Please. Enough of this. I am guilty first. I repent, and ask forgiveness and ask all of those on my side of this horrible divide to stand down with me.
Enough of this
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“…and I ask forgiveness…“
No different principle than a leader of gang-rape telling the victim “I feel better now, forgive me. Oh, and I’ll ask the others to stop”.It’s the excuse of an arsonist who’s run out of matches. Irresponsibility appears to be a ‘partisan’ issue: confined to one party.
After trashing the blog with cut-n-paste spam, flaming, trolling, and damaged integrity; now the Left wants ‘peace’.
The Hurricane Katrina disaster has lessons for Virginia. We need to review plans and procedures, make sure facilities are adequate, etc etc. And we need to ensure that no positions of responsibility are ever held by leftists; they are clearly and proudly irresponsible.
Virginia cannot afford to leave life-affecting decisions in the hands of people who’ll act rashly, then think everything’s OK because they say ‘Sorry’.
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Ironically, this piece was written BEFORE Katrina.
The conservatives’ meltdown
By W. David Jenkins III
Online Journal Contributing WriterAugust 31, 2005—My, what a busy summer it’s been! I’ve been away for awhile enjoying time with the family and, during my travels, I noticed something very odd happening out there. People are talking about Iraq instead of “American Idol.” They’re bitching about gas prices instead of bitching about the wrong person being “fired” by The Donald.
There are more and more people expressing outrage about what they’re reading and seeing on the media rather than being outraged with the media itself. There seems to be a tsunami of buyer’s remorse sweeping over the land and the size and nature of this phenomenon prohibits the lazy media from engaging in their usual practice of ignoring what’s really going on.
Bush is scheduled to emerge from his western hidey hole soon and quite honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to extend his vacation just a bit longer. Really, who could blame him? Even with the controlled settings of his last two public appearances in Utah and Idaho, Bush came across as a guy who is just not well. After my time off, I’m feeling pretty rested and all but Bush looks and sounds tired, irritated, pale, thin and–well just plain sick. One might speculate that the bubble Bush’s people have tried to keep him in is beginning to burst. After all, it’s been a busy summer.
Bush’s poll numbers are so bad right now that you need the toilet plunger just to get a look at them. Richard Nixon at the height of Watergate had better numbers than Bush does right now. Bill Clinton’s numbers at the same point in his second term were going up–largely due to the public’s support of him during the obsessive right-wing witch hunt. Maybe Bush should get himself an intern to help his numbers? Okay, sorry. That grossed me out, too.
Bush can take some solace in the knowledge that he still has the support of his base but these folks seem to be losing it too. From the super-patriots in Texas firing shotguns and driving their pick ’em up trucks over makeshift memorials to the war dead (Bush’s war dead), to the wacko right-wing televangelists calling for the assassination of democratically elected leaders, Bush’s base is starting to cause the administration to “distance itself” from its most staunch supporters.
Then we have Ann Coulter calling New Yorkers “cowards,” Paul Harvey advocating nuclear war in the Middle East, Jerry Falwell supporting “bombing terrorists in the name of the Lord,” and RNC Chairman Ken Melman accusing Democrats of being the “party of fear!” If you listen real close, you can hear the sound of millions of foreheads being slapped in disbelief. Seriously, would you want to come out of hiding after a season of this kind of behavior done on your behalf in a crippled attempt to somehow defend you? And that’s not the worst of it.
There are turncoats in the Republican Party now. Bush must attack the credibility of his fellow conservatives in order to defend his failures. Senator Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam vet, has come out and stated that Iraq is beginning to resemble Vietnam on many levels. You have Trent Lott hawking his book while spilling the beans about pre-Iraq invasion meetings with Bush and how determined he was to invade days after 9/11. There is also the nuisance of Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) and his determination to get to the bottom of what happened to Operation Able Danger. Then there’s Pat and Bay Buchanan blasting Bush on his Iraq policy, while giving Cindy Sheehan a wink and a nod. Oh yes, what about that Sheehan woman?
