Garrison Keillor on Republicans

[thebullet]

>
>
> We're Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore
> By Garrison Keillor
> In These Times
>
> Thursday 26 August 2004
>
> Something has gone seriously haywire with the
> Republican Party. Once, it was the party of pragmatic Main
> Street businessmen in steel-rimmed spectacles who decried
> profligacy and waste, were devoted to their communities and
> supported the sort of prosperity that raises all ships. They
> were good-hearted people who vanquished the gnarlier elements
> of their party, the paranoid Roosevelt-haters, the flat
> Earthers and Prohibitionists, the antipapist antiforeigner
> element. The genial Eisenhower was their man, a genuine
> American hero of D-Day, who made it OK for reasonable people
> to vote Republican. He brought the Korean War to a stalemate,
> produced the Interstate Highway System, declined to rescue
> the French colonial army in Vietnam, and gave us a period of
> peace and prosperity, in which (oddly) American arts and
> letters flourished and higher education burgeoned - and there
> was a degree of plain decency in the country. Fifties
> Republicans were giants compared to today's. Rich ard Nixon
> was the last Republican leader to feel a Christian obligation
> toward the poor.
>
> In the years between Nixon and Newt Gingrich, the
> party migrated southward down the Twisting Trail of Rhetoric
> and sneered at the idea of public service and became the
> Scourge of Liberalism, the Great Crusade Against the Sixties,
> the Death Star of Government, a gang of pirates that diverted
> and fascinated the media by their sheer chutzpah, such as the
> misty-eyed flag-waving of Ronald Reagan who, while George
> McGovern flew bombers in World War II, took a pass and made
> training films in Long Beach. The Nixon moderate vanished
> like the passenger pigeon, purged by a legion of angry white
> men who rose to power on pure punk politics. 'Bipartisanship
> is another term of date rape,' says Grover Norquist, the Sid
> Vicious of the GOP. 'I don't want to abolish government. I
> simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into
> the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.' The boy has
> Oedipal problems and government is his daddy.
>
> The party of Lincoln and Liberty was transmogrified
> into the party of hairy-backed swamp developers and corporate
> shills, faith-based economists, fundamentalist bullies with
> Bibles, Christians of convenience, freelance racists,
> misanthropic frat boys, shrieking midgets of AM radio, tax
> cheats, nihilists in golf pants, brownshirts in pinstripes,
> sweatshop tycoons, hacks, fakirs, aggressive dorks,
> Lamborghini libertarians, people who believe Neil Armstrong's
> moonwalk was filmed in Roswell, New Mexico, little honkers
> out to diminish the rest of us, Newt's evil spawn and their
> Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man suspicious of
> the free flow of information and of secular institutions,
> whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts
> trying to walk. Republicans: The No.1 reason the rest of the
> world thinks we're deaf, dumb and dangerous.
>
> Rich ironies abound! Lies pop up like toadstools in
> the forest! Wild swine crowd round the public trough!
> Outrageous gerrymandering! Pocket lining on a massive scale!
> Paid lobbyists sit in committee rooms and write legislation
> to alleviate the suffering of billionaires! Hypocrisies shine
> like cat turds in the moonlight! O Mark Twain, where art thou
> at this hour? Arise and behold the Gilded Age reincarnated
> gaudier than ever, upholding great wealth as the sure sign of
> Divine Grace.
>
> Here in 2004, George W. Bush is running for
> reelection on a platform of tragedy - the single greatest
> failure of national defense in our history, the attacks of
> 9/11 in which 19 men with box cutters put this nation into a
> tailspin, a failure the details of which the White House
> fought to keep secret even as it ran the country into hock up
> to the hubcaps, thanks to generous tax cuts for the
> well-fixed, hoping to lead us into a box canyon of debt that
> will render government impotent, even as we engage in a war
> against a small country that was undertaken for the
> president's personal satisfaction but sold to the American
> public on the basis of brazen misinformation, a war whose
> purpose is to distract us from an enormous transfer of wealth
> taking place in this country, flowing upward, and the
> deception is working beautifully.
>
> The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of
> the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the
> history of humanity has survived this. The election of 2004
> will say something about what happens to ours. The omens are not good.
>
> Our beloved land has been fogged with fear - fear,
> the greatest political strategy ever. An ominous silence,
> distant sirens, a drumbeat of whispered warnings and alarms
> to keep the public uneasy and silence the opposition. And in
> a time of vague fear, you can appoint bullet-brained judges,
> strip the bark off the Constitution, eviscerate federal
> regulatory agencies, bring public education to a standstill,
> stupefy the press, lavish gorgeous tax breaks on the rich.
>
> There is a stink drifting through this election year.
> It isn't the Florida recount or the Supreme Court decision.
> No, it's 9/11 that we keep coming back to. It wasn't the 'end
> of innocence,' or a turning point in our history, or a cosmic
> occurrence, it was an event, a lapse of security. And
> patriotism shouldn't prevent people from asking hard
> questions of the man who was purportedly in charge of
> national security at the time.
>
> Whenever I think of those New Yorkers hurrying along
> Park Place or getting off the No.1 Broadway local, hustling
> toward their office on the 90th floor, the morning paper
> under their arms, I think of that non-reader George W. Bush
> and how he hopes to exploit those people with a little
> economic uptick, maybe the capture of Osama, cruise to
> victory in November and proceed to get some serious
> nation-changing done in his second term.
>
> This year, as in the past, Republicans will portray
> us Democrats as embittered academics, desiccated Unitarians,
> whacked-out hippies and communards, people who talk to
> telephone poles, the party of the Deadheads. They will wave
> enormous flags and wow over and over the footage of firemen
> in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and bodies being
> carried out and they will lie about their economic policies
> with astonishing enthusiasm.
>
> The Union is what needs defending this year.
> Government of Enron and by Halliburton and for the Southern
> Baptists is not the same as what Lincoln spoke of. This gang
> of Pithecanthropus Republicanii has humbugged us to death on
> terrorism and tax cuts for the comfy and school prayer and
> flag burning and claimed the right to know what books we read
> and to dump their sewage upstream from the town and clear-cut
> the forests and gut the IRS and mark up the constitution on
> behalf of intolerance and promote the corporate takeover of
> the public airwaves and to hell with anybody who opposes them.
>
> This is a great country, and it wasn't made so by
> angry people. We have a sacred duty to bequeath it to our
> grandchildren in better shape than however we found it. We
> have a long way to go and we're not getting any younger.
>
> Dante said that the hottest place in Hell is reserved
> for those who in time of crisis remain neutral, so I have
> spoken my piece, and thank you, dear reader. It's a beautiful
> world, rain or shine, and there is more to life than winning.
>
> Garrison Keillor is the host and writer of A Prairie Home
> Companion, now in its 25th year on the air. This adapted
> excerpted from Keillor's new book, Homegrown Democrat (C
> 2004) is reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of
> Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

