The Never-Ending Smear
By streiff Posted in Democrats — Comments (73) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
As most everyone now knows yesterday John Kerry demonstrated conclusively what most of us already knew. He’s a noxious windbag devoid of any sense of decency.
After denigrating young Americans who have enlisted in the Armed Forces as educationally deficient, Kerry then claimed that it was a joke which was muffed in its translation from the original French or some such nonsense. Hardly convincing given Kerry’s record of giving aid and comfort to our enemies in time of war and disparaging the actions US combat troops as “reminiscent of Jenjis Khan.”
But why is it so easily believable that he was talking about US troops, not the president, and why does his explanation sound so hollow? The reason that the comments have set off this firestorm is because just about everyone knows they accurately represent the modern Democrat party and it takes no willing suspension of disbelief to attribute this to a slip of the Kerry’s forked tongue while we have to put aside everything we know about the Democrats to give credence to Kerry’s explanation.
Read on.
There is no doubt here. The American Left holds the military in disdain. To deny that is simply to deny reality. One could devote a lot of time and energy to a psychiatric analysis of why that happens but it would be wasted. Having come of age during the Vietnam era and participated in ROTC during the dark years of the Ford and Carter administrations I can speak from personal experience on this subject.
Some of us had hoped this knee-jerk anti-military attitude had burned itself out but it took nothing more substantial than the Gulf War to resurrect it. The “baby milk factory,” the Amiriyah shelter, “the Highway of Death,” etc. were all used to resurrect tried and true themes developed during the Vietnam War. If you visited the National Mall during the Desert Storm parade in June 1991 you couldn’t miss the aging lefties and the newer generation of pseudo-anarchists, the latter surrounded in a near lethal aura of patchouli, insulting men and women in uniform. I know. I was there in uniform.
The war in Iraq has brought this back into vogue. Charlie Rangel has insisted constantly, and in the face of evidence to the contrary, that the military is composed of the poor and of racial and ethnic minorities. Dick Durbin has compared US troops to Nazis over actions that were infinitely more akin to “Animal House” than to Dachau. Even some well intentioned members of the Left have advocated using military service as a social experiment, either by opening the ranks to the underclass or by establishing within the military some type of foreign legion whereby foreigners could buy citizenship by risking life and limb. More pernicious is the attitude Frank Schaeffer writes about in “Keeping Faith.” When his son enlists in the Marines his neighbors in a wealthy Boston suburb – Kerry country needless to say – assume that the boy has failed academically or has problems that preclude him going to college. "We should carefully evaluate what went wrong," said one.
While the views of Rangel and Durbin are nothing short of odious, the view that the military is some type of proving ground for the social program du jour also demonstrates the contempt the left has for the institution. How about we open the EPA to the underclass and expose them to science and math rather than rifles and tanks? How about we create a “foreign legion” in the diplomatic corps? At least that idea would have the virtue of bringing in need skills and no sane person thinks the State Department represents US interests anyway so staffing it with real foreigners instead of faux foreigners would be a step up.
None of these “ideas” have been explored because the Left can see itself working for “environmental justice” in the EPA or butchering American foreign policy in the State Department. They certainly wouldn’t want to serve along side “those” people.
On the other hand, they really can’t visualize risking their lives for much, and given their general position on gun ownership it is probably safe to say most of them wouldn’t risk their lives to save their family, and they certainly can’t visualize wearing a uniform and serving without promise of fame, fortune, or professional advancement.
This renders the military foreign to them and it makes those who serve in the military objects of contempt and pity. It makes them dismissive of the military as an institution and of the values it treasures: duty, honor, country. It makes them a danger to our nation.
Even if we stipulate that it was a jab at Bush, that doesn't work for me. Kerry's bitter, vituperative non-apology was beyond the pale.
We have men and women in harm's way. Their Commander-in-Chief should not be fair game.
Like it or not, we are in Iraq. Visualize where we'd be today if the President's approval rating were 70%.
Unfortunately, the GWOT has become, for the Democrats, the GWPA (Great War of Partisan Advantage).
"Bush lied about WMD's." Drip, drip, drip. "No blood for oil." Drip, drip, drip. "Halliburton." Drip, drip, drip. "Abu Ghraib." Drip, drip, drip. "Chimpy McHitlerburton." Drip, drip, drip.
