The Ultra-Conservative Spin Machine: Feingold's Gift
Call for Censure Is Rallying Cry to Bush's Base
Only ultra-conservative morons can view the call for censure or impeachment as a rallying cry. When has either censure or impeachment ever been called for except when a sitting official has done something unthinkable. When Bill Clinton lied we sent him a message... The US House of Representatives impeached him for merely committing an act of perjury. If Senator Arlen Specter had the temerity to swear in Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez during his recent bouts of testimony before Specter's committee, we would have grounds for impeaching him. If, as was suggested by one person during a C-SPAN broadcast about Bush's behaviors, President Bush was ever under oath, half of what he has said in public about the NSA, the Iraq Invasion, the DPW deal and several areas of national security would rise to the same level of criminality that was cause to impeach Clinton.
While we were entertained by the antics of Bill Clinton, and shocked by his sexual exploits (and his claim that there were no sexual relations), worried about his involvement in the White Water Scandal, none of Clinton's behaviors got anyone killed. Bush lied and out troops have died... and are still dying and getting permanently disabled... and the criminality of not providing proper vehicle and body armor is at the root of many of those deaths and injuries... at least that is what the internal studies and reports of the USMC and the US Army state. Then, too, is the Congressional Research Service report that clearly indicates that President Bush has violated the law, and in the process our civil liberties, by authorizing the NSA spying programs (please note that according to Russell Tice, there is more than one program).
Now comes claims that Feingold is a traitor for seeking censure. My claim is that censure doesn't go far enough. But the idea that not only is the claim that Feingold is a traitor, but also that his request for the same is a rallying cry for the ultra-conservative, is clear and present evidence that NONE--ABSOLUTELY NONE--of the Republican leadership, Bush supporters or ultra-conservative morons in this world have any real sense. Bush, and those following his "Bush Doctrine" and orders that violate the Constitution are criminals according to the language written in the US Constitution and the oath each of them took--before God--before taking office.
The hypocrisy is stinging. So let's take a look at the hyprocrisy in some detail:
It is noteworthy that this is the type of behavior and logic (or is it illogic?) that the Republicans vowed to remove from the body politic. The so-called "Reagan Revolution" was supposed to instill a higher calling for government officials. The "new morality," based on "smaller government," "constitutional principles," "states' rights," "family values" and "Christian teachings" was supposed to usher in a leadership that did not believe in lying or misleading the American people. The smaller government was supposed to cut our taxes AND our deficits, while keeping our military strong and well-supplied, and our national security intact. Well, we have the highest deficits in history. Our military are not well-supplied and our troop numbers are significantly depleted. The only people reaping any real benefit from the tax breaks and incentives are the top one percent of the most wealthiest of our citizens, and the big business reaping lots of money (i.e. oil companies--most of them foreign-owned corporations--receiving tax incentives and grants while posting the biggest profits ever) from pro-business policies and conservative activist judges on the federal bench. Where did the morality go? Is it a Christian value to place profits over people? If that is a Christian value, why then does the Bible teach us the following?
So much for the "born again" Christian values espoused by President Bush and his political party. But, even if we remove the religious overtones from the mix, as we certainly should do in terms of government policy and matters of law, there is enough cognitive dissonance and lack of logical consistency in what ultra-conservatives say and do that we shoudl be shaking our heads in shame over the lack of integrity under the Bush, Republican, and ultra-conservative banners.
But instead of being shameful of all the scandals and scandalous inconsistencies, the ultra-conservative are using their shame as a "rallying cry"! Are they sure they understand the base of their movement? Do they believe that even the most brain-dead among them have failed to notice that not only has the Bush administration, the Republican leadership, multitudes of congress critters and religious figureheads are imbued with scandal? Do they really believe that Bush has the interests of the American people at heart when he--not just his administration, but he himself--have endorsed the selling off of American national security to foreign-owned corporations, some of which are actually owned by foreign governments? Are the American people so brainwashed and so gullible that these folks expect us to see that we are spending BILLIONS to build up the infrastructure of other nations while our own infrastructure--levees, bridges, power plants, roadways and governmental installations--are being ignored, closed or allowed to waste away? Can these folks really expect US citizens to ignore the fact that many of us have to work 2 or 3 jobs to make an honest living while they spend MILLIONS of dollars on public relations and spinning the news?
Demoralized? They should be ashamed, not demoralized! The Republican leaders of the House and Senate are blocking almost every effort to hold folks accountable. Only the lowest ranking members of our military are being held responsible for the misdeeds that have been perpetrated against prisoners held in US custody. The Bush administration claims we do not tolerate torture, but we have a secret program of rendition that turns people held in our custody over to countries that we know use torture as an interrogation tool. We know that many of the people held in US custody are guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If, as claimed, the Bush administration doesn't tolerate torture and mistreatment of our detainees, then why did the Bush administration--under clear leadership of President Bush, Vice Preisdent Cheney, AG Gonzalez, Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Rice--oppose resolutions that made clear the call for opposing torture, rendition and maltreatment of detainees? If everything the Bush administration and its ultra-conservative supporters are doing is on the "up-and-up," why is everything so secretive? Why was the NSA program a secret? Telling the world that we conduct surveillance of Internet, land-line, cellular and other telecommunications would not reveal anything new. Most of the movies that have painted the US government in satire have often pointed to the spying done using telecommunications. Many of our action spy movies, like "Enemies of the State", "Mercury Rising" and "The Siege" all tell tales based on the premise that the government uses surveillance technology on telecommunications. But we do not need to seek out fiction for such evidence. Project Carnivore was an entire scandal based on the efforts of the FBI to force technology developers, web hosting services and other telecommunications vendors to build the option of spying into the technology or service.
There is shame that these arrogant bastards think that impeachment is only an option should the Democrats take control of the House. The American people are being sliced out of the equation. These folks are supposed represent the best interests of the US and impeach any official that violates the Constitution... and Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld and Gonzalez have been involved in activities that have violated the Constitution and their oaths of office. (REMINDER: All of the above have some role and intricate involvement with the National Security Council which advises the President on policy and legality of security measures)
Shame on anyone that stays at home during an election. But even more shame on anyone using a scandal--or in this case, a series of scandals--as a rallying cry to mobilize a political party to support those that have been committing the scandalous behaviors.
Can anyone believe the arrogance? The bovine excrement that these folks are shoveling is more foul than any scandal since the Iran-Contra Affair. Despite a clear indication that Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush violated US law, the Republicans and ultra-conservative of that era supported the actions of the president and the vice president by not seeking impeachment and only holding hearings.
Those e-mails must have been sent to not only the brain-dead, but also the heartless and those that DO NOT believe in the US Constitution. Shame on them all!!!!
Yes, it is raw partisan protection of criminality, violation of sacred oaths and complete and utter disregard for principles of fairness, justice and constitutional government. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! And shame on any American citizen that supports this partisan cover-up and protection of political crimes against the United States of America!
In other words, Feingold and the rest of the Democrats don't have the backbone to call for what should be implemented. IMPEACH THE BASTARDS NOW! That should be the rallying cry of all Americans that believe in the first principles embodied in the US Constitution. It is not a matter of party partisanship, it is a matter of principle, justice and law.
While Feingold should be heralded for having the courage to speak out, he--and every one of the representatives and senators in congress--should be tarred and feathered for not having enough courage to call the "spade a spade." Impeachment is the way to go. Remove these bastards and their bastardized approach to running our government from office... completely and irrevocably... Then lock a few of them up and cast them into the cell next to Duke Cunningham... and let the Duke out before any of these folks even come up for parole.
Limbaugh is one of the wackiest loudmouthed ultra-conservative entertainers in the world. He has no real credentials or claims to knowledge or insight that gives him one iota of credibility. But we have to suffer his incredible stupidity along with Ann Coulter's diatribes because we are a free nation and the First Amendment guarantees their right to be incredibly stupid and publicly embarassing. But we are allowed to use the rational thought process that God gave us to wade through the bovine excrement and seek the truth of matters.
But it seems that if anyone has the audacity to speak out against the abuses of our Constitution, lack of integrity in our political leadership, or call attention to injustice, thay are branded a traitor...
