John McCain and al Qaeda
Historians of early 21st century American politics will remark the degree to which radical forces, usually called neoconservatives, perverted language as recommended by the National Socialist Party in 1930s Germany. Continue to demonize liberals, blame them for all social and economic problems, and soon enough no one will be willing to admit to being a liberal. Claim that liberals and Democrats are too soft to combat terrorists and soon enough a majority, even in the oldest democracy on earth, will believe it. Open up entire electronic networks, such as Fox, and chains of radio stations, such as Clear Channel, and buy enough newspaper chains, and make all these media available to pre-programmed neoconservative ditto heads, and sure enough a subculture will emerge which distrusts its own government and believes that an entire political party is not to be trusted.
This has all happened before. And where it has happened, authoritarian government emerges.
Worst of all, a formerly "maverick" Republican, one who was sensible enough to understand the dangerous perversions involved in this radicalization of American politics, will find himself repeating the idiotic mantra that we are "fighting al Qaeda in Iraq so we don't have to fight them here."
John McCain knows better. I know he knows better. But it is appalling when a serious patriot like McCain is forced to fall into line with these radical perverters of language, one of the most dangerous things that can happen in a democracy, in order to lead a party that is so far off the mainstream rails that it will take decades to return to civility and normality.
If John McCain seriously believes we are at war with al Qaeda in Iraq, that alone is such a serious error in judgment as to rank him with George W. Bush at his worst and therefore disqualify him from any chance to govern this country.
John McCain is intelligent enough to know that our tragically flawed invasion of Iraq has indeed kicked open a hornets nest, a 1300 year old hornets nest of violent rivalry inside Islam, and that for us to put all the hornets back in the nest will take decades and trillions of dollars, that it will assure the decline of the American republic, and that it will represent a grasp at empire that would cause all of our founders to revolve in their graves.
Why then would he, a combat veteran, a courageous prisoner of war, permit himself to be captive to the perverters of language? Does he want to be president so badly that he will join that band of radicals who have seriously damaged American democracy, who have tortured and lied, who have twisted our very Constitution so wrongly that it is hardly recognizable?
I refuse to believe it. It is not the John McCain I have known for 30 years.
John McCain can redeem himself and redeem the soul of his party by admitting once and for all that what is flawed about Iraq is not our military strategy, not our lack of will, not our failure of national commitment. It is that we chose the wrong war at the wrong time with the wrong enemy. John McCain's problem is not al Qaeda. His problem is George W. Bush and the people he chose to advise him.
We will pay for their arrogance for years to come. Our 35,000 casualties are paying with their lives and their futures.
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No. The problem is not that we chose the wrong war at the wrong time with the wrong enemy. The problem is that we chose war. War must never be chosen. It must only be waged when thrust upon you.
"War must never be chosen"
Yes, this is the essence of it.
LOL, yes Gary "no beef" Hart, WE ARE AT WAR WITH AL-QUEDA IN IRAQ!
Nice tooth. How 'bout a swim in the cement pond, Jethro?
Sorry I can't swim.
More likely you are AT WAR WITH AL-FRANKEN in Minnesota.
He will get beat so badly, will be a laughing stock of the Democratic party, closely followed by Obama.
Gary, you make it sound so easy, but you're exactly right. Some have wondered, and with good reason, about you giving Senator McCain the benefit of the doubt. I don't. As you point out, you have known him for 30 years and therefore know that the candidate McCain is not who he says he is. I don't know him on the same level that you do, but his modern-day rhetoric is frightening. McCain's new persona is one that caused Pat Buchanan on MSNBC to say that McCain will make Bush look like Ghandi. This nation can ill afford the continuance of the neo-con madness which has engulfed us and severely damaged the morale of the nation. It makes me proud to realize that patriots such as you are willing to do what they can to attempt to reverse this horrific decline in the morale and well-being of the country. Thanks for staying involved.
He didn't learn much at the Naval Academy barely graduating. He learned how to fly/crash a jet well enough to get himself "shot down" over Viet Nam. He figured out how to get a rich wife (richer that the first). He learned how to win as a Republican in Arizona. And everybody is "My friends." Give it up for McCan, the man's a frackkin genius.
Gary Hart is my hero.
Betcha Gary Hart gets a key spot in the Obama administration. He should. Every thing he writes is spot on.
If, and I say If Obama gets elected. He will change his cabinet twice in the first 3 years.
Why is it that we're always giving mccain the benefit of the doubt on these types of things? It seems just as plausible, if not far more so, that he is merely an opportunist who found himself unable to compete with the ultra extreme right of the republican party and cultivated a "maverick" and "patriot" image to distinguish himself for his own political gain. And now he's "selling out" that image for the exact same reason that he created it in the first place.
Let's just take the man at his word that he stands for nothing other than destroying America's image at home and abroad for his personal benefit. But calling him a patriot is a disservice to actual patriots and it makes me sick. john mccain does NOT love America. He doesn't even know what America is. No one who does should let him get away with this lie. It makes me sick.
My friend yelled at me for innocently asking: what qualifies McC to be c in c?
