John McCain: “We’re Making Progress In Iraq”
Listen up all you doom and gloom Liberals: John McCain says we’re starting to turn things around in Iraq. You got that?? So quit your whining and hand-wringing and start supporting our troops.
OK, so this invasion was supposed to be a cakewalk and it turned out to be a 4-year quagmire that’s killed over 3,000 American soldiers and drained almost a trillion dollars from our treasury. Get over it. Let’s stay over there until we win. There's light at the end of the tunnel. The insurgency is on its last legs.
And if you don’t agree with McCain’s cheerful optimism, it means you don’t support our troops and you want the terrorists to win.
Labels: Iraq, Iraqmire, John McCain, quagmire
posted by Tom Harper @ 5:40 PM
21 Comments:
OH, that's right! I think I saw the kids giving our soldiers some flowers and chocolates on Fox News the other night!
WTF is up with "if you're against the war, you're against the troops?" And while we're at it, what's up with "if you're against the war, you're for the enemy?" What kind of whacked-out logic is that? Oh, I forgot: when we make all dilemmas into binary choices, it makes it easier to control public opinion.
Mile High Pixie: Binary choice -- that's their MO. It works so well on millions of gullible people, and they'll keep using that method as long as it keeps working. Yes, I remember those Fox News scenes of American soldiers being showered with ice cream and flowers by grateful Iraqis. Those halcyon memories.
he is completely crazy. completely. just look at him.
Bush certainly never claimed this would be a cakewalk, in fact that was a reporter who said that.
Bush said: "Our own generation is in a long war against a determined enemy."
As for the "if you're against the war, you're against the troops?"
It's true. I'll use this crappy analogy: "I support the ice cream man, but I don't buy ice cream." You can't support him if you don't buy his product.
The soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have a "product"; that is fighting this war. If you don't support that you don't support them.
McCain....yawn. Next.
I.M. Dedd: Yup, crazy as a loon.
Jenn: Continuing your analogy, you could not buy ice cream (for whatever reason) but still hope the ice cream man makes a good living. The analogy I like better is with the local police dept. If you support the police, then that means you agree with every law on the books and you want each one of those laws to be enforced to the letter. Period, no exceptions. If there's even one law that you disagree with, then you don’t support your local police officers.
Johnnie Mac, do the stroll, dude!
--Ron
http://revolttoday.blogspot.com/
Ron: Interesting link. Yeah, I'm sure McCain is planning to stroll around Baghdad without his squadron of Humvees and bodyguards. He's losing it all right.
The Bush wanna be, changed his assessment of Iraq the very next day.
I think he's getting a lot like Regan... very forgetful among other things.
Let's Talk: Yup, I think McCain is copying Reagan in all the worst ways -- forgetfulness, remembering a past that only existed on TV, etc.
Damn,
I never wanted to be a terrorist, but if McCain says I am then it MUST be true.
Well.... I think John McCain is certifiable. Heaven help our nation should he ever become president, but I believe by his showing of such enthusiastic support for something as unpopular as the Iraq war, he has become political toast.
The rationale of "support the soldiers=support the war" makes about as much sense as "if you don't support crime, you are against the police."
Chimpletons are so Goddamned stupid.
Prague Twin: That's right, if McCain says you're a turrist then you're one of them turrists.
Snave: Yeah, I think McCain is toast. He's been such a chameleon lately, I don't think he's saying anything because of belief or conviction. He probably calculated that coming out strongly in favor of the war would win the Republican "base" voters. I think he miscalculated.
Jolly Roger: Yup, that's a dead-on diagnosis of Chimpletons.
I have a good friend working in Iraq, who is actually very rightwing, and I guess you could characterize our relationship as insulting each other nonstop. But he works directly with Iraqi ministers, and his whole outlook on Iraq has changed. He says that the Americans treat the Iraqi government officials like they are children. I was shocked to hear him criticize the Iraq experiment over beers last week on his vacation from the place. Really serious shit.
washingtonrox
Daedalus: This seems to be happening more and more. Conservatives are turning against everything this administration is doing, whether it's the Iraqi war or Big Brotherism happening here at home. It makes sense that Americans are talking down to Iraqi officials. That Ugly American syndrome just won't die, and invading and occupying a country just brings it out all the more.
