I wish I could write really insightful posts regarding the current political landscape. For anyone who might stumble across this blog but have somehow not managed to come across the really good liberal blogs out there, go check out Firedoglake, DailyKos, Taylor Marsh, The Next Hurrah, Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo, etc. and then start following the links those sites provide.
Back to this post. I won’t try to outdo those posters, who obviously do a much better job than I. But I would like to voice my intense displeasure about the hypocritical statements being made and postures taken. The latest manufactured uproar is about Jean Rohe’s commencement speech at the New School in New York City, and how she preemptively and summarily handed John McCain his butt before he even had a chance to make his speech.
I won’t go into the pro’s and con’s of McCain’s position on anything here. I used to rather like him, as I thought he was a straight shooter and could be trusted even though I didn’t agree with him on some specific issues. I have since proven to be very wrong. But what I am writing about here is the response of the wingnut empire to Rohe’s rather extraordinary speech, and her even more extraordinary response to a Rotwieller attack by McCain’s surrogate. What a courageous and outstanding individual she must be. The short version of the wingnut outrage goes something like, “How DARE she speak out against McCain! He’s a war hero! He was in a POW camp! How uncouth liberals are! No manners! They will probably never win another election ever again with that kind of behavior!”
Yeah. So, do they not remember certain recent historical events, such as the sliming of John Kerry’s war record? Kerry fought in Vietnam when his country called on him, and was decorated for his actions. Bush, on the other hand, can’t even prove that he actually performed his requirements in the Guard. Max Cleland is a triple amputee who lost his limbs in Vietnam when he threw himself on a live grenade to save his buddies. But that didn’t stop the Republicans, with help from the national GOP, imply that he didn’t really deserve his purple heart and that he even somehow was himself responsible for his condition. John Murtha, ditto. John Murtha has been a right-of-center Democrat his entire career and a true supporter and friend of the military. Because Murtha came out and said what he and many in the Pentagon are thinking and feeling about how this administration is totally screwing up in how the war in Iraq is being fought and those colossal screw-ups are affecting the military preparedness of this country, it’s time to break out the character assassination machinery again. Jean Schmitt (R-OH) got up in the House of Representatives and accused Murtha of being a coward. The rightwing blogs are not even being that polite. I saw one that said that Murtha should be stripped of his position in the House, frog marched out the door, and then arrested.
So, what exactly is it again that we are complaining about, hmmmm? It’s uncivil and uncouth to preemptively challenge someone who is speaking at a college’s commencement but is using the event as a campaign event, but it is perfectly acceptable to participate in character assassination against people who really should be heroes in the eye’s of this country?
Man, hypocrisy really pisses me off.
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