President Bush retaliated against a majority of Americans who want withdrawal from Iraq by implying we're white-surrender-flag waving cowards. Bush mischaracterized redeployment as a "retreat" and trashed us Americans with his insults.
In Missouri, while stumping for the re-election of Republican Sen. James Talent, a Bush Rubber Stamp buddy, a senator who pretty much does whatever the president tells him to do, Bush said those who favor withdrawing the troops don't know what's best for America...but Mr. Know It All thinks he does:
"There's a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done," he said. "They're willing to wave the white flag of surrender. And if they succeed, the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off."First, that "group" is a majority of Americans. Welcome to the opposition party, folks. Second, how can the U.S. be any worse off? Don't answer that. I'm confident with Bush and his Rubber Stamp buddies in office, he could find a way. Third, while 20,000+ Iraqi insurgents (versus 1,500 foreign fighters) wound and kill our troops, we're no safer from terrorism in the U.S. So Bush's spiel doesn't fly and his flypaper theory never has made sense. Plus, since when did Bush speak for the world? Because of Bush's Iraq War, the world now sees the U.S. as a bigger threat to peace than Iran! That's some legacy Bush has bestowed upon America.
Bush plays political razzle-dazzle by emptying his trash mouth upon Senate Democrats who offered a troop redeployment plan for Iraq. But the president--always out of touch with the common folk--doesn't realize that his barbed-wire cowpoke bull also cuts us Americans who support a troop withdrawal. What kind of president emboldens contempt for the people he is sworn to protect and serve? He doesn't exempt us from his own ad hominem attacks! And he didn't shield us from the 9/11 hijackers. Bush was too arrogant or incurious to recognize that the Aug. 6, 2001, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike U.S." memo wasn't just a cover you your ass move by a CIA briefer who flew to Crawford to warn him. George didn't listen then and he certainly isn't listening now. His leadership, if you can call it that, operates in a bubble of partisan politics.
The Decider doesn't care if he divides America six ways to Sunday. He doesn't care that a huge majority of us disapprove of his management of Iraq. He doesn't care about 59 million Americans who voted for Democrat Kerry in 2004. He ignores us--and I don't just mean the Dems in Congress, in governor mansions, and in state legislatures--I mean you and me. Voters. Americans. The un-Republicans. We're not the ones who took bribes, catered to Big Pharma over the ineffective prescription drug plan, sold out to the oil and energy companies; who didn't protect the Gulf Coast when we all could see on our TV screens that the Big One, Katrina, was coming. We are not responsible for invading Iraq with too few troops, or whoops! No post-war occupation plan and no exit strategy. We didn't ruin America's reputation with the world. Bush and his cronies did.
But the president doesn't attend to what we want. We're just cannon fodder in a partisan war of politics. Bush does what he wants with the blessing of Rubber Stamp Republicans such as Sen. Talent of Missouri and all the other wackydoodle dandies in the Senate and the House.
Bush doesn't care about 57% of us who say Congress should pass a resolution that outlines a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
He doesn't care that half of us support withdrawing all U.S. forces immediately or within 12 months.
A White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, announced:
The president is not going to conduct the war based on polls.... His leadership is based on his strategy for victory. A democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will strike a blow to the terrorists and ensure a more peaceful world. As the president has said, we are in it to win.More talk, talk, talk. Bush has yet to take responsibility for the disastrous mistakes in Iraq. Undaunted and blind to his failed policies, Bush prattles on about victory as if he has a plan.
Victory in Iraq is letting the Iraqis stand up while we stand down. And that time has arrived if you listen to the Iraqis themselves. Yet, on the campaign trail, Bush chews and chums red meat for votes by chortling dubiously to keep his precious Rubber Stamps in office in attacking Democrats, opponents of "stay the course," which includes most of us. Bush has never conducted the war based on what combat generals advised him to do (Clark or Shinseki), on what we Americans want, or on what the Iraqis have recently expressed. So thanks for reminding us, Dana Perino, that the Conman-in-Chief, doesn't give a crap about Americans beyond his own yammering piehole, his precious cat paw, Rumsfeld (what's he got on Bush?), and his political agenda to keep Rubber Stamp Republicans in power so he can continue to play king.
Bush has ascended to the throne as the Great Divider, not as the uniter he promised. What Bush cares about is that sharp-tongued rhetoric arouses enough of his base to cast votes for the Rubber Stamp Republicans who have rolled over for him these past five years. He's counting on us "cut-and-run cowards" to stay home on Election Day. Bush is banking on a tactic that if he can smear us enough, demoralize us into thinking that nothing will change, that we're stuck in Iraq as long as he remains in the Oval Office, we will relinquish our participation in a democratic process called elections. Yup, that's his strategy. You can bet that Bush will imply we're cowards, traitors, quitters, white flag surrender monkeys, and every dirty name in the book to discourage democracy before this campaign season ends.
Democrats John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin offered a withdrawal plan to pull out all U.S. combat troops over the next 13 months and the amendment was rejected 86-13. Thirteen Democrats stood up to Bush's nonplan for Iraq--the greatest strategic blunder in U.S. history. They attempted to offer a real plan for success, to respond to the majority's wishes, and what were we called? Cut and run. Are you gonna stand for this? Are you gonna let an incompetent president smear you?
Since when did Bush--who regularly reads speeches written for him, fancy prose filled with flag-waving, tough talk, patriotic words for our brave soldiers (whose shoes he can't fill)--care about what most Americans want (not what the 1% of the wealthiest Americans want). Ha! You really don't expect the privileged son of a one-term president to understand the needs of working class Americans who are fighting the war, do you? You can have a beer and some laughs with a rich frat boy who loves to party, yuck it up, play golf, and vacation, but you'd be a fool to trust him to look after your family's needs and our national security. This is the guy who couldn't mobilize all that's at his disposal as president to rescue Katrina victims. And he still hasn't.
Bush isn't a president as much as he is the nation's top political operative. Haven't we had enough of rapacious, self-interested, big corporate whoring, oil-profiteering puppets? Is it too much to ask for our elected officials to represent, we, the people?! I think not.
Let's sweep the sludge out of Washington this November. It's time to take back our country with elected officials who won't roll over for Bush.
|