Hermann Goering, on how to be a Nazi:
It is always a simple matter to drag people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.
Tom DeLay (R-TX), on, well, how to be a Nazi:
Nancy Pelosi should apologize for her irresponsible, dangerous rhetoric. . . She apparently is so caught up in partisan hatred for President Bush that her words are putting American lives at risk. . . . [She] has a responsibility to the troops and to this nation to show unity in this time of war.Should we throw Mama from the train? You can read it for yourself, but you know the answer's no.
I know, I know: I invoked the Nazis and thus the argument's ended, browser window's closed, link's deleted and porn spam is sent. Still you have to deal with Tom DeLay, who either finds it politically expedient to debate like a Nazi or actually believes that Pelosi's speech was treasonous. At some point we became desensitized to this sort of rhetoric—maybe when the Bush administration made a name for themselves by lying about everything from WMD to Bush's recent bicycle accident, which White House spokesman Trent Duffy blamed on topsoil loosened by rain, yes, rain, the rain in late May Crawford, Texas, that does not and did not fall. Minor incidents, Bush's fall and DeLay's dismissal, yet both important insomuch as they reveal the extent to which the Bush administration mistrusts and dislikes the American public. Which is, like, a ton.
Posted by Kriston at May 26, 2004 9:48 AMNancy Pelosi is a shining example of the leadership in the Democratic Party. Please bring her up more often. I think the more the American people see and hear of her, the more likely they will flock to the polls to vote Kerry in by a landslide. Perhaps Kerry will even select Pelosi to be his running mate????
Thanks for the great post!
--scott
Posted by: J.Scott Barnard at May 26, 2004 12:45 PMScott, I think you underestimate the function Pelosi serves. Safely ensconced in her district, she can say things that other democrats can't -- what comes out might not be the sort of thing Kerry wants to be directly associated with, but it can still help him.
Pelosi's recent comments were harsh, but just getting the idea out there in the mass media provides a seed around which hazy concerns about the President can crystallize. I think the American public hearing her isn't necessarily bad for the democratic party. They may find her and her comments unappealing, but harsh criticism helps to redefine the continuum for popular opinion of President Bush from "fearless leader ... simple but well-meaning country boy" to "fearless leader ... incompetent, arrogant mouth-breather".
Firebrands like Pelosi set the bounds; then more moderate figures can nudge voters in one direction or another. Dancing around the "Bush is unqualified" hypothesis with language like "I am gravely concerned about X" and "President Bush needs to offer a full account for Y" can't push people toward a political finish line as easily if that finish line hasn't been well-defined beforehand.
In a way, this is the same function that talk radio hosts like Limbaugh and Savage serve for the right. They have their legions of listeners who swallow every word, sure, but the hosts' influence extends beyond the dittoheads. By clearly defining where the ends of the political spectrum lie, they shift the definition of the moderate position toward their own beliefs.
But I do agree that the more that America sees of Pelosi, the worse off the Dems will be. There's no getting around it: the lady looks like an alien.
Posted by: tom at May 26, 2004 1:22 PMRight. I would accept "Pelosi's a hack," and I would agree with "Pelosi's an alien," but "Pelosi's killing our boys"? Tacky, irresponsible, and kind of scary.
Posted by: Kriston at May 26, 2004 1:28 PMVote Bush or you're responsible for killing American soldiers!
Maybe Scott will reconsider when he realizes that Tom DeLay is paraphrasing Fidel Castro?
Tom Delay: "Nancy Pelosi should apologize for her irresponsible, dangerous rhetoric. She apparently is so caught up in partisan hatred for President Bush that her words are putting American lives at risk."
Fidel Castro: "All dissent is opposition; all opposition is counterrevolutionary."
Posted by: Dimmy Karras at May 26, 2004 2:20 PMDimmy, I don't support Tom Delay's buffoonery and I'm glad Kriston's calling him out for it.
Nancy Pelosi's daughter is much cooler. But she probably won't go into politics. --s
Posted by: J.Scott Barnard at May 26, 2004 4:15 PMI agree with Tom Delay... but, I'd have to clarify how I agree to keep anyone from misunderstanding me.
You see, what really irritates me is that things are going so much better in Iraq than most Americans realize due to the biased mainstream news media’s coverage.
I'm all for free speech and free flow of ideas. However, by focusing disproportionately on the negative and ignoring many positives, our news media effectively emboldens our enemies and more of our soldiers WILL die (and HAVE died) as a result.
If the news media would just let the facts speak for themselves in a way that is proportionate to reality and to ALL that is going on, I’d understand. But as more Americans are falsely convinced that the war is going much worse than it really is, the political will to stick it out fades. This alone could make the difference as to whether or not we succeed.
Fortunately, I think that enough people are getting enough of the truth (from alternative sources) to keep the media from doing too much damage.
Here is a real-life example of the kind of damage caused by people like Pelosi and our very biased mainstream news media.
These are recent quotes from North Vietnamese general Vo Nguyen Giap (who fought against us in the Vietnam War0>
"I would like to thank them," said Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, now 93...
"...Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9AM to follow the growth of the antiwar movement..."
"...[they] gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses..."
"...Through dissent and protest [America] lost the ability to mobilize a will to win..."
Hopefully, we won't find an old al Quida leader 30 years from now saying this same thing... but if we do, you can congratulate politicians like Jim McDermott, Nancy Pelosi, ... and news organizations like NYTimes, CBS, NBC, CNN, CNN, etc.
Posted by: Rob McEwen at May 27, 2004 2:04 PMYour Blog is so sweet! Your posts give me ideas and I start really thinking. Thank you!
Posted by: Tawna Pellegrin at March 27, 2011 2:53 AMI am very enjoyed for this blog. Its an informative topic. It help me very much to solve some problems. Its opportunity are so fantastic and working style so speedy. I think it may be help all of you. Thanks.
Posted by: Lashell Mankey at April 23, 2011 3:56 AMI went over this site and I think you have a lot of excellent info , saved to favorites (:.
Posted by: Gayle H. Shields at May 13, 2011 6:23 PMAfter reading your article I was instantly reminded of "When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal." -- Napoleon Hill
Posted by: Esmeralda Bendel at August 9, 2011 7:25 PM