Every drop emboldens and empowers our enemies.
No one in a democracy should be above criticism, but there is a respectful and constructive way to pursue your grievances. It is high time the Left realized that our collective Freedom and Liberty have a greater enemy than George W. Bush.
Read about it here. Kerry's statements will motivate conservatives while driving true independants away from Democrats.
The Left is embarrassed by power. Rugged individualism and personal achievement really rubs them the wrong way. This is why they hate competitive endeavours and preach that "everyone is special." ("...which means no one is" ...my favorite line from The Incredibles)
It is this liberal guilt that drives many mindsets in Hollywood. Look at the likes of Streisand preaching how everyone should go without while living in mansions. They could never bring themselves to say "I earned this, and Im proud of it." IT is why they will say they dont mind being taxed more (but dont care what you think about it).
On the world stage they are embarrassed that we are the largest most successful nation on earth. They believe the acknowledgement of such is uncouth.
The US military is the finest in the world and that is why it represents everything the liberals loathe. It is America "bragging" ... "we're better than you". And to them, everything is relative, nobody or no system is better than another.
And that is why they hate the military. You can see this mentality in what military actions they support and which they dont. They will always be behind endeavours that bring little benefit to the US, are not based on any threat to us, and make us look like we care for others than ourselves. It is saying "look we're here and we dont have to be, there is nothing for us to gain."
A conflict in which we have a Constitutionally based national security interest in is not in theirs. These such conflicts are also not cut and dry, finished by the end of my sitcom, lob stuff from the air engagements either.
The one anomaly is Rwanda where we have no national security intersts that I know of but would have been a very benevolent thing to do. The difference is that most conservatives would have been on board with that too.
Or it could just be that they'll only back something started by their own.
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them. -Ronald Reagan
The left Loathes the military. They believe that they are smarter that the rest of us and that they can solve all the world's problems through endless talk and negotiation. Their champion of world intervention are the corrupt and failed policies of the UN. Kerry has a history of insulting the military so why in the world should we accept what he said as "a botched joke" this time around. The man should just resign and if he won't, we should all stop using Heinze Ketchup just to make a point.
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The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
pours a lot easier also.
I never understood the whole "look how thick our Catsup is you can't ever get it out of the bottle" as a selling point.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
There are really, only two ways to interpret Sen. Kerry's comments, neither of which are particularly positive.
First, he was addressing his commentary towards the men and women in the military. This is indicative of the time warp lefties remain in, basically turning the present into the late 1960's. During Vietnam, education, or the lack thereof, was a determining factor in who was being drafted into the armed forces to fight. College deferrments were plentiful and a distinct class and educational gulf existed. Since conscription has been eliminated, that view is no longer relevant or true. As a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and an MBA graduate, I can personally vouch for the relatively high academic acheivement of the men and women in the Armed Forces.
Second, let's assume he was plugging away at the President. Now, Senator Kerry had lower grades than the President at Yale, what does it say about his own failure at academic pursuits?
I'm not one who would prohibit name calling of a Commander-In-Chief during wartime. Being President is inherently a political endeavor, and politics ain't high tea. However, the sheer irony and hypocrisy of Sen. Kerry's comments, given his own intellectual shortcomings, makes this faux pas very juicy.
"We make war that we may live in peace."
--Aristotle--
Everyone needs to calm down on the whole "Kerry just save us, we are going to win for sure now" blogs. I have followed this web site for a while now and have gained excellent insite and occational humor. Let's start out by saying John Kerry is an idiot and got beat, to close for comfort, in 2004 because he was an idiot. That honeymoon is over. We will get some good headlines for another day but that's probably it. What we need now and before 2008 is IDEAS. That is our strength. As for 2006, seven days from now, we have an unpopular President nationally and a couple of huge monkeys on our back. Now here's where I'm going to get killed in this blog. As I see it right now, we have a VERY strong chance of losing both Houses and to tell the true, I fear it's already going to happen. Look at the numbers and be real please. RCP is calling the Senate +6 for the Dems. The House looks worse. Again, let's stay calm and be real about this. Our ground game will save some seats but being starry eyes about our GOTV power saving us will not help. So what do we now? One thing, wait for the Dems to over reach in 2007. That's a forgone conclusion. Second, promote from within. Let's go way down the ranks and get some yound talent/ fresh faces. Finally, IDEAS. Let's get back to Lower Taxes, smaller gov. ect.
