the liberty berries and drink the freedom juice sounds like something Jeff Gannon would say.
dreggas
There is something just not right about the idea of gently squeezing liberty berries to get freedom juice…
tBone
gay-sex-freeGay Sex! Free!pharniel
Again, children attempting to play politics.
You see the same thing from redstate and Ace of Spades (RS and AoS respectivly)
There is a good reason for the non-binding resolution, specifically it’s a feient and backend diplomatic ovature to get a good weather gauge on how the opposition feels and allows a discussion to occur with lots of outs for everyone.
If it’s found to be wildly unpopular you drop it dead, if it’s wildly popular beyond belife you pass it and start the impeachment.
It’s also a good time to meet with your oponents and discuss whatever, say, who an acceptable VP to become president would be in return for impeachment procedings….
in short, politics and strategy are hard and take a long time.
if any idea seem so to easy, it is.
Paddy O'Shea
Wilfred – yeah, but the issue for Bush has little to do with beating the Sunnis. It is now all about keeping Iran out of Iraq. Which is probably the biggest consequence of Bush starting and losing this war.
ChristieS
No. My first instinct after the Towers/Pentagon/Field in PA were hit and the PTB started saying Osama-did-it ™ was to think to myself “do you have proof or do you just want it to be so?”
I supported the effort to capture Bin Laden in Afghanistan to bring him to trial for the hijacking. I’m sorry to say, I went to war with the President I had, not the one I voted for.
I have never…not for one, single, miniscule portion of a second, supported the Iraqi invasion. Bush threw away everything we had: reputation, money, troops, and international good will…all to gratify his need for political masturbation.
I’ve said it before, but maybe the NSA missed it the first thousand or so times: Mr. Bush, quit creaming your jeans on my country.
ChristieS
Ack….I read that wrong. I *was* included in the *disapproval* number. ::sigh::
Proof positive that I should never try to respond while enraged.
pharniel
sherard does that. I think that’s the point.
so read a sherard piece, breathe and then see if there’s anything worth responding to that someone other than it reading will be enlightened or intruiged by.
TenguPhule
Shorter Sherad: I am only a mask over Dick Cheney’s cockhead.
Paddy O'Shea
Christie – That’s OK. It’s a very emotional issue for me as well. I never felt so betrayed by my country than when Bush was proclaimed a hero because of a terrorist attack that occured due to his incompetence.
ChristieS
I’m waiting for Streif to ban him. Serious messiah complex that dude has. Gods know that Streif cannot bear to have anyone disagree with him. P’haps his wife needs to up the volume of metamucil he takes.
dreggas
that would cause his brains to fall out, it’s what happens when one has shit for brains.
matt
Andrei, I think John has delinked in the past (I don’t think he links to stoptheaclu anymore), but yeah, I’ve been suggesting for a while now that it’s ridiculous to give these people a voice beyond their own echo chamber.
Although, John reads these blogs, and I can imagine how it would feel…odd to delink from sites you read, even if you disagree with them.
Also I think people would pretend not to understand the difference between partisan blogs, and insane blogs.
In any event, I don’t think there’s a good reason why any sensible person should provide someone like Huge Hewitt exposure beyond his own site, even through something as (trivial?) as a web link.
Dave
The Iraqi forces sure are standing up!
While I’m thoughly enjoying watching the Bushbots selfdestruct and the modern GOP implode. It kills me the the fiasco that is causing the meltdown is costing American lives.
It kills me that the Decider’s ego is so out of control that he’d rather see Americans die than admit he’s wrong (or try to save his legacy, or insert your favorite reason here).
It’s truly depressing.
matt
By the way, is this pledge retroactive to include Republicans who spoke out during our previous President’s various foreign adventures?
Let’s get rid of the old traitors before we begin focusing on the new ones.
Tim F.
Also remember that Sherard always posts once and then leaves. Arguing with him is like arguing with the irritating noise that your car makes when you start it.
Tom Hilton
On the one hand, that pledge is the stupidest goddamned thing I have ever seen.
On the other hand, it is signed by someone named U. R. Abunch Alosers, so that gives it some credibility.
Perry Como
Listen, you leftie commie pinko terror loving traitors: we are facing an existential threat, an ideology of Islamonazicommieklingonfascism and hate. There are evil people out there trying to KILL US! I know you leftists want to put the terriers up in a Holiday Inn with a mint on their pillow every night. But we are fighting for freedom. And justice. And pie.
In order to face this Islamomaocastrosithfascism, we need to attack the problem head on. And sending 20,000 troops to Iraq will do that. We are in it to win it. All or nothing. Traitors.
Richard Bottoms
Yes, let’s commit political suicide just as the Republican party is in the process of destroying itself.
This is more fun than I ever imagined, watching these retards move the deck chairs every which way on the Titanic.
It is worth the choas in Iraq for the next two years just to ensure the RepubliTaliban Party becomes the footnote in political history it deserves.
My utmost respect to John for accepting his responsibility for putting president Potato Head in office and then voting for him again. Lesson learned.
Gregory
Word.
Even before the August 6 PDB — let alone the revelation of Bush’s “you’ve covered your ass, now” response — I smelled a rat the minute they White House changed its story from “there was no warning” to “there was no specific warning.”
dreggas
But wait I thought that the klingons were our friends after all we have one for Secretary Of State (I wish I could have found the clip of her from the SOTU the other night when she really was her DenIb Qatlh best!)
Fledermaus
That was a good one:
Jake
Gasp! You mean Sherardyouare…cuts and runs?
Actually, I’ve seen him linger in a thread. Like a fart in an elevator.
Teak111
For being such, apparently, word smiths, the GOP and by extension rightwing blogs are choosing all the wrong words regarding Iraq. Words/phrases like no surrender, victory, battle, No retreat, pledge, loyality oath, win, conquest, and surge have lost all creadibility along with those who continue to use them. The words I want to hear as a moderate GOPer, are: solution, diplomacy, negociation, strategic, win/win, postive outcome, etc. These may be wimpy words to our more aggressive (and possibly less bright) brethen, but they are the words that will move us past the Iraq mess with best possible outcome. The problem with the “surge” is not the surge (maybe it will work, hope so), its the used car salesmen trying to sell it to me. Last time I bought a car from this guy, it don’t make it past the parking lot. And by the using of the same old words, he’s trying to sell me the same old car because words run both ways. Iraq has past the GOP by.
Pooh
There is actually a perceptive comment or two at BizzaroWorld, viz:
If one accepts the ‘ideological war’ construct (which on some level, I do, though “war” is not the preferred nomenclature, dude) this is just right…
Newport 9
As His Holiness Hugh Hewitt reminds us:
There it is, folks. Will you stand with His Holiness, or will you stand with the neoappeasers?
Pooh
Shorter Hewitt: “we lost because we wanted to.”
TenguPhule
Troubleshooter dreggas, Friend Computer has noticed you are accessing information above your clearance level.
Please report to Particle Recycling for Mandatory Atomic Disassembly. And have a nice day!
TenguPhule
I pledge Allegiance to the Frag of the United Incompetents in Hysteria. And to the Republicans for which they stand. One Matron, under Doud, InFristable with Liberties of Pages for all. Amen.
maf54
I said that every time I invited the pages over for pizza!
Wilfred
Pharniel writes:
Now I get it. It’s like football: you go left, he goes right, and the rest of you guys get blown to pieces by IEDs. The official Died For Nothing moment came when the Dems took power. We can’t stop Bush; they could have. Instead we get feints, and backfield in motion and whose ass can cover the widest spread.
The right has chickenhawks, the left has chickenshits.
TenguPhule
They’re working at it. But to impeach and get him and Cheney lined up against the wall takes time. They need to build a solid case all the while the GOP are throwing up roadblock after roadblock up in front of them.
And the long knives from the back don’t make it any easier.
TenguPhule
Shorter Wilfred: I want my pony now! Now now now!!
Wilfred
TenguPhule:
Well, I hope you’re right. I’m going to stick around here, and in six months we can tally up how many more dead kids and ruined lives we have. I say that when you have the power to do right, do it, and it is long past the moment to stop this stupid war.
The Jesus, Mary and Redstate crowd know what they’re about. The surge gives them another two years with front row seats at the Coliseum. It’s not about ponies, man, it’s about their fucking death trip and once again they got exactly what they wanted. I’ll start counting from NOW, and see what the number is in two years. Your heart is in the right place, but you’re naive.
TenguPhule
You explain to me how a Democratic party with an uncertain majority in the Senate (Lieberman is a war whore) can stop it without commiting harakiri by cutting off funding.
The only way those troops are coming home is when Bush and Cheney are gone. Congress doesn’t issue the Army marching orders, and at this point oversite and information gathering is the name of the game.
I’d love for this stupid war to end today. But it’s not happening because it’s a pony. And I’m too old to go looking for ponies.
jimi
There is no Soviet Union anymore, but everybody remember those great victories and defeats. We trusted in idea and we made our history through great losses…
http://www.backinussr.com
Wilfred
TenguPhule:
You reckon? Let me tell you about ponies. In 1967, I went to the funeral of a young man from my block who had been an older brother to me. His death in Vietnam killed his mother and destroyed the rest of his family. In 1971, another young man from my street was killed in in Vietnam; he was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot and was like a god to us.
