Give 'em hell, Harry
SENATOR CALLS BUSH 'A LOSER' Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, called President Bush "a loser" in a discussion with teenagers at a Las Vegas high school. "The man's father is a wonderful human being," Mr. Reid told students at Del Sol High School when asked about the president's policies. "I think this guy is a loser."
HA HA freaking HA!!! Just how great is it to hear some truth from a Democratic leader? Man, I love it.
But alas, the story does reveal the facts as they stand. Being a Republican means never having to say you're sorry. But as a Dem, the howls of protest ring loud and long, and, being a decent human, you reconsider and, as Reid has, you apologize for any harm your comments may cause.
But Republicans aren't burdened by conscience. At all. Ever.
Bush's Sec. of Education refers to the NEA as a "terrorist" organization. Apology? None.
Bush calls NY Times reporter Adam Clymer a "major league asshole." Apology? Nope, no way.
Dick Cheney tells Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy to "go f*ck yourself" on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Apology? Hell no.
Loathsome reptile Rep. Dan Burton, R-IN calls the sitting president a "scumbag". Apology? None.
Former congressman and noted racist Jesse Helms stated that if Clinton came to North Carolina, he better have some good security, implying that he'd likely get shot at. Apology? Un-uh.
Tom Delay issues a thinly-veiled threat to any judges that don't rule according to his peculiar theocratic notions saying that the time will come when they'll have have to "answer" for their actions. Apology. Are you kidding?
Religious fruitcake Pat Robertson recently said that blocking a handful of radical fringe judicial nominees represents a greater threat to the country than Islamic terrorists. Apology? No way.
"Doctor" Bill Frist and other Republicans appears on a broadcast Christian fundamentalist program who's primary message is that Democrats are anti-Christian. Apology? Not a chance.
So you go Harry. Tell it like it is. Only don't be quite as quick to apologize for speaking the truth. Sure, you have more class than the right, but they'll only take advantage of it.
Here's the RNC's statement on the matter:
"Sen. Reid's comments are a sad development but not surprising from the leader of a party devoid of optimism, ideas or solutions to the issues people care about most. The President will continue reaching across party lines to save Social Security, enact an energy policy, grow our economy and support our troops."Yeah, right.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 5/07/2005
4 comments
4 Comments:
I'm afraid I'm not as high-minded as that. (but you knew that).
I think the term "loser" is light-years away from any truly nasty comment. I would imagine that Reid was just looking for a word that the kids could relate to, as "loser" is a very common epithet among them and just implies that the subject is a dork. I wonder what word or phrase would have been appropriate for Reid to relate his dim opinion of Bush. Or would any critical comment about Bush be considered out of line for an audience of teens? I find it hard to get too het up about such a mild comment.
But I agree, somehow the ubiquitous term "loser", especially as it is tossed around by teenagers, just doesn't seem to warrent a direct apology to the White House as Reid quickly provided.
But... perhaps Reid is more shrewd that we realize. After all, this is a tactic the Rs have used for a long time. Say something which might be considered reckless, or in their case, delusional, and then argue that you "mis-spoke" or some other slippery dodge. But in the meantime, the remark is shouted across the world. The entire thing is designed to get the idea out there, and once you've done that, you can back away from it, since your job is done.
Reid couldn't call a press conference and announce that Bush is a loser. But he can say it to a class and then apologize. But it ensures that the story is carried far more widely than if he hadn't termed Bush a loser. It's actually a win-win. The only people it pisses off are likely Bush zealots anyway, and for the rest of the public, it helps implant a degree of disrespect for Bush that is critical to build in order to begin to tear down the wall of incincibility that has been elaborately constructed around him.
Excellent observations. And yes, Nixon's disgusting smear of his opponent, Helen Gahagan Douglas, an extrordinary woman, was pretty much the beginning of Republican's knowingly employing the worst sort of slimy lies in order to gain power.
I was watching a very interesting panel from the L.A. Book fair and one of the pannelists observed that liberals believe in debate, while conservatives believe in right or wrong, and that, he felt, was the reason they've seized the high ground in the info-wars. The right is actually anti-democracy, as they simply believe that once you make up your mind, that's it, and anyone who opposes you is to be destroyed or overtaken. Libs believe in right and wrong too of course, but believe that policy matters should be open to debate, which after all, is pretty much what democracy is all about.