[rgraham666]

Pithecanthropus Republicanii - I like that one.

 

[Guest]

Pithecanthropus Republicanii - I like that one.

Yep, I liked that plus: hairy-backed swamp developers, fundamentalist bullies with Bibles, freelance racists, shrieking midgets of AM radio, Lamborghini libertarians, and Etch-A-Sketch president.

Perdita

 

[thebullet]

See, our problem here is, Democrats are literate in a society of aggresive illiteracy. Words like these by Keillor are so far over the heads of the average American that they have no impact whatsoever.

I was watching The Daily Show tonight. They showed a New York protest held by a group of Democrats playing dead near the Republican National convention. John Stewart commented that this is the perfect metaphor for Democrats: playing dead and saying nothing while the Republicans walk all over them.

I've had a running argument with my wife, who is a Democrat (I'm independent). I hold Gore responsible for the loss in 2000 because he went limp in the face of the Republican attack machine. And now the Republican attack machine is in full swing and where are the Democrats? Going limp, as usual. The only way to defeat Bush is to use his own tactics. My wife doesn't want to stoop to that.

Okay, Democrats. Maintain your dignity while the country goes to hell. I hope you can live with yourselves when America makes the final step into facism. At least you haven't gone against your principles.

 

[minsue]

See, our problem here is, Democrats are literate in a society of aggresive illiteracy. Words like these by Keillor are so far over the heads of the average American that they have no impact whatsoever.

The problem with Democrats is we keep making statements like that. It's kinda hard to bring the swing voters around by saying they're too illiterate or too ignorant to vote for a Democrat.

 

[shereads]

I'm a Keillor fan and this had me smiling and feeling happily smug until right about here, where I just felt awful:

...The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of
> the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the
> history of humanity has survived this. The election of 2004
> will say something about what happens to ours. The omens are not good.
>

> Whenever I think of those New Yorkers hurrying along
> Park Place or getting off the No.1 Broadway local, hustling
> toward their office on the 90th floor, the morning paper
> under their arms, I think of that non-reader George W. Bush
> and how he hopes to exploit those people with a little
> economic uptick, maybe the capture of Osama, cruise to
> victory in November and proceed to get some serious
> nation-changing done in his second term.

