Shalrirorchia
22-06-2006, 17:10
THE FLYING RAT: Political Commentary
The War In Iraq and the War of Words
There was probably little need to confirm it, but today the talking news heads confirmed that the phrase we've been hearing..."cut and run"....was engineered by Karl Rove, the President's master political operator and strategist.
"Cut and run" has been picked up by the Bush faithful and Republican politicians in general in an effort to label the Democratic Party as defeatist. "Withdrawal is not an option. Surrender is not a solution." G.O.P. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist declared in an almost rhetorical tone designed, no doubt, to rally the party faithful.
This strategy seems familiar...and it should be. It's the exact same strategy that won the elections of 2004 for the Republican Party and assured George W. Bush of a second term. Unable to market legislative successes, unable to claim a great foreign policy victory (like capturing Osama Bin Laden), the Republican Party's strategists have turned to the time-honored tactic of fingerpointing at their Democratic rivals: "Well, they'll be even worse!"
Things are different now.
The war in Iraq continues to drag on, with no end in sight. To call it anything less than a war is to dishonor the men and women serving there. The war appears to be going nowhere...and not all the "Mission Accomplished" signs in the world will change that. The Republican Congress can pass a resolution declaring that the United States will be victorious in the War on Terror (as it did this past week), but merely saying it does not make it so. Only wisdom and far-reaching policy will do that, and unfortunately national Republicans are critically short on both.
For the War in Iraq has become an unspoken synonym for a botched Republican presidency...indeed, a botched presence in Washington in general. The G.O.P. lags behind the Democrats in the polls despite the vitriolic attacks launched by the Republican political machine. They are in trouble; not because of anything the Democrats did, but rather what the Republicans themselves did. Republicans are in trouble because their policies have not worked. Their economic policies have enriched only a few at the expense of the greater whole of the country. Their social policies have set back civil rights and driven a wedge right to the heart of the nation. Their foreign policy has failed to stabilize either Iraq or Afghanistan, and has failed to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. At home, they have not secured the southern border with Mexico, nor the northern border with Canada, and they have not secured America's ports either. The history books may well judge that the Bush Administration weakened America at a time where we could not afford to be weak...that at a time when we needed a President, we instead received a C.E.O.
In this politically-muddy environment, Iraq has come to symbolize what is wrong with the Republican leadership in Washington: They make policies based on ideology instead of on cold, hard facts. It now seems quite clear (based on investigative reporting) that contrary to what the President has said that planning for a war with Iraq began not long after 9-11. That indeed, the decision that war would be declared against Iraq was reached well in advance of the actual event. Information gathered by U.S. Intelligence services (like C.I.A.) was tailored to fit the needs of the policy; data that supported an invasion of Iraq was included, data that contradicted the policy was excluded. Instead of looking at the information and then deciding what to do, the Bush Administration decided what to do and then went looking for information to back the decision. The same can be said for many Bush Administration policy initiatives, but Iraq stands head and shoulders above the rest. Why? Because George's Iraqi education in Ideology Vs. Fact is being paid for by the blood of American soldiers.
So again, this strategy of "cut and run".
Democrats, contrary to popular belief, are not cowards. Nor do they oppose fighting terrorism. To broadly label them as "defeatists" smacks of a failed political strategy. The Republicans have controlled the Presidency for 6 years and the Congress for 12. They have played political hardball at almost every possible turn, leaving a DeLayian-taste to politics that will persist long after they themselves are no longer in office. Any average American who thinks that the Republican Party has their best interests at heart ought to take another look. This same G.O.P. today (June 22) blocked a Democratic effort to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour. This marks the ninth time that congressional Republicans have blocked wage increases for working American families since 1997. At a time when gas prices are soaring, Republicans are defeating efforts to raise the minimum wage, a figure upon which the survival of America's poorest citizens rests. More of the same, failed policies.
Problem is, it doesn't matter how much lipstick you put on a pig...it's still a pig. Bash Democrats all you want...it still doesn't make Republican policies or priorities any more successful than they have already been (which is to say not much). Come this November election, we'll see if the American people can still recognize the swine despite the cosmetics.
The War In Iraq and the War of Words
There was probably little need to confirm it, but today the talking news heads confirmed that the phrase we've been hearing..."cut and run"....was engineered by Karl Rove, the President's master political operator and strategist.
"Cut and run" has been picked up by the Bush faithful and Republican politicians in general in an effort to label the Democratic Party as defeatist. "Withdrawal is not an option. Surrender is not a solution." G.O.P. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist declared in an almost rhetorical tone designed, no doubt, to rally the party faithful.
This strategy seems familiar...and it should be. It's the exact same strategy that won the elections of 2004 for the Republican Party and assured George W. Bush of a second term. Unable to market legislative successes, unable to claim a great foreign policy victory (like capturing Osama Bin Laden), the Republican Party's strategists have turned to the time-honored tactic of fingerpointing at their Democratic rivals: "Well, they'll be even worse!"
Things are different now.
The war in Iraq continues to drag on, with no end in sight. To call it anything less than a war is to dishonor the men and women serving there. The war appears to be going nowhere...and not all the "Mission Accomplished" signs in the world will change that. The Republican Congress can pass a resolution declaring that the United States will be victorious in the War on Terror (as it did this past week), but merely saying it does not make it so. Only wisdom and far-reaching policy will do that, and unfortunately national Republicans are critically short on both.
For the War in Iraq has become an unspoken synonym for a botched Republican presidency...indeed, a botched presence in Washington in general. The G.O.P. lags behind the Democrats in the polls despite the vitriolic attacks launched by the Republican political machine. They are in trouble; not because of anything the Democrats did, but rather what the Republicans themselves did. Republicans are in trouble because their policies have not worked. Their economic policies have enriched only a few at the expense of the greater whole of the country. Their social policies have set back civil rights and driven a wedge right to the heart of the nation. Their foreign policy has failed to stabilize either Iraq or Afghanistan, and has failed to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. At home, they have not secured the southern border with Mexico, nor the northern border with Canada, and they have not secured America's ports either. The history books may well judge that the Bush Administration weakened America at a time where we could not afford to be weak...that at a time when we needed a President, we instead received a C.E.O.
In this politically-muddy environment, Iraq has come to symbolize what is wrong with the Republican leadership in Washington: They make policies based on ideology instead of on cold, hard facts. It now seems quite clear (based on investigative reporting) that contrary to what the President has said that planning for a war with Iraq began not long after 9-11. That indeed, the decision that war would be declared against Iraq was reached well in advance of the actual event. Information gathered by U.S. Intelligence services (like C.I.A.) was tailored to fit the needs of the policy; data that supported an invasion of Iraq was included, data that contradicted the policy was excluded. Instead of looking at the information and then deciding what to do, the Bush Administration decided what to do and then went looking for information to back the decision. The same can be said for many Bush Administration policy initiatives, but Iraq stands head and shoulders above the rest. Why? Because George's Iraqi education in Ideology Vs. Fact is being paid for by the blood of American soldiers.
So again, this strategy of "cut and run".
Democrats, contrary to popular belief, are not cowards. Nor do they oppose fighting terrorism. To broadly label them as "defeatists" smacks of a failed political strategy. The Republicans have controlled the Presidency for 6 years and the Congress for 12. They have played political hardball at almost every possible turn, leaving a DeLayian-taste to politics that will persist long after they themselves are no longer in office. Any average American who thinks that the Republican Party has their best interests at heart ought to take another look. This same G.O.P. today (June 22) blocked a Democratic effort to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour. This marks the ninth time that congressional Republicans have blocked wage increases for working American families since 1997. At a time when gas prices are soaring, Republicans are defeating efforts to raise the minimum wage, a figure upon which the survival of America's poorest citizens rests. More of the same, failed policies.
Problem is, it doesn't matter how much lipstick you put on a pig...it's still a pig. Bash Democrats all you want...it still doesn't make Republican policies or priorities any more successful than they have already been (which is to say not much). Come this November election, we'll see if the American people can still recognize the swine despite the cosmetics.