Member for 27 minutes and calling to downplay the biggest negative story for the democrats going. I'll pass.
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes the greater is their power to harm us - Voltaire
Rest easy, I don't think that we are going overboard in our delight over this controversy. You are right, this is about IDEAS. However, the results of this election rests on razor thin margins. A single percentage point can make the difference and if this fiasco can push turnout among the base, than so much the better. The corrolary to your point, is that the Kerry diatribe, which is backed by other comments in his history, contribute to a dearth of IDEAS by the left. What do they stand for. We don't see a whole lot of an affirmative agenda here. Therefore, we must infer by episodes like this what they stand for. Right now, we are putting a practical picture on the Dems' theoretical stance. Anti-military, anti-defense and, of course, anti-Bush.
It may be just enough.
"We make war that we may live in peace."
--Aristotle--
This event illustrates not a lapse in style, but the real substantive differences in ideas about the military and the war.
I hope this is siezed upon by Republican candidates and the RNC, a chance to stand (back) up for the war and the President.
Something like this:
Recent comments by former Democratic Presidental nominee John Kerry have truly underscored the differences between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats think that Iraq is a "disaster," something to run away from. Republicans think it is a war--a tough war but one that we are resolved to win. Republicans respect and honer the bright and brave men and women of the military, who believe in their mission to build a free Iraq and keep America safe. Democrats? The American people are sharp enough to decide for themselves how Democrats feel about the military and about winning in Iraq.
I think the fact that many Dems actually want to loose in Iraq is completely at odds with most of the public--lets push them out into the open already!
I rarely comment, just wanted to get that off my chest. :)
If people like Talant, Santorum, and Allen lose their Senate bids, the GOP is NOT going to conclude that it needs to move towards smaller government and lower taxes. If you want a more conservative Republican party the only way to get it is by electing conservative Republicans. Defeating conservative Republicans will move the party left. This would seem to be blindingly obvious but people still don't get it.
See, I agree with you. It is a big story, but only for another day. And yes, it's a great battering ram to turn out the base. I'm simply asking for everyone, including myself, to stay focused on the long term.
Secondly, I can say that although I've been a member for 31 minutes now, I am a Republican and guess what, my opinion matters.
Focus on the long term? The base is turning out NOW. People are voting NOW. TODAY. Early voting has been going on in my county since Oct 23rd. If you can get something to motivate the base for even a couple of days, it could make a difference. If Kerry had made these remarks even 3 weeks ago, the news cycle would have snuffed it out. You capitalize now!
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes the greater is their power to harm us - Voltaire
I would not like to see this one die. Kerry's comments expose exactly where the left is coming from. They think they are intellectually smarter, more compassionate, evolved to a higher life form and are just better than those of us on the right. The only reason we are having trouble is now is because many elected Republicans do not follow through with the principles that got them into office and we all wish that Iraq was over and that no more soldiers were coming home in body bags. The left needs to always be called on the carpet. Their thinking, attitude of appeasement, and lack of real solutions to real problems needs to be continually brought out front and center. Kerry was their last poster-boy, let him have it.
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The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
It's against the media. A quick scan this morning revealed that all the MSM outlets are going to do their level best to damp down the story. Maybe that's why you think it will only last another day.
If it weren't for blogs, the story would never have seen the light of day. Kerry wasn't making a botched joke against the President. He was preaching to the choir, at a small college in Pasadena. He probably thought he was on perfectly safe ground, saying something completely unremarkable that everyone in his liberal audience already took as an article of faith [sic]. The reason he lashed out is because he's nettled that someone other than his partisans was paying attention.
It's up to us to keep this story alive and spinning for the next seven days (at least). And it is within our power to do so.
Editors, keep those updates and links coming!
It's against the media. A quick scan this morning revealed that all the MSM outlets are going to do their level best to damp down the story. Maybe that's why you think it will only last another day.