{snip}

They will wave
> enormous flags and wow over and over the footage of firemen
> in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and bodies being
> carried out and they will lie about their economic policies
> with astonishing enthusiasm.

Those are the thoughts, finally put into words, that have kept me awake nights since the invasion of Iraq. The futility of sharing our fate with people who can't or won't admit what's being done to the Constitution, and why, has left a lot of us Liberals feeling exhausted to tears. This gave me a little burst of energy:

l

Dante said that the hottest place in Hell is reserved
> for those who in time of crisis remain neutral, so I have
> spoken my piece, and thank you, dear reader. It's a beautiful
> world, rain or shine, and there is more to life than winning.

Thank you for posting it. As fine an essay for its moment in American history as anything of Mark Twain's in his day.

There's a line in Lord of the Rings, I can't remember which character, about "fighting the long defeat." We were defeated on or around Sept. 12 2000 when someone in the White House, maybe Rove or Cheney or even the non-reader himself, realized what a surprising and valuable opportunity had been delivered into their hands by Osama Bin Laden. He got what he wanted; they got a chance to do America over again, more to their liking, without the inconvenience of being questioned and held accountable. We're defeated, not because we were too stupid to see what was going on, but because most of us simply weren't cynical enough to believe that an American "statesman" would use such a wrenching tragedy to silence his political opposition.

 

[shereads]

I understand your dismay, but don't forget this one not-so-small fact about Al Gore (I follow Democratic politics pretty closely, and I didn't realize this until Tipper Gore mentioned it while defending her husband's campaign on a radio program last year):

Al Gore didn't only win the popular vote; he won more votes than any Democratic candidate for public office in history.

They were in the wrong voting booths in the wrong places, but the votes were there. And, in the end, as Keillor points out in his closing, there's more to life than winning.

If we have to have our own Rush Limbaugh and our own Ann Coulter and our own Karl Rove to save America from these people, what would we be saving?

See, our problem here is, Democrats are literate in a society of aggresive illiteracy. Words like these by Keillor are so far over the heads of the average American that they have no impact whatsoever.

I was watching The Daily Show tonight. They showed a New York protest held by a group of Democrats playing dead near the Republican National convention. John Stewart commented that this is the perfect metaphor for Democrats: playing dead and saying nothing while the Republicans walk all over them.

I've had a running argument with my wife, who is a Democrat (I'm independent). I hold Gore responsible for the loss in 2000 because he went limp in the face of the Republican attack machine. And now the Republican attack machine is in full swing and where are the Democrats? Going limp, as usual. The only way to defeat Bush is to use his own tactics. My wife doesn't want to stoop to that.

Okay, Democrats. Maintain your dignity while the country goes to hell. I hope you can live with yourselves when America makes the final step into facism. At least you haven't gone against your principles.

 

[thebullet]

shereads:

If we have to have our own Rush Limbaugh and our own Ann Coulter and our own Karl Rove to save America from these people, what would we be saving?

There is the paradox. We are forced to become the enemy in order to have a chance of defeating the enemy. My wife believes that if we do that we will be prostituting our honor.

I say, what the fuck, if we're going down anyway, let's go down fighting.

Shereads, to your little statistic that Al Gore got the most votes of any Democrat in history can be added the codicil that by the way, Al Gore LOST!!!

Was I the only one who felt it slipping away in 2000 as Bush attacked and Gore circled the wagons? I don't feel a bit proud that Gore actually won the popular vote. I'm not happy that Gore refused to lower himself to Bush's level. In the past four years we've witnessed the destruction of the EPA, the worst federal deficit in the history of our country, a war of conquest that has turned America into the world's villain, a 'no child left behind' policy that reads like a personal vendetta against the poor, and a tax policy that is little more than welfare for billionaires.

I blame Gore. I blame the Democrats. When will these people grow some hair on their chests? Why don't they have any balls? Do they care so little for our democracy that they would forfeit it to Nazis with barely a whimper? It would appear so.

When will these people learn that America is worth fighting for?

 

[minsue]

tb,

Do you ever read Richard North Patterson? Your posts remind me quite a bit of his most recent novels.

(I'd give my first-born to have that man be a Democratic speechwriter)

 

[thebullet]

minisue:

I haven't read Patterson, but I'll certainly give him a look.