I recall the class of the GOP (i.e., Barney Fag.)
Richard A. Clarke, the very effective security specialist at the White House (and later forced out because of his honesty and competence) has delivered a scathing assessment of Bush administration policy and personnel in his book, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror." Clarke portrays the president and his top aides as arrogant, insular and uninformed. A more accurate, or cogent, assessment could not have been made, especially to those who have to put up with the blind stupidity and fanaticism of the top levels of the current Bush administration.
Shalom,
---Leland Milton Goldblatt, Ph.D. ®
Distinguished Professor
http://www.prof.faithweb.com
In four short years George W Bush has turned our country from a prosperous nation at peace into a desperately indebted nation at war.
Yep. Play nice. Let the opponent belittle, mock, and marginalize you. Get your ass beat. Have half the country consider you a bunch of wussies. But don't fight fire with fire.
Take the high road. Let Bush and Co. have a pass on every radical destructive measure they propose and pass. But whatever you do, don't call a spade a spade.
Just be nice. Be civil, and be respectful to people who have not earned it or in any way deserve it.
Great winning strategy.
The Dems have followed this exact strategy for the past 6 years. Is it working? HA!
It's time for Dems to stop acting like battered wives.
If you think the public will EVER wake up and give the Dems some sort of brownie points for being nice, I think you're sadly mistaken.
They LIKE dirty fighters that fight hard for what they believe. They, with a great amount of help and encouragement from the right wing noise machine, think that people that are "nice" and "respectful" are a bunch of pussies.
They love those "macho" Republicans that "tell it like it is" and never ever back down.
They have lost all respect for the Dems who appear to roll over on their backs in the face of the mighty Bush machine.
Sure, bashing the living hell out of Bush constantly is only part of the equation. But to leave it out is asking to lose. When the right, with all it's vast media resources and message discipline, is making Bush out to be up there with Lincoln and FDR, and convincing people that the Dems are a bunch of gay traitors, you better damn well pound on him and mock him and make sure people realize that yes, YES, it IS possible that Bush is just as bad as they secretly suspect deep down inside that he is.
Bush's image is a damn house of cards! Enough blows against it and it would all collapse into a collosal cloud of dust. His support is a mile wide and an inch deep.
Continuing to give Bush and his ilk great respect and deference that they in no way deserve only serves to make him and his administration seem legitimate, as if they're not actually that radical after all and not something people should be truely alarmed about.
They ARE radical and people SHOULD be alarmed, distressed, angry, and motivated to stop the damage first, and then work to reverse it.
Gene Lyons said it best. The Dems are getting NOWHERE dealing with Bush as if they're in some PTA meeting where everyone should just go along as if nothing is amiss and act as if speaking out loudly and strongly against this regime and what they're doing is somehow "unseemly" or "uncivil".
The time for this meek business-as usual strategy is long past, in my not too humble opinion.
You don't get respect for sucking up to power, and you don't appeal to Bush voters by sucking up to Bush and trying to appear to respect and sortof-kindof agreeing with him. The right laughs at you and so does half the country.
And Delay? Not that anyone was talking about that, but if it wasn't for prolonged and intense heat on Delay, the entire thing would have disappeared when he was allowed to change the ethics committee rules to protect his corrupt ass.
Even that outrageous action barely registered a blip on the media or public radar. The Dems "played nice" and only made a few little bleats about it and then "moved on".
But Dem activists kept at it and kept at it and finally got some media to look a little further and find the extent of his corruption.
And as usual, the Dems, having been castrated by the right and by themselves, had absolutely no say in the matter. It wasn't until a few Republicans finally spoke up and expresed their concerns with Delay's extensive and long term corruption that the story finally began to get some notice.
Bush and Rove sure the hell didn't ignore their angry core base. And the Dems would be stupid to ignore theirs. Sure, don't say something so out there that you appear unhinged. But taking a few swipes at Bush and his ilk does little long-term damage.
I suggest that the reason you're so concerned about being "nice" and not bashing Bush is that you listen to too many Republicans and too much Republican spin and attacks that are inevitable after such incidents like Reid's.
The shame is that you actually give a damn what they think and that it actually worries you that the right doesn't like it when people don't show the "proper respect" for these Republican crooks!
You really should stop worrying what they think. It doesn't matter, unless you're trying to suck up to them.
And I suggest that all Dems stop doing that immediately.
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