No Prisoners
OK, Dems, it’s crunch time. The White House has thrown down the gauntlet, and you need to get out there and punch them right between the eyes:
President Bush and his surrogates are launching a new campaign intended to rebuild support for the war in Iraq by accusing the opposition of aiming to appease terrorists and cut off funding for troops on the battlefield, charges that many Democrats say distort their stated positions. […]
Pressed to support these allegations, the White House yesterday could cite no major Democrat who has proposed cutting off funds or suggested that withdrawing from Iraq would persuade terrorists to leave Americans alone. But White House and Republican officials said those are logical interpretations of the most common Democratic position favoring a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
“Fake but accurate,” as the Ole Perfesser might scoff.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said it is reasonable for Bush to presume that Democrats will try to cut off funding for the war if they take over Congress, noting that 54 House Democrats voted against a spending bill for military operations last year. “How would they force the president to withdraw troops?” she asked. “Yell?”
Democrats contended that the statements went too far. “Maybe there are some people in America who do not want to fight the war on terror, but I do not know them,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said yesterday. “We Democrats want to fight a very strong war on terror. No one has talked about appeasement.”
Bzzzt! Wrong way to respond! You have to go right after these creeps. Attack them and remind the American people of their repeated failures over the past six years, from the Iraq war to Katrina to the bankruptcy bill to the Abramhoff scandals to pork barrel spending. Emphasize that they have precisely zero positive accomplishments to brag about. And do not at any time let up, because they will not stop attacking you.
The White House strategy of equating Democratic dissent with defeatism worked during the 2002 and 2004 elections, but it could prove more difficult this time. Some Republicans, such as Rep. Christopher Shays (Conn.), line up with Democrats in seeking a timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq. When Bush and his allies accuse those favoring such a timetable of “self-defeating pessimism,” as Cheney put it this week, they risk spraying friendly fire on some of their own candidates.
In an interview yesterday, Shays said the charges by Cheney and Rumsfeld are “over the top” and unhelpful. “The president should be trying to bring the country together and not trying to divide us,” he said. Shays, a longtime supporter of the war who just returned from his 14th trip to Iraq and faces a tough reelection battle, said he plans to outline next month a deadline for replacing U.S. troops doing police-style patrols with Iraqi forces.
Oh c’mon, Shays, sparking division and hatred is Bush and Rove’s bread and butter tactic. In fact, it’s the only thing they know how to do well- they sure as hell can’t govern effectively.
While no Democrat has the powerful platform that the White House affords Bush and Cheney, the complaints about the mischaracterizing of positions on the war flow in both directions. Many Democrats accuse the president of advocating “stay the course” in Iraq, but the White House rejects the phrase and regularly emphasizes that it is adapting tactics to changing circumstances, such as moving more U.S. troops into Baghdad recently after a previous security strategy appeared to fail.
“Strategically, we are staying committed to the fact that this is an important mission and one that should be accomplished,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Democrats, this adviser said, say “we’re ‘doing the same thing over and over’ when that’s not the case.”
Which is why Bush told a crowd of supporters in Utah that “we will stay the course” just yesterday.
And again, why did this official have to be quoted anonymously, guys? Hmm?
OK, here’s the best part:
The effort will continue with other speeches in Washington and around the country, followed by a whirlwind tour of the Sept. 11 attack sites and a Sept. 19 address to the U.N. General Assembly. During a campaign stop in Arkansas yesterday, Bush denied that the efforts are connected to the election campaign.
“They’re not political speeches,” he said. “They’re speeches about the future of this country, and they’re speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, this nation would become even more in jeopardy. These are important times, and I seriously hope people wouldn’t politicize these issues that I’m going to talk about.”
Two words: fuck you.
The Democratic strategy for the next few weeks is twofold: First, punch back every time Republicans challenge their commitment to national security. Yesterday, for instance, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) was among the half-dozen leading Democrats to strike back at Rumsfeld by noontime. “Secretary Rumsfeld’s efforts to smear critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy are a pathetic attempt to shift the public’s attention from his repeated failure to manage the conduct of the war competently,” she said.
Good. I’d also emphasize all the generals that have called for Rummy’s resignation. Paint Rumsfeld as a senile old bumbler who doesn’t have the support of key military figures.