BTW, although most of my work is hidden away in the Romance section of Literotica which only the lonely hearts and wimps read, anyone with an anti-administration bent is invited to check out my last few chapters of Tales of the eKids. You might find the story amusing, perhaps even provocative.

If, however, you are a neo-con, please stay away. You'll end up fucking up my scores.

Disclaimer: the story takes place 18 years in the future. Any similarity with any administration living or dead is strictly coincidental. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[shereads]

shereads:


There is the paradox. We are forced to become the enemy in order to have a chance of defeating the enemy. My wife believes that if we do that we will be prostituting our honor.

I say, what the fuck, if we're going down anyway, let's go down fighting.

Shereads, to your little statistic that Al Gore got the most votes of any Democrat in history can be added the codicil that by the way, Al Gore LOST!!!

No, he didn't. You're being propogandized on that one, honey, and very effectively. Let's take a step back:

Florida law, had it not been circumvented by the U.S. Supreme Court, required a statewide recount with a margin far less narrow than the one that gave Florida to Bush - whether or not Gore asked for a statewide recount, the law required it. Period. Problem was, the Sec. of State in charge of enforcing Florida law was GWB's campaign manager, and she chose to ignore the law. The decision of the State Supreme Court that required Kathryn Harris to uphold state law was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, by precisely the majority that had been appointed by Bush I and Ronald Reagan.

Simply put, a statewide recount, according the one independent source who performed a statewide recount, would have made Gore the winner. The independent recount was performed by an Arizona accounting firm hired by the Miami Herald to doublecheck the newspaper's own quick recount, which had pronounced Bush a 500-vote winner, and was the one most publicized. The result of the more thorough recount gave the state to Gore. If it had been legal (or more accurately, if the law had not been overturned) the final recount would have left Republicans to debate how Bush/Cheney could have screwed up their campaign so badly.

Was I the only one who felt it slipping away in 2000 as Bush attacked and Gore circled the wagons?

No, honey, you weren't. I was at the "Al Gore Concert" in South Beach on election eve, bravely singing along with the crowd of mostly younger, largely gay, unwaveringly optimistic people, to Stevie Wonder's bizarre campaign song ("The only way for America to winnnnn...is to vote for Gore and Lieberminnnn." It was not pretty, but hey, it was Stevie Wonder, okay?) I kept a celebratory smile on my face, for my own sake, but I felt like I was at a wake. I knew we had lost, not because of any one tactic or missed opportunity, but because the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach said that something dark was on the horizon. I had no idea.

The first major hint was when GWB blithely announced that oh, by the way, he had changed his mind about classifying carbon monoxide as a pollutant - the one campaign promise that had been the key to winning over environmentally-minded moderates. Oops! Then there was the Kyoto treaty, and then there was the industry-directed Energy Policy Roundtable. The rest is a blur.

I grieve for the losses to the environment, to the economy, and above all for the daily body count that no longer makes the front pages. But to think that any one man other than Karl Rove could have altered the fate of the world in November 2000 means that you and I are at least as culpable as Al Gore, doesn't it? Run for office, friend. Show us how it's done without selling out or losing hope, and I'll support you all the way.

Nobody grieves for that election more than Al Gore. He's a good man and a lousy politician.

George Stephanopolis said recently, "Democrats know how to govern, but we don't know how to give the appearance of governing. Republicans have the opposite set of skills."

It's not something we can change about ourselves, anymore than we can grow an extra ear on the tops of our heads to hear signals from space. This is who we are - the fairer sex of the political spectrum. And until the world wants a return to fairness, I for one am not willing to turn into Ann Coulter, joking about the uselessness of Max Cleland's war wounds as she helps him lose his Senate seat. It's not worth it. Not even to save the world.

America was and will be worth fighting for. But 2004, as Hunter S. Thompson reminds us, is the Year of the Monkey. The lower primate will appoint the next Supreme Court justice. it won't be my fault, or even John Kerry's. It will be the fault of people who think that two out of three undisputed Purple Hearts aren't enough.

Democracy is a bitch.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Democrats are pussies. So are Republicans, though. They're just a different breed of pussy.

 

[shereads]

Democrats are pussies. So are Republicans, though. They're just a different breed of pussy.

Come back after you've had a bit more experience of pussy, and if you still think it's such a bad thing you can make pronouncements like that with some credibility.

I happen to possess a pussy, and a select circle of knowledgeable individuals have considered it a positive thing. If you're trying to say that Democrats lack character, I assume you aren't impressed by the essay that is the topic of this thread. Keiller is a Democrat and one of the smartest and most literate people in the country. He - we - are grieving the loss of a country you're too young to remember. I don't mean that with disrespect; when I was your age I would have shrugged it off just as you will. I'm sorry, though, that you'll never know what the USA was and could have been.