If it weren't for blogs, the story would never have seen the light of day. Kerry wasn't making a botched joke against the President. He was preaching to the choir, at a small college in Pasadena. He probably thought he was on perfectly safe ground, saying something completely unremarkable that everyone in his liberal audience already took as an article of faith [sic]. The reason he lashed out is because he's nettled that someone other than his partisans was paying attention.
It's up to us to keep this story alive and spinning for the next seven days (at least). And it is within our power to do so.
Editors, keep those updates and links coming!
this story is not a big story and it won't be of any use another day.
Right now, in the last 6 days before voting we have Dem candidates telling a former presidential candidate to stay away and we have them talking about our subject.
Your opinion matters to you, but it certainly isn't persuasive enough to be taken seriously.
You are correct. Those are excellent additions. And any time John Kerry's face graces the front page of any news paper is a good day for us
HA HA!!!!!!
I feel better now.
Sorry, but with all the negativity and doom saying lately, it just feels good when a leftist does something so profoundly dumb the MSM can't even ignore it.
Yes, "lack of real solutions to real problems" that's what I am talking about. I am also talking about "The only reason we are having trouble is now is because many elected Republicans do not follow through with the principles that got them into office".
I have to be honest. I thought by posting a somewhat negative although honest comment, I was going to get killed.
But when replying to a comment, hit "Reply to This." Makes it easier to follow.
Just FYI.
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Even those who learn from history are surrounded by those doomed to repeat it.
Click on "Reply to This" to get a comment posted just below the post you are answering. It's easier to follow that way.
You're a borderline Moby. I (and I assume the moderators) haven't decided if you're a Moby or not. Negative comments with legitimate solutions are welcome (IE, This is broken and here's how we fix it). Negative comments with the intent to demoralize the base aren't (IE: Republicans can't do anything right). Some of your comments (includnig this one) lean towards the latter. I suggest you try to find solutions to your gripes or you may find a BLAM after one of your posts....
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Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
someone coming in pretending to be a conservative, but in reality are a lefty seminar blogger.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
Have you though that maybe I'm looking for solutions. What motivates someone, anger and frustration. And when did I say Republicans can't do anything right?
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If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"?
If you want to be bashed by your own, register on the DailyKos site. The real "Big Tent" is here on the right. The problem I see, are all the Republicans that want to "teach their representatives a lesson". That lesson being conveyed by hoping that we lose the majorities. The problem is that the cure will cause more harm to the patient.
You consistently rail on being "focused on the issues" and to be about IDEAS. Well, change is gradual and generational. The real issue here is power. How much change can you make with Speaker Pelosi? The real focus has to be on retaining control of Congress. There is a distinct possibility that one or more Supreme Court seats will be up in the next two years. If the Dems seize control of the Senate, what kind of Justice(s) will we get? That's the long term strategy to consider.
Real change comes from winning, not by making rhetorical points. That's where we are, and that's what this election means.
"We make war that we may live in peace."
--Aristotle--
I'm not railing about anything. I guess I'm looking for some people who have considered the situation and have the same ideas as me.
Hey DEbner, I'm a newbie here too. I would tend to give you the benefit of the doubt, but the guys who run this site are understandably suspicious in that they don't want anyone sneaking in under false pretenses in an attempt to bring down morale at this time. It's much looser at Lucianne, where I see the same "site pests" come back all the time. Just on the chance that you might be a moby, I hope you will notice the vast difference in the tone of discourse here versus KOS. Some people think I am naive, but I am always hopeful that some goodness and light will shine through, even to the opponents. Having lurked a bit a KOS, I was shocked by the degree of seething hatred, constant insults, and so much vile language there. Much worse than anything I've seen here or at Lucianne. I don't hate people on the left, yet I perceive such a deep (almost satanic) hatred from so many (not all) on the left towards people like me. Keith Olbermann comes to mind. So any troll or moby reading this, just chill a little. We may be opponents, but we don't have to be enemies.
Thanks for the comment. The point I was trying to make was about the future of the party but I guess 6 days out from an election my sin was bad timing. I have never been to so I'll take you word on the level of discorse there.
Morons! One and All!!!
[Repeat, ad nauseam.]
[Saving you eyeball-scanning space one troll at a time - LHW]
The great thing about the interweb is that even if you write it, I don't have to bother reading it. So you waste your time, but not mine :)
Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints - Sympathy for the Democrats
You claim that Kerry isn't stupid enough to call our troops uneducated, yet that's exactly what he did.
