REMEMBER THIS?
I know, I haven’t been writing much political stuff on here in the last few months, but rest assured, I’ve been paying close attention to the political goings-on in our fine ol’ U S of A. It’s been interesting, let me say that.
As many of you know, I held John McCain in high regard for some time, but, as many of you also know, I’ve been disappointed to see the dark path he has chosen in his quest for the presidency, namely, his shameless pandering to the twisted whims of the far-right “conservative” fringe. But, as bad as that has been, I suppose I expected it to happen sooner or later. The man’s running for president, after all. There are lunatics to appease.
Worse for me has been McCain’s broken promise to run a ”respectful” campaign (“respectful” being McCain’s own term), a vow he shattered the moment he brought in Karl Rove’s acolytes to run his show. I guess it’s really just the final straw that broke the back of my misguided belief that somehow John McCain really was the independent maverick that so many of us held in high regard. Now, we’re bombarded with lies, lies, and more lies, just as we have been bombarded with lies, lies, and more lies for the past eight years of the Bush 2 administration.
The current dominant philosphy of Republican campaigning seems to be: throw as many untruths as you can at the American people — no matter how absurd — and hope they’re too dumb to check the facts. To use a sports metaphor, it’s like an aggressive full-court press defense in basketball: with all your guys constantly hacking away at the other team, the refs can’t possibly call all the fouls. For every one foul called, ten go unchecked. Over time, the damage adds up.
So in politcal campaigns, the “fouls” are all these lies that get tossed out there, and the damage adds up when the American public just accepts them as fact without bothering to question the stupidity of it all. It’s a shameful, pathetic tactic and it really shows the lack of respect these people have for us. They really expect us to believe this stuff. In fact, they’re counting on it. They hope we’re not capable of discovering the truth on our own, that we’re all just a bunch of fish who will buy it all like the veritable hook, line, and sinker. Examples:
* Barack Obama is a Muslim. (He’s not, but according to recent polling, 25% of Americans are apaprently confused on the issue.)
* Barack Obama will not say the pledge of allegiance. (Complete lie.)
* Barack Obama was sworn in on the Koran, not on the Holy Bible. (Another complete lie.)
* Barack Obama snubbed the troops on his recent trip to the Middle East. (He didn’t, but how many of your well-meaning “conservative” buddies have forward you the e-mail from one ”soldier” who claimed Obama turned up his nose at him?)
* Increased oil drilling in Alaska will immediately send gas prices hurtling back to $1.00 a gallon. (Increased drilling wouldn’t have any effect on gas prices for at least 5 years, more likely 10, and perhaps 25-30, and even then the effect would be negligible. Remember, increased drilling doesn’t mean that gasoline is suddenly going to burst out of the ground ready for you to put right into your tank — it just means some oil company is out there digging, looking for the sweet black stuff — which they really should be doing on all that leased land they currently aren’t using. And by the way, what exactly do you think is going to happen when they drill out Alaska, and drill out all the coasts? What happens when all that oil runs out? Sounds like a beautiful long-term fix to me. Perfect. No holes whatsoever.)
You can read a thorough, well-cited debunking of all the ridiculous Obama scare-rumors here. You can also get some information on the actual impact increased oil drilling would have on gasoline prices by going to U.S. News and World Report and CNN, among many other readily-available articles. The information is out there; all you have to do is take a minute and look. The truth is required reading, always.
As I think about all of the lies that have been sold to us, the American citizenry, and the ease in which so many of us have bought these lies, I am reminded again of John McCain’s busted and laughable pledge to run a “civilized” campaign. I’m also reminded of another great lie, spoken eight years ago, by another Republican candidate seaking the highest office of all.
Too many people bought that lie then, and look where it got us. I hope we all pay attention to history before we buy any more of the Rovian junk without first doing our due dilligence, and remember the manner in which Republicans smeared and lied their way to the presidency in the last two presidential elections, just like they’re trying to do right now, before our very eyes.
From Crooks and Liars:
Eight years ago today, George W. Bush uttered the now broken promise that has come to define his failed presidency. Accepting his party’s nomination, Governor Bush promised to restore “honor and dignity” to the White House. But as events continue to show, a more accurate – and ironic – mantra for the lawless Bush White House would be “no controlling legal authority.”
At the time it was delivered, Bush’s acceptance speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia was an arrogant, deceitful broadside against the Clinton/Gore years. But the very words Bush used to tar Al Gore with the blight of the Lewinsky scandal may now constitute the epitaph for the Bush presidency:
“So when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, I will swear to uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God.”
That hateful address (video excerpts here), of course, was filled with exactly the kind of lies and taunts – the smallness – that came to define George W. Bush.
His false charges about American military readiness (”Not ready for duty, sir!”), his long since abandoned philosophy when it comes to using American force (”the cause must be just, the goal must be clear, and the victory must be overwhelming”), his smearing of Al Gore that foreshadowed his own legacy (”he now leads the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but the only thing he has to offer is fear itself”) and his obscene claim to be a “uniter” (”I will not attack a part of this country because I want to lead the whole of it”), all were in keeping with the dark Bush character.
Bush broke all of these promises. But his original sin, from which all other of his crimes and errors flow, is his pledge to usher in new period of higher ethical standards as part of a “responsibility era.” Bush, who previously sneered at Gore’s “no controlling legal authority” defense of his 1990’s Buddhist temple fundraising efforts, raised the ethical bar further that October:
“In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal but what is right. Not just what the lawyers allow, but what the public deserves. In my administration, we’ll make it clear there is a controlling legal authority of conscience.”
Eights years later and Bush’s 2000 standard of “not only what is legal but what is right” is in tatters. Just this week, Bush’s own Justice Department issued a report which concluded that Monica Goodling, the former White House liaison for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, violated federal law and DOJ policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren’t faithful Republicans or conservative activists.
And that’s just the beginning. Plamegate, the Libby pardon, the Abramoff affair, doctoring scientific reports, the end of habeas corpus, detainee torture, the politically-motivated firings of U.S. attorneys, illegal domestic surveillance, the theory of the unitary executive and the unprecedented assertion of executive privilege all show a President committed to doing neither what is legal nor right. And then, of course, there’s Iraq.
How fitting then that Bush’s would-be Republican successor John McCain, the man who promised to run a “respectful” campaign, chose this week to launch a wave of attack ads and character assassination against his Democratic rival.
Americans can’t erase the Bush presidency, but they aren’t condemned to repeat it. So with the imminent arrival of the GOP and Democratic national conventions, remember that it was eight years ago that Republican George W. Bush promised us he would “uphold the honor and dignity” of his office.
Happy anniversary, America.
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