Two years from now, we’re still going to be burying people whose younger brothers looked up to them as gods. We can’t do it anymore. Lots of people talk about Vietnam, but how many people on this site remember those killed in 70 and 71, when it was already a done deal.
These people at Redstate and other places who mocked Cindy Sheehan were the same shits who kept the war going back then, and not enough people in the government stood up to their bedwetting and fear-mongering. I really believe if someone called them out right now it might save the lives that we threw away in ’71 and ’72. If I had the power, I’d call them out right fucking now. Talk to the families in two years.
The people behind the surge love death, it doesn’t matter who the enemy is. let’s not give them anymore. I’m with anyone who says stop this war right fucking now, and I don’t hear anybody screaming loud enough.
Wait till the funerals two years from now and then talk about ponies.
ThymeZone
Wilfred and TP: You guys are on the same side. What are you fighting about?
ThymeZone
Is this the basis for the feud?
In that case, Wilfred, you are missing the point, I think.
The non-binding resolution is actually a smart legislative stroke, in a context where proper oversight has been screwed over by AUMF.
AUMF is the problem here. Once you put forces in the field, once you have a “war,” legislative options are limited, no?
demimondian
I don’t think that Wilfred is missing the point as that he’s asking for results now — and, like TP says, that’s wishing for a pony. Ain’t gonna happen…yet.
Wilfred, ask yourself: if the Congress tried to pass a bill preventing new troops from going to Iraq right now, (1) would it pass the Senate, (2) if (1) is yes, would it survive the inevitable veto?
I put it to you that (1) is “no” and (2) is “no”,.
The Dems need to work to get enough Publicans to break ranks to make (1) and (2) both true. Then, and only then, can we realistically try to force the President’s hand.
dawnsblood
I will absolve you John. After all I can imagine you standing next to Teddy Kennedy, voting to abandon the South Vietnamese. If you do pull this off, I hope the millions that are ‘re-educated’ and murdered bother you at least a little.
demimondian
Troubleshooter TP, please let me remind you of The Computer’s Friendly, Happy Directive on “Redirection of personnel for atomic repurposing”. The Computer (who is Your Friend! and only want the Best for You!) has requested on numerous occasions that we concentrate on the positive aspects of atomic repurposing — no corpse left behind, for instance — rather on its irreversible consequences.
Thank you for your attention, and have a Nice Day. (TM). (R). (C).
AlanDownunder
Mate, you’re not Robinson Crusoe, and you’re in company with millions of rusted-on Democratic Party supporters. The Bushistas tapped into some very prevalent and unhealthy American attitudes just waiting to be exposed by the use Bush made of 9/11.
What is needed now is not critiques of loonies like Bush and his remaining adherents, but an analysis of what it is about the USA that permitted this disaster to snowball. (Hint: left/right – a fetishistic distinction in right’n’righter USA – has stuff all to do with it)
juandos
“What is needed now is not critiques of loonies like Bush and his remaining adherents”…
Hmmm, obviously a socialist upbringing that’s rampant in urban parts of of what used to be the land of cast off scum is evident in this posting…
“The domestic policy part, despite some initiatives of arguable import (energy conservation, health insurance), reeked of half-hearted delivery, a sense that little of it would come to fruition, in short, that is was mere filler/prologue. Put simply, Bush’s heart wasn’t in the domestic policy section (and Cheney even mischievously winked to the gallery during one of the reduction in energy usage parts). None of it was truly convincing, in the least”…
Hopefully Bush for all his sad faults won’t push to hard on this part of his socialist agenda…
ChristieS
^5….I got nothin’
adnoto
Wilfred Says:
The Right can wrap itself in as many piss-stained flags as it wants, but the Left is its usual bogus self in not demanding for a complete withdrawal right now.
What “left”?? The number of representatives that actually represent “the left” can be counted on one hand (and they have been calling for withdrawal and talking about cutting off funding). I am going to assume you meant the so called “opposition” or “the Democrats,” in which case you are barking up the wrong tree fella. There is no representation of the “left” to speak of in this country anymore. It just doesn’t exists. This is another reason for which you have to thank the Con noise machine. The shift of an entire people’s ideology into insanity. No one even knows their left from their right anymore because they hold onto the false premise that they still both exist and are represented.
I bet you think Hillary Clinton is a member of “the left,” correct?
Sheesh.
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