You can argue his intent, but not his words. He has yet to apologise for his words, so I suspect he meant them.
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Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
...this one, at least, could spell. I knew that editing their posts for grammar would improve the breed of trolls that we get around here.
He's about two exclamation points away from underpants-on-the-head territory, though.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
his finger accidentally hit the spell check button.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
Now, the Republicans are demanding that the Democrats present their plan for solving the Iraqi nightmare. Sorry Guys, you fxxked it up, so you fix it!
So you'd best vote straight Republican in 2006 and 2008 in order to FORCE us to stay the course and fight until victory.
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If you're seeing shades of gray, it's because you're not looking close enough to see the black and white dots.
Is that anything like the smear machine which for about forty years has called republicans racists, said we want dirty air and water, said we want to kick Grandma out on the street and feed her dog food? said we want to burn black churches, drag black men, and bring back Jim Crow, the same one that said we want to
create global warming and give big corporations all the money, and steal school lunches from underprivileged kids?
Huh is it like that one?
bite the wax tadpole you loser
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
Slightly better grammar and spelling, sure.
But it's still just the same old Krap.
And all this from the same people who can see racism in a ham sandwich.
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"I don't know." -- Helen Thomas, when asked by White House spokesman Scott McClellan, "Are we at war, Helen?"
White bread vs. pumpernickel???? I mean, come on, that's easy for anyone to see the racism. It's right there!!!
Don't get me start on how rye bread is responsible for starting all the wars.
Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints - Sympathy for the Democrats
...you didn't have anything to say about the ham part of the equation. Then you'd be getting somewhere.
And I have to ask, does anyone actually eat pumpernickel bread? Or do we only keep it around to bring a smile to the face of people who have to provide a voice to Daffy Duck?
And I thought it was rye whiskey that started all the wars. My bad.
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"I don't know." -- Helen Thomas, when asked by White House spokesman Scott McClellan, "Are we at war, Helen?"
Either way, it's just do darn seedy.
When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.
— Thomas Paine
I see that SamBear53 didn't read my previous post about goodness and light. Anyway, I will concede that Kerry did not mean for his comment to be an insult, yet it was still insulting. As an example (true story), I once worked in a store wherein a lady came to the counter who happened to be very large in the tummy. The clerk next to me asked her "so when are you expecting?" The lady said "I'm not pregnant." There was a moment of awkward silence, followed by profuse apologies from the clerk to the lady. Even though the offense had been unintentional, it was obvious to me that the lady was very offended, and the clerk properly apologized even though she had not meant to offend. I don't think Kerry was trying to insult the troops. I think it was his true opinion that if you don't get good grades etc., then your options are limited, and you might end up with no better choice than to join the military, wherein you might end up in Iraq. Although he didn't mean this as an insult, it was nevertheless insulting to all those who are serving for a very different reason than he imagined. These are people who are serving not because failure in school limited their options, but because they believe in the value of defending America. How can Kerry not understand that this is why offense was taken? Surely he must understand this by now.
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If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"?
Why would Sen. Kerry care what the troops in Iraq think? He believes them to be out there terrorizing women and children, after all.
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If you're seeing shades of gray, it's because you're not looking close enough to see the black and white dots.
If Chris Matthews had said something like this last night, I wouldn't be thinking he is a 100% fool right now. And he could have still been a Kerry apologist. (Not that you are, I'm just saying he could have explained how Kerry wasn't hateful, just came from an incorrect perspective.)
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
In Kerry's prepared statement released earlier today by one of his aides, Kerry was supposed to have said
I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq
The political climate being at a fever pitch, it's no suprise that his delivered remarks were seized upon. While this is ideal for firing up the base and reinforcing Kerry and by extension all Democrats as privileged elite liberals who are contemptuous of our troops, it hardly constitutes useful, substantive political discourse.
This should put an end to any thought Kerry might have had about running for President again in 2008, which is just fine with me.
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For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)
Was that "tough and strong," "Bush lied, people died," "fake but accurate," or "Hastert protects gay pedophiles?"
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If you're seeing shades of gray, it's because you're not looking close enough to see the black and white dots.