It seems that the ultra-conservatives within our nation have two powerful weapons at their disposal... calling someone a traitor or calling someone ungodly. Seems to me that these folks need to re-read their own scripture:
Only ultra-conservative morons can view the call for censure or impeachment as a rallying cry. When has either censure or impeachment ever been called for except when a sitting official has done something unthinkable. When Bill Clinton lied we sent him a message... The US House of Representatives impeached him for merely committing an act of perjury. If Senator Arlen Specter had the temerity to swear in Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez during his recent bouts of testimony before Specter's committee, we would have grounds for impeaching him. If, as was suggested by one person during a C-SPAN broadcast about Bush's behaviors, President Bush was ever under oath, half of what he has said in public about the NSA, the Iraq Invasion, the DPW deal and several areas of national security would rise to the same level of criminality that was cause to impeach Clinton.
While we were entertained by the antics of Bill Clinton, and shocked by his sexual exploits (and his claim that there were no sexual relations), worried about his involvement in the White Water Scandal, none of Clinton's behaviors got anyone killed. Bush lied and out troops have died... and are still dying and getting permanently disabled... and the criminality of not providing proper vehicle and body armor is at the root of many of those deaths and injuries... at least that is what the internal studies and reports of the USMC and the US Army state. Then, too, is the Congressional Research Service report that clearly indicates that President Bush has violated the law, and in the process our civil liberties, by authorizing the NSA spying programs (please note that according to Russell Tice, there is more than one program).
Now comes claims that Feingold is a traitor for seeking censure. My claim is that censure doesn't go far enough. But the idea that not only is the claim that Feingold is a traitor, but also that his request for the same is a rallying cry for the ultra-conservative, is clear and present evidence that NONE--ABSOLUTELY NONE--of the Republican leadership, Bush supporters or ultra-conservative morons in this world have any real sense. Bush, and those following his "Bush Doctrine" and orders that violate the Constitution are criminals according to the language written in the US Constitution and the oath each of them took--before God--before taking office.
The hypocrisy is stinging. So let's take a look at the hyprocrisy in some detail:
Republicans, worried that their conservative base lacks motivation to turn out for the fall elections, have found a new rallying cry in the dreams of liberals about censuring or impeaching President Bush.
The proposal this week by Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, to censure Mr. Bush over his domestic eavesdropping program cheered the left. But it also dovetailed with conservatives' plans to harness such attacks to their own ends.
It is noteworthy that this is the type of behavior and logic (or is it illogic?) that the Republicans vowed to remove from the body politic. The so-called "Reagan Revolution" was supposed to instill a higher calling for government officials. The "new morality," based on "smaller government," "constitutional principles," "states' rights," "family values" and "Christian teachings" was supposed to usher in a leadership that did not believe in lying or misleading the American people. The smaller government was supposed to cut our taxes AND our deficits, while keeping our military strong and well-supplied, and our national security intact. Well, we have the highest deficits in history. Our military are not well-supplied and our troop numbers are significantly depleted. The only people reaping any real benefit from the tax breaks and incentives are the top one percent of the most wealthiest of our citizens, and the big business reaping lots of money (i.e. oil companies--most of them foreign-owned corporations--receiving tax incentives and grants while posting the biggest profits ever) from pro-business policies and conservative activist judges on the federal bench. Where did the morality go? Is it a Christian value to place profits over people? If that is a Christian value, why then does the Bible teach us the following?
>"No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." - MT 6:24
So much for the "born again" Christian values espoused by President Bush and his political party. But, even if we remove the religious overtones from the mix, as we certainly should do in terms of government policy and matters of law, there is enough cognitive dissonance and lack of logical consistency in what ultra-conservatives say and do that we shoudl be shaking our heads in shame over the lack of integrity under the Bush, Republican, and ultra-conservative banners.
But instead of being shameful of all the scandals and scandalous inconsistencies, the ultra-conservative are using their shame as a "rallying cry"! Are they sure they understand the base of their movement? Do they believe that even the most brain-dead among them have failed to notice that not only has the Bush administration, the Republican leadership, multitudes of congress critters and religious figureheads are imbued with scandal? Do they really believe that Bush has the interests of the American people at heart when he--not just his administration, but he himself--have endorsed the selling off of American national security to foreign-owned corporations, some of which are actually owned by foreign governments? Are the American people so brainwashed and so gullible that these folks expect us to see that we are spending BILLIONS to build up the infrastructure of other nations while our own infrastructure--levees, bridges, power plants, roadways and governmental installations--are being ignored, closed or allowed to waste away? Can these folks really expect US citizens to ignore the fact that many of us have to work 2 or 3 jobs to make an honest living while they spend MILLIONS of dollars on public relations and spinning the news?
With the Republican base demoralized by continued growth in government spending, undiminished violence in Iraq and intramural disputes over immigration, some conservative leaders had already begun rallying their supporters with speculation about a Democratic rebuke to the president even before Mr. Feingold made his proposal.
Demoralized? They should be ashamed, not demoralized! The Republican leaders of the House and Senate are blocking almost every effort to hold folks accountable. Only the lowest ranking members of our military are being held responsible for the misdeeds that have been perpetrated against prisoners held in US custody. The Bush administration claims we do not tolerate torture, but we have a secret program of rendition that turns people held in our custody over to countries that we know use torture as an interrogation tool. We know that many of the people held in US custody are guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If, as claimed, the Bush administration doesn't tolerate torture and mistreatment of our detainees, then why did the Bush administration--under clear leadership of President Bush, Vice Preisdent Cheney, AG Gonzalez, Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Rice--oppose resolutions that made clear the call for opposing torture, rendition and maltreatment of detainees? If everything the Bush administration and its ultra-conservative supporters are doing is on the "up-and-up," why is everything so secretive? Why was the NSA program a secret? Telling the world that we conduct surveillance of Internet, land-line, cellular and other telecommunications would not reveal anything new. Most of the movies that have painted the US government in satire have often pointed to the spying done using telecommunications. Many of our action spy movies, like "Enemies of the State", "Mercury Rising" and "The Siege" all tell tales based on the premise that the government uses surveillance technology on telecommunications. But we do not need to seek out fiction for such evidence. Project Carnivore was an entire scandal based on the efforts of the FBI to force technology developers, web hosting services and other telecommunications vendors to build the option of spying into the technology or service.
"Impeachment, coming your way if there are changes in who controls the House eight months from now," Paul Weyrich, a veteran conservative organizer, declared last month in an e-mail newsletter.
There is shame that these arrogant bastards think that impeachment is only an option should the Democrats take control of the House. The American people are being sliced out of the equation. These folks are supposed represent the best interests of the US and impeach any official that violates the Constitution... and Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld and Gonzalez have been involved in activities that have violated the Constitution and their oaths of office. (REMINDER: All of the above have some role and intricate involvement with the National Security Council which advises the President on policy and legality of security measures)
The threat of impeachment, Mr. Weyrich suggested, was one of the only factors that could inspire the Republican Party's demoralized base to go to the polls. With "impeachment on the horizon," he wrote, "maybe, just maybe, conservatives would not stay at home after all."
Shame on anyone that stays at home during an election. But even more shame on anyone using a scandal--or in this case, a series of scandals--as a rallying cry to mobilize a political party to support those that have been committing the scandalous behaviors.
For weeks, Republicans have taken to conservative Web sites and talk radio shows to inveigh against the possibility, however remote, that Democrats could impeach Mr. Bush if they gained control of Congress. Mr. Feingold's censure proposal fell far short of a demand for impeachment. Most Democrats in the Senate distanced themselves from it, concerned that they would be tagged by Republicans as soft on terrorism. But the censure proposal provided Republicans an opening.
"This is such a gift," the conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh told listeners on his syndicated radio program on Monday, saying the Democrats were fulfilling his predictions. "They have to go back to this impeachment thing," he said.
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, a conservative standard-bearer, echoed the thought. "We'd like to congratulate the Wisconsin Democrat on his candor," its editors wrote Wednesday in a column headlined "The Impeachment Agenda." The Republican National Committee sent the editorial out to its e-mail list of 15 million supporters.