In the tradition of Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Colleen Rowley, Sibel Edmonds, Bunnatine (Bunny) Greenhouse and other remarkable American women, Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan has done more to irritate Bush in her quest for honesty and accountability than anyone would have thought possible. What started as a personal desire for answers from the man responsible for the lies that led to her son’s murder, Sheehan’s vigil has blossomed into a national movement so enormous that the mainstream media was forced to take notice. What’s more, her steadfast nature and her visibility have brought out the absolute worst behavior of her detractors, otherwise known as the “patri-idiots.” You know, the Bush people.
Bush neighbor, Larry Mattlage, fired off his shotgun in the vicinity of the vigil because he was “getting ready for dove season.” Mattlage told reporters to “figure it out.” Aw, how positively clever, Larry.
Of course, we can’t forget Larry Northern of Waco (or is that Wacko) who felt the need to destroy over 500 crosses and 40 American flags that had been set up by Sheehan supporters as a makeshift memorial to Americans who lost their lives in Iraq. Really, exactly how does this translate into “patriotism?”
Then, right on cue, Rush Limbaugh states that the whole Sheehan saga just “isn’t real” and compares her to “RatherGate’s” Bill Burkett and then denies he said it the next day. Conservative crackpot Michelle Malkin wrote that Sheehan and her supporters were “anti-military, anti-American, terrorist sympathizing agitators,” as if anyone with two brain cells to rub together actually took her seriously. Bill O’Reilly said that Sheehan’s behavior was “treasonous.”(Oh, shut up, Bill). Conservative radio host Mark Williams stated on Fox that “Cindy Sheehan is on a mission to figuratively urinate on her son’s grave and make his death stand for nothing.” And, finally, U.S. News & World Report senior writer Michael Barone claimed that the media is currently devoting substantial coverage to Sheehan because “many in the press . . . do not want us to win this war and think that we don’t deserve to win this war.” And therein lies a large part of the problem Bush & Co. is experiencing; fewer and fewer Americans are buying the B.S. these days.
The polls show that most people believe Bush has lied about why we went to Iraq and they don’t support the way he’s handled the subsequent disaster his ideology has produced. Armor is still in short supply while the resistance is anything but in its “last throes.” The completion of the Iraqi constitution seems more and more like wishful thinking (not to mention the final draft isn’t what people thought it would be) while the violence in Afghanistan is creeping back into the headlines thus reminding Americans that Bush never finished the job there in the first place. People are tired of staying the course, whatever that means, and they’re tired of Bush constantly getting their hopes up.
Remember the months prior to the invasion? Americans were told that Iraq would be a “cakewalk” and the oil revenues would pay for everything. When Baghdad fell in less than two months, Bush did his “mission accomplished” strut and everything was going to be okay. But people soon realized, even if Bush didn’t, that the mission wasn’t accomplished and Americans and Iraqis were paying the ultimate price.
Then there were the string of events that would bring an end to hostilities or at least make things easier over there. The killings of Hussein’s sons, Hussein’s capture, the passing of sovereignty and the elections were all milestones which were supposed to fix everything. But they didn’t and in some cases things got even worse. Now Americans are supposed to believe that the Iraqi constitution is going to be another “fix all,” yet most of them aren’t buying it. And things aren’t helped when you have Safia Taleb al-Suhail (the purple-fingered Iraqi woman who hugged the Marine mom at the State of the Union speech) who now worries that women’s rights in Iraq will be a thing of the past due to the influence of Islamic clerics in the draft of the constitution.
Now, put all this together and throw in the following; Rove and Libby targeted in the CIA leak scandal, the Downing Street Documents, the revelation of Operation Able Danger, John Bolton already botching things up at the U.N.,
Social Security reform falling flat on its face, the possible release of more pictures and videos from Abu Ghraib, the steady chipping away in Ohio which continues to expose Republican corruption in high places and, to top it all off, Cindy Sheehan is not going away.Just what is the worst president in the history of the United States supposed to do? How does he preserve any sense of legacy?