This is an off year election. It has nothing to do with convincing anyone of anything, and everything to do with motivating the people who already agree with you.
The discourse you want happens BETWEEN elections.
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If you're seeing shades of gray, it's because you're not looking close enough to see the black and white dots.
that only two of every four years is effectively available for rational, thoughtful discourse? I'm skeptical. Unfortunately, every year, every month seems like an election year at the moment to the detriment of us all. I exempt neither party from that assessment.
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For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)
If they are going to totally rewrite his remarks, they might as well have said that he was trying to order a #4 combo with a large fries. That would've been equally believable.
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"I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more I have of it." -- Thomas Jefferson
Do you honestly believe that Kerry would have willfully made those remarks? He may not have been a particularly good student, but he isn't so stupid to decide to give the opposition a rhetorical gift this large. I'm not surprised that everyone is running with his remarks, but believing that he said them on purpose defies any possible rational explanation.
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For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple,
neat, and wrong. H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)
People, even people much smarter than Kerry, say things they eventually regret saying all the time.
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"I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more I have of it." -- Thomas Jefferson
It sounds as though, even if you were presented with incontrovertible proof that the released prepared remarks are correct and that he bungled "the delivery", it wouldn't really change a thing since he was simply stating what you think is true of Kerry and the Democrats. Call it a Freudian slip?
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For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)
Again it may have been a mistake, but why not apologize to the troops and be done with it?
So far he's:
1. Crystal clear he's NOT apologizing to anyone.
2. Apologized that people are too stupid to know what he meant instead of what he said.
What's next?
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Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
And what is the incontrovertible proof, exactly? If you want to play in fantasy land, there are plenty of other, equally unlikely meanings we could pretend we have incontrovertible proof to support.
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"I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more I have of it." -- Thomas Jefferson
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)
What if we had incontrovertible proof that black was white and up was down? If he was actually intending to tell a joke about Bush, he would've got much closer and none of this would be an issue. There is never going to be any incontrovertible proof that something so clearly false (that he making a joke about Bush) is true.
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"I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more I have of it." -- Thomas Jefferson
I'll get a CBS staffer to shoot you a Word doc. ASAP
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them. -Ronald Reagan
If I had time stamped pages showing Kerry making some sort of a "joke" at W's expense it would still be slap at the troops. John Kerry has a 35 year history of running down the American military, this isn't a one shot deal.
If it was supposed to be a "joke" tell me please why he issued a very combative "I'll never apologize" statement before he came up the "joke" story. Why not just say, "I screwed up. I meant this as a joke pointed at the President. It was not meant to refer to our heroic troops in the field. I'm sorry it came out the way it did, I understand why people were upset over what I said. I apologize."
I'll tell you why he didn't do the above. He meant what he said and he meant it in reference to my son and every serving member of the US military, for whom he has no respect and no use.
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If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"?
The proposition is as follows.
You have politician K who has some prepared remarks.
For whatever reason he can't remember what he was supposed to say but the general gist of the remarks.
What is he going to substitute with ?
It is not rational to say that he intended to say that if you study hard and get good grades you can do well, but if you don't you can be President. That is ludicrous on its face.
On the other hand, it is perfectly sensible to imagine that he was harkening back to his youth where draft deferments were available to students. Hence, you could avoid war if you got good grades. He has relived the Swift Boat/Vietnam thing so many times he can't think outside that box.
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
Not because the content but because anyone is actually supposed to believe it.
This bears at best nodding relationship to the delivered remarks. The delivered remarks have an explicit Idea complex added and another removed. This is a change at the conceptual level not the I flubbed a word or two level.
Then again the democrats all seem to be cut from the Joe Goebbels school of discourse. Maybe it will fly with their brethren.
adding the words "get us" do not change the meaning in any true sense, it just waters down the intent of the words making it seem that the administration, the military and the republican voters in general got the country "stuck in Iraq".
Which leads to the conclusion that Kerry dropped those two words because, as has been pointed out, he is still stuck in the late 60's - early 70's and the wingnut democrats truely beleive serving one's country is only for the poor uneducated person of color.
It is true that not all lefties are anti-American, its true that not all of them are traitors, not all hate the military, not all of them hate western culture, not all hate Christians and observant Jews.
But enough of them do that it doesn't really matter.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle