Many of us were puzzled when a newspaper reporter covering Republican Senator Norm Coleman wrote that it seems "Minnesotans' minds are on matters ...other than Iraq." So a bunch of us, not realizing this was just another GOP talking point, decided to go right up to the front door of Coleman's yellow colonial house located on a beautiful residential street in St. Paul that just happens to be lined with red "Support the troops--End the war" yard signs. Apparently his neighbors' yard signs weren't doing the trick in getting the message across to the Senator that Minnesotans ARE concerned about the terrible costs of the ongoing occupation of Iraq so we thought we'd communicate that message a little more clearly.
We rang the Senator's doorbell and someone even banged a drum for a while but no one came out. Then shortly after taking this picture, who turns up in the back alley? Norm Coleman himself. With police and bodyguard accompanying him, he confidently strode to his front yard to address our peace group. Here's Coleman's silvery-tongued, continued insistence that he's not hearing much about Iraq, that even though he'd like to bring the troops home, he has to believe Al Qaeda when Al Qaeda says that Iraq is the central front (in the war on terror). The quick translation of all his slick, double talk indicated to us that Coleman was inclined to simply stay with Bush's (disastrous) course. But at least we got it on tape so we can listen again.
It certainly furnishes an idea of how concerned citizens can question their congresspersons (like Pennsylvanian Republican Rep. John Peterson for instance), when they pull out the same GOP talking point.
In any event, it remains to be seen how confident of his doubletalk Norm Coleman will remain, now that the month-long, 15 million dollar ad campaign (prepared and paid for by the shadowy White House front group "Freedom's Watch" which Ari Fleischer helped produce) is coming to an end. Mercifully, their $15 million worth of air time has finally run its course. Minnesotans were literally bombarded with this pro-war propaganda linking 9-11 to Iraq with almost no one daring to point out the deceptive nature of this false advertising. Actually, it wasn't because we didn't try to point it out. I've actually heard from so many people whose letters to the editor and complaints about the ads were not published, that I'm starting to think Ari Fleischer might have imposed the same GOP talking points on our mainstream media.
But probably with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul less than a year away, it's just due to the fact that no mainstream media wants to do or say anything to offend. It turns out the leadership of the national pro-war groups who have been most instrumental in producing these latest terrible ads (as well as those last election cycle when Minnesota was their "test state"); who have engaged in other swiftboating efforts against those who don't agree with Bush's war; and who have staged such supportive activities as handing Bush his "veto pen" a few months ago are already well entrenched in Minnesota! Kevin Diaz wrote a glowing article this last weekend that characterized Coleman's double-talk as "middle ground" and mentioned that the two national war-backing groups, "Vets for Freedom" and "Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission" are led by Minnesotans. One might well ask, "What mission?" when Bush said the mission was accomplished 4 ½ years ago. But that's the kind of petty detail these groups don't let get in their way of launching their swiftboat attacks under the guidance and tutelage of our district's right wing Republican Representative John Kline. By the way, Bush team wordsmithers seem to have pitched in with a new and improved euphemistic term for all these swiftboaters and warhawks. They now call themselves "pro-victory" instead of "pro-war". This immediately fools the likes of reporters like Kevin Diaz who take the path of least resistance and publish the newest GOP talking point, apparently without asking questions.
So with the RNC on the horizon, Minnesota has become ground zero in the debate about Bush's ill-begotten war turned bloody occupation turned quagmire. It's obvious we peace proponents are up against millions and millions of war profit-derived money.
We only have our handpainted and other relatively inexpensive ways right now to express it, but we are trying to inform people that this country stands to lose everything--its military strength; its infrastructure and even its civil liberties and constitutional rule of law--if the deceptive ad campaigns prevail of the war mongers and war profiteers who are determined to stay Bush's disastrous course.
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Thank you Coleen Rowley for reminding Senator Coleman in eloquent terms that Iraq is indeed the BIG issue in Minnesota. I hope the media takes note and begins taking on our talking points as worthy of being in their newspapers. I too have had numerous editorials refused in the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
It is not only the Iraq War we need to keep in the forefront but we need to start talking about the coming war with Iran. We need to raise public awareness of this because this would be an even bigger disaster of foreign policy than Iraq. We must not again be too late in preventing this.
In a civil war wherein we are the nominal REFEREE, and per the executive branch's (if not the administration's) National Intelligence Estimate, the EXACERBATORS.
This nuveau term is an upgrade from "pro-war", whose opposite is implicitly "pro-peace" -- and who could argue with that? Which undercuts the "pro-war" notion.
The opposite of "pro-victory" is "pro-defeat" and who could possibly be for defeat? Cute.
Orwell would be proud.