He never represented the US, negotiated for the US, answered a 3am call. He gets briefed, like other senators. He gets leaks (yes, both kinds). He gets more advice than he can keep straight and understand--from the hellacious neocons and jerks who brought us wars big and small.
He was intelligent, but between getting shot down and too many 4-wire landings on the carrier, I am afraid his brain was concussed too much. He certainly is a hero for conduct during imprisonment.
But I fear his brain today, and think he has late-blooming PTSD. Lots of people are talking about that.
Great article! One inaccuracy though, John McCain hasn't been forced to foster anything. He has made a choice to do so, and it doesn't matter why he made that choice. The American people can show McCain and the Republican Party they are sick and tired of being treated like stupid, inept, gullible citizens who respond to fear mongering by submission. That is not the American way.
Let us become Americans again, Americans fought and died for this land, they built the greatest nation on earth, envied by all. We can still stand up and say it is over, and we are taking back our country. Let the wealthy and greedy emigrate to some other country to do their manipulation of peoples minds and livliehoods. They could run the Clintons and the Bushes on one ticket!
Pretty good coming from a nitwit who advocated doing away with the Navy's carrier strike fleets and replacing them with "baby" jump jet vessels. Didn't work very well for the Brits in the Falklands did it Gary?
I think perhaps that old John knows a thing or two about military matters. Just what are yours or Obamaramas qualifications in this area?
"Didn't work very well for the Brits in the Falklands did it Gary?"
Worked well, as I recall. A lot of other weaknesses in British military setup were exposed (lack of defense against Exocets comes to mind), but the mini-carriers and the Harriers did just fine.
But this troll is just diverting the discussion in any case. Whether or not Gary Hart is a military expert is irrelevant. When he says "...we chose the wrong war at the wrong time with the wrong enemy." he is right on the mark.
Actually their best qualifications are honesty ande thoughtful. On the other hand, we all know about Bush who has obviously sold his soul to the Devil. McCain is even sadder, though. He, the former 'straight talk express' has totally sucked it up to the Bushies so that you cannot even see the old "straight talk express'. If he tries to peddle it, it will just show up the lies he has embraced just to make a deal with the devil to run for the Presidency. McCain has sold his soul AND NOT TOO MANY FOLKS ARE ALL THAT INTERESTED IN THIS NEW DISSEMBLER.
Thank You for this commentary. I was beginning to wonder if we were all just insane. In addition, to your comments on McCain and the Iraq War, your comments regarding the media (MSM) was on point and refreshing to hear. Keep them dumb, un-informed, il-advised and poor....seems to be the policy of the Republican party. That way they can stay in power. Unfortunately, it's sad to see members of our own party adopting that same strategy...namely Hillary Clinton.
I want leadership that will enourage us to be our individual best for the collective strengthof this country. A leader who will keep us informed and prepared.
si, you are all insane
I agree with you on you observations of John McCain. But for a minute there, I thought you were talking about Al Gore.
Regardless how much we try to educate the public with absolute, verifiable science data, it's a given insecure people go with the fad of the day, and not wanting to be left out…fawn over lying SOB’s like Al Gore. Why do I say this? He uses flawed tales about CO2 to shut down American Resource Production.
Now every entity in want of killing America resource providers uses Al’s unbelievably fabricated story about global warming. Fact!
Yesterday, Al Gore invaded America and took it over, without firing a single shot. He and his faithful followers got the polar bear listed as “threatened.” Their avalanche has begun. They now know that all they have to do to seize control of America, is continue suing.
It makes no difference who we vote for in November. We'll have a "Socialist" president come Jan `09.
Today we spend some of our hard earned money on taxes, and the rest on protecting our homes, families and livelihoods‘…from our own federal government.
Stupid us. We’re already experiencing (High fuel and food prices.) for the in-you-face arrogance of Al Gore, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense, World Wildlife Foundation, Bruce Babbitt.
Our resource producers have long paid with their lives, souls and their futures.
It won’t be long before everyone who eats…will do likewise.
Bush and Co-conspiritors had absolutely nothing to do with what we're now experiencing huh? Sorry, but what a fuckin' tool.
Actually no. They didn't. Gore pushed for more bio fuels. So guess what? They had farmers grow more corn to meet the ethanol demand. Farmers who were growing wheat stopped growing wheat to grow corn. Now there is a food shortage worldwide because their is not enough wheat to meet demand. Go figure.
Off topic, but even your talking points come from a very skewed prism. What a fool!
Nothing like hearing from someone whose head is buried in the sand regarding the facts of global warming. Al Gore is actually a saint. He is not out for the big buck, and remember, he has an fine international reputation. Remember, he DID win the Nobel Prize. Of course, we all know that GW will never win the Nobel prize because he is a naturally born war monger. Seems his daddy's genes ran dry since GW has made such a mess of Iraq. Remember the huge coalition his father had to help PAY for and fight in the Iraq war? Amazing that this kid has wondered so far from his daddy's expertise, eh?
mari1JJ,
I plagiarize abundantly from the "un-tainted, un-slanted, un-biased verifiable facts from www.GoodNeighborLaw.com
If Mr. Gore is so correct, then why doesn't his defend his product? He won't, because he knows his theory has been blasted full of holes by scientists. He cannot risk having his scam exposed. He is not a saint. The man is a crook of global proportions.
The kind of guy who would, after reading your blind defense of him, laughs at you.
GW is no saint either. He's royally sold us out. A major dissapointment.
McCain too. Mostly everyone in government is beholden to enviros. It's a sad deal.
By the way, what steps are you taking to prepare for a socialistic government?
Regardless who our next president is - Hillary, Barack, John - that's exactly what we'll have!
And are you planting a garden - one that will meet all the NEPA, ESA, clean water regs?
If not, you better, for if Mr. Gore is successful in shutting down farming that's where we'll be.
Oh and lastly - produce at farmers markets will be much, much higher this season, because of fuel costs.
Silknspark is old.
I agree with you on you observations of John McCain. But for a minute there, I thought you were talking about Al Gore.
Regardless how much we try to educate the public with absolute, verifiable science data, it's a given insecure people go with the fad of the day, and not wanting to be left out…fawn over lying SOB’s like Al Gore. Why do I say this? He uses flawed tales about CO2 to shut down American Resource Production.
Now every entity in want of killing America resource providers uses Al’s unbelievably fabricated story about global warming. Fact!
Yesterday, Al Gore invaded America and took it over, without firing a single shot. He and his faithful followers got the polar bear listed as “threatened.” Their avalanche has begun. They now know that all they have to do to seize control of America, is continue suing.
It makes no difference who we vote for in November. We'll have a "Socialist" president come Jan `09.
Today we spend some of our hard earned money on taxes, and the rest on protecting our homes, families and livelihoods‘…from our own federal government.
Stupid us. We’re already experiencing (High fuel and food prices.) for the in-you-face arrogance of Al Gore, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense, World Wildlife Foundation, Bruce Babbitt.
Our resource producers have long paid with their lives, souls and their futures.
It won’t be long before everyone who eats…will do likewise.
McCain has lost his soul... whoever he once was is gone... look in his dark black eyes and you will see... this man has lost his soul.
Gary,
You are right. McCain has "sold his soul" to the neocons in order to try to get elected. Not that I would ever consider voting for McCain, but this episode is a good example of the extremely low quality "statesmanship" that is prevalent in our politicians now.
Clearly, the US becoming a "failed experiment" in self governance. Within 25 years we will be a "has been" power in the world like our allies England and France.
Y'know... maybe McCain's had a stroke. Sometimes, strokes can change behaviour. McCain is now pro-torture (pandering to the far right), has decided that he'll get the troops out of Iraq before 100 years go by (pandering to the undecided middle), and has declared that al Qaeda is who we're fighting in Iraq (pandering to the far right). His behaviour has certainly changed. If he has had a stroke, he certainly wouldn't be the McCain you knew - that's part of how strokes are diagnosed. What other diagnosis can one offer?
Read up on Melanoma. He had it on his temple. They removed a lot of tissue. One rogue melanoma cell can wreck havoc. A melanoma tumor cannot be detected until it reaches a size of several centimeters. The worst scenario is that the melanoma seeds tumors in the brain.
His eyes are not the same. His left pupil is black. The entire left side of his head is distorted. He's having memory problems. He will not release his health records.
Our media is doing NO ONE a favor by not investigating this, Read up on it, folks. My sister has it. It's a really bad, highly unpredictable cancer.
On the other had, our guy looks and sounds like a million bucks! Go Obama!
Gary, that is what the Republicans are experts, they know too well how to use the language which translates into an easy manipulation of public opinion, lately sanction by the American media for we no longer have journalists with integrity and convictions, primarely because of greed and very importantly because of the bad example of an administration which has destroyed all American values. Individuals are sent to jail for a long time just because they refuse to cooperate with the authorities what does our president get for liying, cheating and perversely and daibolically using our hard earned money.
But where are the DNC commericals pointing this out!
Where is the one showing McCain's flip flops on Iraq since 2002.
Where is the one on his I'm the biggest Free trader, the jobs are not comming back...
We are wasting money screwing around with Hillary campaign.. its time we should be running these types of commericals over and over again... to the point.. short sound bites.. so even the uneducated can get it!
Tell the public why milk is tripple alone with gas... because of Iraq's war borrowing from China, the dollar is wrth 60 percent less and they have lost 60% of their wealth in just the past 4 years!
Link it. Link outsourcing to loss of strength and security. Mc Cain has 30 years of expereince and its all heading us in the wrong direction. Its BAD Experience.
CHANGE is a slogan.. now point out the problems and the solutions... An Appollo energy program that sets up giant solar and wind farms in the desert which can supply 50% of our enegry within ten years.
Regards'
Because we have all been funding our candidates AND because both sides blame the DNC for an incredibly badly spaced series of primaries, the DNC has no money for advertising.
I, for one, will send them $$ when I'm positive they will not knuckle under to the Clinton's desperated demands
I like the German treatment of creating an economic enviroment that favors LOCAL energy production - of alternate energy by solar, wind etc. This creates a far more flexible & adaptive electrical grid! And it favors Private Enterprise!
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