That’s simple. You send Karen Hughes to make America’s image better in the eyes of the Arab States, you promote a “Freedom Walk” (do we really have to pay for that?) to celebrate (?) 9/11 and, just to make you feel better, you flip the press the one finger salute. And if that fails, simply stomp your feet and yell “stay the course.”
You know, it’s got to be tough being a conservative these days.
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Ed Helms: While everybody else is busy setting up commissions and finding fault, through the president’s leadership he’ll end up building a billion dollar dam in Arkansas.
Jon Stewart: Why would he build a dam in Arkansas?
Ed Helms: His plan will be to fight the water there so we don’t have to fight it here.
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I am shutting down this thread and any other thread connected to Hurricane Katrina — unless there is a clear and compelling Virginia angle to it. If you want to assert George Bush’s culpability in the disaster, then fine another blog. If you want to defend George Bush, find another blog.
If you want to discuss what Katrina means for Virginia, I recommend any number of posts that already appear on Bacon’s Rebellion. Our contributors have raised any number of serious issues already. Development of vulnerable coastlines. Erosion of the wetlands that buffer hurricane storm surges. Evacuation routes out of Hampton Roads. Reshaping government entities with appropriate size and authority to respond to emergencies. Empowering communities to respond to emergencies. Virginia’s response to the Katrina catastrophe. The Governor’s response to Katrina.
There are any number of other useful questions that could be addressed here. What are the major threats that face Virginia? Where are the gaps? Who has first-responder responsibility, and how long would they have to operate alone before FEMA could arrive on the scene? What is the condition of Virginia’s emergency communications infrastucture — how interoperable are state, local and federal communications sytems?
I welcome discussion on any of these topics. However, I will delete any post that veers back into partisan blame mongering/defending of President Bush, FEMA or anyone else for their role in Katrina.
This decision is not targeted at any individual or their comments No one person’s actions or comments have inspired this decision. (Salt Lick, take note: This is not about your use of a particular word.) I don’t blame people for having strong emotions. I just refuse to allow Bacon’s Rebellion to become a forum for bitterness and divisiveness.
I regret the necessity of taking this action, but I assert my right to do so. If you want to address the ethics of this action, feel free to do so on this thread. That’s a legitimate topic for discussion. Just don’t let your comments veer back towards George Bush.
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“And we need to ensure that no positions of responsibility are ever held by leftists; they are clearly and proudly irresponsible.”
Fascinating.
As I said, bagging on the left is far far more important to the only people (the right base) politically capable of holding our federal government to account and making sure it shapes up its act. What the left thinks is politically irrelevant: their attempt to score partisan points won’t go anywhere or affect anything. But the obsessive focus on the right of pure apologia hurts the country by allowing our leaders to operate without any need for accountability whatsoever.
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I wouldn’t mind if it were aimed at me, Jim. It’s your blog.
I applaud your decision. Hindsight is 20-20, but I think the best thing for these tragedies is to say “This topic is off-limits for 3-4 weeks, then you can finger-point.” No intelligent conversation about blame can occur in the middle of death and misery, especially if there is political advantage involved.
Cheers.
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THIS IS ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!!
Now you guys want to duck it!!!
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Scott,
Jim stated no more for now unless it has something to do with Virginia. Salt Lick also has a great point. Let’s wait until emotions give way to reason. (I’d say all the !!! shows a lot of emotional.)
It’s not a matter of ducking. That’s a cheap shot just to make your point because you do not what’s in each bloggers heart. Judge not, less you be judged.
Jim has (well had) one of the best “balanced” blogs in Virginia, let’s not turn this site into a shooting gallery. If you insist fixing blame now, why don’t you log on to Moveon.org and come back in a few weeks.
Let’s get back to Virginia and continue to pray for all those affect by Katrina around the gulf.
Just my two-cents.
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