That these fascist war-mongering willfully deceptive shmucks are so well funded is disgusting. Follow the money.
I live in Pennsylvania but I can empathize with you Minnesotains. The best solution I can think of it is to boycott the MSM, newspapers, TV, mags, etc. If a particular media is slinging Bu$hit, then stop buying/listening/reading it. MSM subscriptions/viewing is declining. Let's make the MSM aware that we no longer tolerate their propaganda. The pocketbook is the best way to hit them. Let them see if they can make it alone on only the rightwing idiots eating their Bu$hit up.
I'll be supporting Franken but how can I get a good article in small town paper to show the factual truth... I liked demo2o2o comments they were direct...
You already have the right idea--become a "citizen journalist" to better expose the issues and ideas that ARE important (i.e. Iraq) and the sordid mess this country is in. We can mumble under our breath about the wrongdoing or incompetence of elected or appointed government officials; bemoan the loss of independent investigative reporting; and/or just resign ourselves to being pawns in the giant power game. OR we can take responsibility as ordinary citizens armed with the truth on behalf of ourselves, our children, and grandchildren and DO SOMETHING! There are so many opportunities to make a constructive difference but the first step is almost like when a person walks into AA: admitting the problem and taking the courageous step to try and do something about it.
You are right that Dem02020 has some great metaphors that would be effective in explaining our current situation to others. My bet is Dem02020 would take it as the highest compliment to use some of his thoughts in your own community newspaper or other media. Give it your personal touch and go to it--good luck!!
"Minnesotans' minds are on matters ...other than Iraq."
The situation of U.S. Armed Forces having invaded the Middle Eastern country of Iraq (despite Iraq having nothing whatsoever to do with the attacks of September 11, 2001), and of 160,000 U.S. Troops presently occupying Iraq; and for anyone (such as Sen. Coleman) to appraise that situation, not in terms of whether it serves any National Security purpose to the American People (which it does not), but to appraise that situation according to "how things seem to be going"...
...seems a little to me like a man who lives in a house without a roof, or a man who has rowed a row boat out into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and asks himself:
"As long as the sky is presently clear, and the sea somewhat calm, what bad thing could possibly happen?"
There are those of us who have long known that U.S. Troops in Iraq are not serving any National Security purpose to the American People; and we know "what bad thing could possibly happen"...
And yet to even suggest it, is to be accused of hoping for "failure" and rooting against "success".
Which seems to me to be like having the guy who lives in a house without a roof, or has rowed himself out into the middle of the Atlantic, upon you pointing out to him "what bad thing could possibly happen", have him respond by saying:
"You must want it to rain on me in my roofless house!"
Or "you must want the open sea to swell up, and swamp my row boat!"
The situation we're in in Iraq, in the Middle East right in the middle of Iran and Syria and Saudi Arabia, and without any National Security purpose to justify that situation, well...
..."what bad thing could possibly happen?"
I mean, I wish what might happen to us there, were only as easy to deal with, as rain on our heads, or a long way to swim home.
Sure, I'll do my best. In a couple hundred words or less, she's just a dozen year younger, prettier female version of John Kline and other far right-wing radical Republicans. What many people don't understand is that this group is radical in their neo-con inspired foreign policy that relies solely on military power and shock and awe bombing; their desire to destroy the Constitution's checks and balances and erect an all powerful, unitary executive branch and basically, (following Grover Norquist's plan), privatize all government services to enrich the corporate interests that support their campaigns financially. As one commenter sarcastically asked, in a rhetorical way, a while back: "Remind me again of what these 'conservatives' are conserving." Bachmann-Kline and their ilk vote against almost every type of program or basic infrastructure that people need and governments traditionally provide, (certainly things like children's health care and help with college loans), but also even basic necessities like WATER TREATMENT!
They get away with it by following Rove's Rules: by keeping extremely low profiles in their home districts, refusing to engage in open debates or answer questions, or even meet with constituents and then, when it counts, launch vicious negative ad campaigns with the millions they receive from corporate PACS and right-wing special interest groups. Kline seems to be tutoring the younger, pearl-clad Freshman Bachmann on the finer points of his type of Representative Secrecy (not representative democracy). As a substitute for meeting or answering their constituents, they abuse their congressional franking privileges with meaningless, Hollywood-staged glossies to promote a sugary image and/or engage in highly-controlled "state of the art tele-town hall" robo conference calls, both at considerable TAXPAYER EXPENSE. See any hypocrisy there, those of you who are conservative taxpayers?! It's really a racket but it's worked well for this group thus far. Bachmann is catching on fast to right-wing Republican radical rules and she's especially apt to shine in projecting a false image in both the taxpayer-funded glossies and robo-calls.
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Posted September 25, 2007 | 12:38 AM (EST)