I'm a Democrat, by the way, and I happen to be a person of courage and principle. If I choose not to blow up Iraqi chidren to make a point about why it's a bad idea for Arabs to blow up people over here, I think it makes me better than the man you're going to vote for, and not his equal or worse.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by shereads
Come back after you've had a bit more experience of pussy, and if you still think it's such a bad thing you can make pronouncements like that with some credibility.

I happen to possess a pussy, and a select circle of knowledgeable individuals have considered it a positive thing. If you're trying to say that Democrats lack character, I assume you aren't impressed by the essay that is the topic of this thread. Keiller is a Democrat and one of the smartest and most literate people in the country. He - we - are grieving the loss of a country you're too young to remember. I don't mean that with disrespect; when I was your age I would have shrugged it off just as you will. I'm sorry, though, that you'll never know what the USA was and could have been.

I'm a Democrat, by the way, and I happen to be a person of courage and principle. If I choose not to blow up Iraqi chidren to make a point about why it's a bad idea for Arabs to blow up people over here, I think it makes me better than the man you're going to vote for, and not his equal or worse.

It... was... a... joke.

If you really want me to get into the merits of Keiller or the Democratic party (or pussies), I'm game... but I don't think anyone's up for that.

 

[shereads]

It... was... a... joke.

If you really want me to get into the merits of Keiller or the Democratic party (or pussies), I'm game... but I don't think anyone's up for that.

I'm sorry I overreacted to your joke, but it's unfortunate that that's the excuse so many people give for either not participating or staying the course in November. I've never felt grief like this over an election. It's not a fun time for those of us who've predicted this bastard's every move since he named his running mate, and have been proven right, and are about to see him rewarded.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by shereads
I'm sorry I overreacted to your joke, but it's unfortunate that that's the excuse so many people give for either not participating or staying the course in November. I've never felt grief like this over an election. It's not a fun time for those of us who've predicted this bastard's every move since he named his running mate, and have been proven right, and are about to see him rewarded.

S'cool. I don't joke very often. I can see how people don't expect it.

I haven't been pleased with the Bush administration. They did a few things I liked, I have to admit that. I liked his assertiveness in the wake of 9/11. The speech was very direct, very unusual as politics go. I liked the directness.

And the bringing of lots of my family home (he promised to bring the troops home when he got elected, he did that).

Past that, I haven't cared for it.

Addendum: I think I'd have to also say that my stance on the whole matter is a lot like Clinton's. He said it best when he said "They're just doing what they think is right, we just differ on what that is". I don't think Bush is evil. I think he's wrong. That's a big difference.

 

[shereads]

Don't take my word for it. Read it from a Republican of the old school, the kind of conservative who actually believed in asking questions and drawing conclusions based on the answers - Paul O'Neill. He and I disagree on almost every aspect of politics, which is why I recommend his book wholeheartedly to Republicans and independent conservatives. He's an honest man, respected in three Republican White Houses, and punished by this White House for being loyal to the truth instead of blindly loyal to a man and an ideology.

I have yet to hear from a Republican or a conservative who has read "The Price of Loyalty," despite the fact that it was written by one of their own, a man who learned first-hand what the Bush/Cheney White House is really about, and was disillusioned to the point of losing hope. If you read it, you will not vote for George W. Bush in November. You may abstain or write in your dog, but you will not be able to stomach voting for this proudly ignorant hypocrite.

 

[shereads]

In contrast to his public persona is this minor anecdote from The Price of Loyalty.

O'Neill has returned from a heartwrenching trip to Ghana, where he's been energized by the realization that the U.S. might build a demonstration model freshwater-supply system for about $25 million, as opposed to the billions estimated by a couple of consulting firms. He's excited about the chance to talk to the president and convince him that America can easily afford to give one entire nation a chance to overcome one of its major health issues, the lack of uncontaminated water - and could even inspire the rest of the developed world to do the same.

Not a politician, O'Neill has made the error of making a statement to the press about the affordability of a water project for Ghana. Condi Rice tells him the president will not be happy that he spoke out of turn to the press. Colin Powell calls him and says, "You love punishment, don't you? But it is exciting, and it's worthwhile. Let's do it." There's a highly positive article about his presence in the administration in the Wall Street Journal, praising Bush for having appointed someone who isn't afraid to speak his mind.

