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June 19, 2006
Memo To Democrats: How About Just One Little Bitty Idea?
David Horowitz and Peter Collier reunite to succinctly summarize the Democratic leaderships' (along with a good chunk of the remaining rank and file's) position on the war in Iraq (hat tip to Powerline):
Democrat leaders would have us believe that their present defeatism, which they labor cynically to present as statecraft, is a rueful acknowledgement of facts on the ground in Iraq. They wanted the U.S. to succeed, but because of Bush’s bellicose mendacity they were forced to reconsider their support. Yet Nancy Pelosi, the Woman Who Would be Speaker, attacked the war on April 13, 2003, the day American troops pulled down the statue to Saddam Hussein. It was but two months before the entire Democratic leadership was attacking the President for “lying” about Saddam’s effort to buy fissionable uranium in Niger. The war against the war had begun even in the first flush of success. Within a few months, Ted Kennedy was claiming, “The president’s war is revealed as mindless, needless, senseless and reckless.”Given such views as these—the Democrats’ version of bedrock principles—the difficulties the U.S. has experienced in Iraq have been for them a wish fulfilling fantasy. Their present position—America was foredoomed to fail—is just one short step away from Noam Chomsky’s position—America had it coming.
Empahsis mine. I couldn't agree more. On the Republicans' side you have George Bush imperfectly explaining good policy that is sometimes imperfectly executed. On the Democrats' side you have ponderous gasbags like John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and John Murtha who haven't made a sound, logical assertion in the last twenty years or so monotonously repeating a non-policy: "Just get out."
Seventeen years ago Collier and Horowitz' great book Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the Sixties gave me the first real inkling that the Democratic party was no longer the party my parents, and I, thought it was. My parents were too old, and their memories of FDR too indelible, to ever be persuaded; but I was. Collier and Horowitz' book is still quite relevant, and it will continue to be so as long the Democrats their attempt to conjure up another Sixties.
It ain't gonna happen.
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Comments
I think you explain why Conservatism has been gaining momentum over the past 20 years. The children of FDR liberals are becoming conservatives while the children of conservatives remain conservative.
Of course, you have the inner-city dependents and elitist moonbats that will always be liberal. Imagine where the dems would be if they didn't have Hollywood to propogate their ideals to America as "mainstram"!
Posted by: Tim at June 20, 2006 09:19 AM
How's this for an idea? Let's stop shooting ourselves in the foot as we rush to waste resources we can't spare in a merely stupid move like the Iraq War? Maybe we could even muster up enough courage to respond to threats in a proportionate way, for example, by dealing with terrorism without junking our constitution, wrecking our military, and spending ourselves into oblivion.
Posted by: Jim Harrison at July 17, 2006 05:28 PM
Jim, you mentioned:
"...resources we can't spare..." While fighting this enormously expensive war against the Islamo-fascists, our economy has been growing by leaps and bounds. Sorry you haven't noticed.
"...merely stupid move like the Iraq war..." I realize that there must be some finite limits to the almost boundless compassion that "progressives" exhibit, but you might try and squeeze out a little more joy for the millions of Iraqis who've voted in three national elections over the last three years. Elections that were observed and certified by your holy U.N., I might add. But who cares about those dirty Arabs, anyway? Everyone knows they can't handle democracy.
"...junking our constitution..." Examples please. Would that be the brutal suppressing of critics of the administration like Cindy Sheehan or the editor of the New York Times? Can you name the prison they've been banished to? How about the recent acquiescence of the Bush administration to the Supreme Court decision on Hamda? Can you tell me how many people have been secretly arrested by the FBI for their "progressive" views? I didn't think so.
"...wrecking our military..." I always love it when a "progressive" puts words into the mouths of the military. I'd gladly give a week's pay to hear what they think of your emotion-based opinions. I bet you think Jimmy Carter was a fine president; you might ask around the military and see what they think of him.
Posted by: Jeff at July 17, 2006 10:57 PM