Can anyone believe the arrogance? The bovine excrement that these folks are shoveling is more foul than any scandal since the Iran-Contra Affair. Despite a clear indication that Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush violated US law, the Republicans and ultra-conservative of that era supported the actions of the president and the vice president by not seeking impeachment and only holding hearings.
Brian Jones, a Republican spokesman, said the e-mail messages generated a higher response than anything the party had sent in several months, including bulletins about the Supreme Court confirmations.
Those e-mails must have been sent to not only the brain-dead, but also the heartless and those that DO NOT believe in the US Constitution. Shame on them all!!!!
"Clearly on our side it is something that is energizing our base a little bit," Mr. Jones said. "This is not about getting things done," he added. "This is raw partisan politics."
Yes, it is raw partisan protection of criminality, violation of sacred oaths and complete and utter disregard for principles of fairness, justice and constitutional government. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! And shame on any American citizen that supports this partisan cover-up and protection of political crimes against the United States of America!
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Feingold declined to rule out supporting impeachment in the future, saying that the wiretapping "probably is the kind of thing the founding fathers thought of as high crimes and misdemeanors."
But Mr. Feingold also said he proposed the milder rebuke of censure instead of impeachment in part because of the context of the war and in part to avoid a political backlash from Mr. Bush's supporters.
In other words, Feingold and the rest of the Democrats don't have the backbone to call for what should be implemented. IMPEACH THE BASTARDS NOW! That should be the rallying cry of all Americans that believe in the first principles embodied in the US Constitution. It is not a matter of party partisanship, it is a matter of principle, justice and law.
"They can try to turn this into their fantasy, but that is not how this comes off," Mr. Feingold said, noting that his proposal addressed only the narrow subject of the wiretapping program. "I didn't throw in Iraq or a lot of other things that frankly are pretty bad."
While Feingold should be heralded for having the courage to speak out, he--and every one of the representatives and senators in congress--should be tarred and feathered for not having enough courage to call the "spade a spade." Impeachment is the way to go. Remove these bastards and their bastardized approach to running our government from office... completely and irrevocably... Then lock a few of them up and cast them into the cell next to Duke Cunningham... and let the Duke out before any of these folks even come up for parole.
Still, conservatives said they welcomed the debate over censure or impeachment. Some said they were especially pleased with the timing of Mr. Feingold's proposal because it came just after the Democrats had upstaged the Republicans on national security during the outcry over an Arab company's takeover of several port terminals in the United States.
"They finally found the issue where they could convince the American people that they, too, see an enemy," Mr. Limbaugh said on his radio program.
"In less than two days they are back to the N.S.A. scandal as though we don't have a national security problem," he said, referring to the domestic eavesdropping program run by the National Security Agency.
Limbaugh is one of the wackiest loudmouthed ultra-conservative entertainers in the world. He has no real credentials or claims to knowledge or insight that gives him one iota of credibility. But we have to suffer his incredible stupidity along with Ann Coulter's diatribes because we are a free nation and the First Amendment guarantees their right to be incredibly stupid and publicly embarassing. But we are allowed to use the rational thought process that God gave us to wade through the bovine excrement and seek the truth of matters.
But it seems that if anyone has the audacity to speak out against the abuses of our Constitution, lack of integrity in our political leadership, or call attention to injustice, thay are branded a traitor...
On Monday, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold introduced legislation to censure the President for breaking the law by creating a secret domestic spying program. Agree or disagree with his proposal, as a Senator -- and as an American -- he has the right to speak his mind and express his views without Republican Senators questioning his patriotism.
But that's exactly what happened. This week Republican Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado, in an interview with Fox News radio, said in response to Feingold's action that he has "time and time again [sided] with the terrorists". DNC Press Release
It seems that the ultra-conservatives within our nation have two powerful weapons at their disposal... calling someone a traitor or calling someone ungodly. Seems to me that these folks need to re-read their own scripture:
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother`s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" MT 7:3
posted by Jim Downey at 5:17 AM
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