At the same time, Democrats plan a series of events in which to condemn Bush’s Iraq policy and amplify their charge that Iraq is not a central front in the campaign against terrorism. In a late-morning conference call, Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the Democrats’ leading spokesman on national security issues, said only a small minority of those involved in the bloodshed in Iraq are the kind of international terrorists the United States should be hunting down.
Unlike in the past two elections, it is not clear which party benefits most from these debates. Most polls show that the public is essentially split over which party will keep the United States safe from terrorists. Both sides anticipate that Bush and other Republicans will get a slight bump from the Sept. 11 anniversary and the public’s renewed focus on terrorism on that day, but that will not end the focus. “Over the next 69 days,” Mehlman said, “there will be an important discussion in America over what it takes to make America safe.”
These people are the most cynical pricks on the planet. Show them no mercy, Dems. Go out there and tear them apart. Let their own failures be their undoing.
the common ideological thread of fighting “Islamic fascism.”
Glad the WashPo remembered to put bullshit quotes around that term. It’s pretty tough for non-state actors to have a “corporate state”, even them wily Islamies.
As far as the administration goes–hey look, more speeches! Proud, manly speeches! See how much better we Republicans are at fighting terror? We’ll proudly stand in front of our enemies and talk, talk, talk! Like men! Mannish men! COCKS! FOOTBALL! See, we’re men! We’ll stay the course! We’ll drive you right over the fucking cliff if we have to, but nobody’s going to call US gay!
Greenwald has argued convincingly that this sort of rhetoric is part of a larger strategy by the administration to expand executive power. Basically they’re trying to convince the media and cowardly Democrats that Congress doesn’t have the warmaking powers explicitly granted to it by the constitution, and that the only authority Congress has is over funding. This is, as he says, not only against everything the founding fathers believed in but also deeply, deeply pernicious.
Uh, yeah.
How’s about this: In the late 90’s, Republicans demanded accountability when Clinton lied about a sexual indiscretion.
Now we have war without accountability.
Now we have a devastated U.S. city that is still in ruins a full year later, and no accountability.
Now we hold prisoners, both U.S. citizens and foreign citizens, outside of the legal system, according to the whims of the White House, and no accountability.
Now the president breaks the law, FISA, and there is no accountability.
The Republican party now refuses to provide accountability.
Vote for someone who will.
(Accountability rhetoric stolen from Matt Stoller.)
Oops … not just Matt Stoller, but Chris Bowers, Rick Jacobs, Matt Stoller and Joel Wright. Same link as above.
I’m a bit perplexed by the BushCo ascription of the “cut and run” philosopy to the Democrats when they, themselves have led the charge on it for years (followed by some Democrats.) What is welfare “reform” if not cutting and running from the economic problems of many American citizens. What are threats of funding cuts to schools that fail to performand running from the resulgting losses of a generation of kids ill equipped to pursue the American dream?. And tax cuts for the few while running from the consequent national debt that will burdon generations yet unborn?
Did not the Sainted Ronnie cut and run from Lebanon?
Bug Mr. Bush and buds will stay this cours as did another George on a summer day in a river valley in Montana.
md
“What is welfare “reformâ€? if not cutting and running from the economic problems of many American citizens?”
Exactly, every time a Repub says “cut and run” a Dem should ask “Wasn’t that the President’s strategy for New Orleans?”
I am tired of the insidious use of the word “politics” to attempt to stifle dissent about issues that ARE political. For God’s sake, how is the future of the country NOT a political issue? Now, it is certainly possible to politicize an issue that is not properly a concern for the federal government, say, removing the feeding tube of a comtose woman or regulating interpersonal relationships between same sex people. But there’s not many issues more political than national security.
I agree with fighting back but I think dems need to be really careful about not simply responding to repubs, not letting them set the conversation. Take it and turn it–the white house is dedicated to this war in Iraq and it is not making us safer. What would make is safer is X (dedicating resources to finding Osama; using investigations to stop terrorists before they strike like the Brits did, whatever).
“accusing the opposition of aiming to appease terrorists and cut off funding for troops on the battlefield, charges that many Democrats say distort their stated positions.”
Not all Democrats, note. Just “many”. The rest obviously do aim to appease terrorists and cut off funding for troops on the battlefield. Sheesh!
Damned liberal media again…
My guess is that this new round of moronic speechifying by Dear Leader serves several purposes: 1) it gets him out of the house so Cheney can continue to run things the way he wants to; 2) enables Dear Leader to headline all those fundraisers around the country; and 3) enables the Repugnant Party to utilize Air Force One to shuttle Dear Leader around to the fundraisers under the guise of “official business” so they don’t have to pay but a fraction of the cost of what are actually fundraising trips.