He walks into a cabinet meeting, his first since the article in the Journal, and the room grows quiet. Bush, whose nickname for him has been "Pablo" until now, looks up and says, "Well, if it isn't the Big O. The Great Bringer of Truth. You're getting quite a fan club for yourself, aren't you, Big O?" No one laughs. No one is naive enough to miss the point.

O'Neill requests a private meeting to apologize for speaking to the press about the trip, and still believes he can get the White House excited about the enormous good that can be accomplished - for our image in the third world as well as for the people of Ghana - for a small sum. He thinks he's delivering positive news, even now.

The president doesn't speak to him at all, not a word. He watches the clock and when the hour is up, he dismisses O'Neill. The subject of a water project in Africa is never raised again.

$25 million. Less than Dick Cheney's net worth. If they're not evil, they're close enough, as we say, for government work.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by shereads
If they're not evil, they're close enough, as we say, for government work.

*deep breath*

O.k.

 

[shereads]

S'cool. I don't joke very often. I can see how people don't expect it.

I haven't been pleased with the Bush administration. They did a few things I liked, I have to admit that. I liked his assertiveness in the wake of 9/11. The speech was very direct, very unusual as politics go. I liked the directness.

Directing it at a relevent target instead of a diversionary one would have made me a fan, too. Read Clarke's book before you assess Bush's assertiveness in the wake of 9/11. Iraq and 9/11 have nothing in common except that, combined, they presented Bush with an opportunity. I keep hearing Republicans say, "At least he took action," as if shooting the neighbor on your right in response to an attack by the neighbor across the street would be a good thing.

He may have brought troops home from those nation-buiding projects he scorned, but as in other areas, he spent the surplus elsewhere.

Please God. Republicans and independents. Read Clarke. Read Paul O'Neill. Read "Imperial Hubris." Read Joseph Wilson. Read about these people, not from liberals, but from inside the administration, and from the right-wing CIA operative who wrote "Imperial Hubris" and confirmed that Iraq is now a terrorist stronghold, but wasn't before. O'Neill's book is entirely documented, and uses cabinet meeting transcripts that Bush sued to keep from publication. yet not one fact in the book has been disputed by the White House. Please, please read it before November. You have no idea who this man is that you're rewarding with your vote.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by shereads
Directing it at a relevent target instead of a diversionary one would have made me a fan, too. Read Clarke's book before you assess Bush's assertiveness in the wake of 9/11. Iraq and 9/11 have nothing in common except that, combined, they presented Bush with an opportunity. I keep hearing Republicans say, "At least he took action," as if shooting the neighbor on your right in response to an attack by the neighbor across the street would be a good thing.

He may have brought troops home from those nation-buiding projects he scorned, but as in other areas, he spent the surplus elsewhere.

Please God. Republicans and independents. Read Clarke. Read Paul O'Neill. Read "Imperial Hubris." Read Joseph Wilson. Read about these people, not from liberals, but from inside the administration, and from the right-wing CIA operative who wrote "Imperial Hubris" and confirmed that Iraq is now a terrorist stronghold, but wasn't before. O'Neill's book is entirely documented, and uses cabinet meeting transcripts that Bush sued to keep from publication. yet not one fact in the book has been disputed by the White House. Please, please read it before November. You have no idea who this man is that you're rewarding with your vote.

Whoa, whoa, whoa... I just said that I liked his speech after 9/11, it was assertive and refreshing. And that I appreciated that he brought home the troops (especially my family). I didn't say I was going to make him the best man at my wedding.

And who said I'm rewarding him with my vote?

 

[shereads]

Whoa, whoa, whoa... I just said that I liked his speech after 9/11, it was assertive and refreshing. And that I appreciated that he brought home the troops (especially my family). I didn't say I was going to make him the best man at my wedding.

And who said I'm rewarding him with my vote?

You did, in another thread a few weeks ago. If you've changed your mind, you're a hero.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by shereads
you're a hero.

I wouldn't go quite that far.

 

[shereads]

I wouldn't go quite that far.

You haven't changed your mind? Or changing your mind doesn't make you a hero? In times like this, we take our heros where we can find them. A timely flipflop in this instance could change the world, and at this rate it could only change it for the better.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

I vote for candy.


Hey, according to the electoral polls, my vote won't count until the next batch of bold-faced lies about Kerry come out or El Macho Guvernator starts his "courting the liberals" sex tour.

'll still vote though. I love to see my efforts wasted by morons whose only connection to the political world are those gloriously informative TV ads.

And Garrison rocks. Let's get some of that rhubarb pie.