I think there is a bigger issue than whether or not we belong in Iraq: Bush's disregard for (and violation of) the Constitution. I wrote a letter to our local newspaper, the letter actually got printed, and I have my asbestos suit on as I await all kinds of virulent criticism. The letter has to do with the ways in which Bush violates or disregards the Constitution, and I believe it is the first such letter to appear in our local paper. I posted the letter at my blog if you're interested in reading it.
I get so TIRED of people saying the leftists "hate America", and saying "well, if you don't like it here, you should move to another country". Well, for those who believe that what Bush does is o.k. when it comes to our Constitution, and who believe the Constitution should be tweaked in order to allow him to do whatever he wants, I have this to say to them: "Why do you hate America?" I also say "Well, if you don't like our Constitution you should move to another country or join some other country's military." Some of these people need to determine whether they are supporting our country, or supporting one unstable man and his lack of vision.
It is possible to support the troops without supporting their "commander-in-chief". People who say otherwise, that if you don't support the mission you don't support the troops because the troops ARE the mission... well, I think that's just sad. The troops are not "the mission". They are simply following orders from people who have not fully determined with the mission is. I want them to do what they have to do in order to stay safe and to get home safely. In that regard, I support them every single step of the way.
People like John McCain drive me nuts. I would be willing to bet money that McCain has never read "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky. I have that one as an audiobook, and while the hardcore conservatives would probably just not bother to read or listen and call Chomsky some kind of name, I have to say it contains some pretty irrefutable arguments as to why our nation's current foreign policy (and the foreign policy of our recent past) are wrong, wrong, wrong.
It's hard to refute an author's argument if one doesn't read the author's work first. Maybe I should refrain from knocking Ann Coulter because I don't read her books. Similarly, people on the right shouldn't just dismiss Chomsky out of hand because they haven't read him. When he talks about our country's "grand imperial strategy", I stand up and take notice, especially because he backs up his assertions with actual statistics and facts. I might be more inclined to read some of Coulter's material if she relied less on emotion and name-calling and more on actual research.
For conservatives, I recommend reading just about anything by George Lakoff, Noam Chomsky, or Kevin Phillips. If you think that would just be too "boring", try Bob Woodward's "State of Denial". It reads more like a sitcom or a soap opera, but is equally damaging in that it causes the reader to THINK.
Tom, thanks for posting this piece. People need to realize just how close to the edge guys like McCain really are. And I think that if people bother to find out more about the things the Bush administration has done which fly in the face of the law, not only might they be more particular about which GOP candidate they support, they might not choose to vote GOP at all!
Snave: I'm glad you wrote that letter. I haven't seen it yet but I'll check it out. You might have to hire some Blackwater mercenaries to guard your house :)
You're right, the underlying cause of all this is Bush's disregard for the Constitution. The Iraqi invasion/occupation is just the most glaring symptom. Obama got off a good line; he said something like "unlike Bush, I understand the Constitution."
And yes, the people who think the president should be able to trump the Constitution are the ones who hate America and should move to the police state of their choice.
I seriously doubt if any conservatives will be reading Chomsky, Lakoff or Phillips. If they can get through all those big words, they'll just go on autopilot and start shouting "Communist!" and "America, love it or leave it!"
Tom, you gotta see today's "Doonesbury." It explains my exapct feelings about supporting the troops:
http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
Mile High Pixie: LOL, that was a good one. I'm sure more and more of our soldiers would rather not keep getting the "support" they've been getting from Congress.
Reality doesn't suit McCain's political ambitions, so he might as well make up progress in Iraq.
Kudos to Jenn for deciding for me whether or not I support the troops. What a bunch of crap!
Political Realm: I think it's gonna backfire on McCain if he keeps running on Iraq. But as long as that's what he's doing, making stuff up is the only thing he can do.
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