No surprises there, of course.
Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot.
Fuck you, Rumsfeld, with knobs on.
That is all.
Did not the Sainted Ronnie cut and run from Lebanon?
No, he just redeployed our Marines to fight the gravest threat to America of the decade: Grenada.
The horror. The horror.
Click and listen.
http://warehouse.nimbit.com/ericschwartz/ClintonBJ.mp3
If you haven’t watched Olbermann’s response to all this bullshit, get your ass over to Crooks and Liars right now. Trust me on this one. It’s goooooood.
Seems to me the operative definition of “treason,” at least in the American parlance, should be “those behaviors that contribute to the destruction of America.”
Well, America is not a physical entity. It is an ideal, a perspective safeguarded by an informed citizenry, enjoying the rights enumerated in the constitution, who participate in a representative democracy insured by a separation of powers between three putatively disparate branches of government.
So who again is on the wrong side of that definition?
I’m so f-ing sick of quotes from ‘anonymous White House officials’. If they won’t attribute the quotes, the press is just acting as mouthpieces.
And I can’t believe Mike Malloy got fired. Fuck Air America.
In an interview yesterday, Shays said the charges by Cheney and Rumsfeld are “over the top� and unhelpful. “The president should be trying to bring the country together and not trying to divide us,� he said. Shays, a longtime supporter of the war who just returned from his 14th trip to Iraq and faces a tough reelection battle, said he plans to outline next month a deadline for replacing U.S. troops doing police-style patrols with Iraqi forces.
FUUUUUUUUUUCK Chris Shays. I mean I hold no quarter for your average, run-of-the-mill wingnut, but I truly despise mealy-mouthed milquetoast douchebags like Shays.
Hopefully, he’ll soon be a member of the out-of-work Lieberman for Shays coalition, but that’s as far as it should go. The guy should be forced to live in Bagdahd for the rest of his miserable fucking life for the utter horseshit he’s swallowed and spit out.
He’s been a lickspittle enabler of these psychotic losers for six years, now that he’s feeling some heat, he becomes the august statesman his press clippings believe him to be. Here’s a clue you dickless clown: It’s too late.
I’m not a Dem, but count me in.
I feel so much better, safer, and informed, now that I’ve gotten the word from a guy who admits he only reads the sports page.
“Cut-and-run”? How’s about the Repugs “Squat-and-shit” all over Iraq, poor Americans and anybody else wjo isn’t part of the rich white male ingroup?
In honour of the occasion to paraphrase Patton:
War is a bloody, killing business. You’ve got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours! Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it’s the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you’ll know what to do!
I don’t want to get any messages saying, ‘I am holding my position.” We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Republicans do that! We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the GOP’s balls! We are going to twist their balls and kick the living shit out of them all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!
Now go out there and kill me some republican scum.
YEEEAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHH
Kill us a few italics tags, too!
can we declare a fatwa on italics?
is that not funny?
gah
Without italics americans, we’d have no pizza!
P.S. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson rocks!
Bush was out on CNN today saying somehting like if we pull of out Iraq the terrorists will be attacking us on our own soil.
He’s not even making sense anymore. What the fuck does this mean, anyway?
Nothing remotely connected to Iraq prevents terrorists from attcking us on our own soil. I won’t get into the fact that the draining of resources needed to protect us at home puts us in greater danger. But what fucking fantasy is he trying to spin here? How can he even say this nonsense? “A” doesn’t prevent “B”, they are not connected. It’s not Iraqi insurgents that would attack us here, so it doesn’t make any difference how we interact witht hem.
I think his fantastical statement is supposed to mean that our show of “resolve” by staying in Iraq will so impress terrorists that they will quake in fear, such fear that they will not dare to attack us. But fear of what? that if they attack us again on our own soil we will retaliate by invading some other country that doesn’t deserve it and get bogged down there? Yeah, that’s gonna stop them.
I’m not sure, Hate. If you were my company commander, Captain Encrusted Eyes, I’d either follow you right into their guns and we’d all get killed, decorated or both, or frag your ass. It’s an open question at this point…
mikey
From now on, we oughta start a pool for each post on how long the thread goes before someone louses up the tags.
Yes, but once we rid ourselves of Joe Lieberman, that’ll all be fixed.