I don't give a rat's ass about whether a politician has an R or a D after his name, but I (like Joe Lieberman - D) want to win the CRUSADE against Islamic fundamentalism. If someone (anyone) goes weak in the knees (like Murtha) or fails to see the significance of the war and thinks its more of a law enforcement problem (like Carter or Kerry), THEY ARE WRONG. I'll shout that from the highest steeple -- THEY ARE WRONG. If they object to my tone, If they think I am challenging their patriotism or intelligence, GET OVER IT. I don't care about your hurt feelings. Stay in the "here" and "now." Stop harping about WMD. We are in a war in Iraq now. What do we do now? Forget about whether we should have gone in in the first place. That is spilt milk. Do we get out? What will happen if we leave? What will happen if we stay? Let's debate that, or is that not really the purpose of all the rhetoric? Is this all just about winning elections? Like I said, I don't give a rats ass who wins the election as long as we win the war. But if one candidate does not even realize we are at war and thinks were are in some kind of vast criminal investigation, then I question their fitness for office. Its not about patriotism, it is about understanding the threats that face the West. We are at war, at war with an enemy that is supported by, but not officially affiliated with, various nation states. We need to occupy (i.e., fight) the jihadists in a battlefield of our choosing, designed to inflict the unavoidable horrors of war on the populations from which the jihadists come -- not the population of the West. We need to work for regime change in all totalitarian Muslim states, first the hostile unstable ones like Syria and Iran, then the less hostile one. Hopefully it can be done peacefully, but by other means if necessary. We need to resist the expansion of Sharia law any where in the world. Nuclear proliferation -- that's high on the list as well. All the while, we need to keep looking for that unicorn -- the mythical moderate Muslim. Those who do not understand the threat or understand how to fight it are not being unpatriotic, just foolish. However, if they are attacking the war effort, not out of honest conviction, but to score political points, then yes, they are being unpatriotic too.
Olbermann is delusional about trying to turn the Neville Chamberlain analogy on its head. Chamberlain did not appreciate the threat posed by fascism and nazism. He thought that these thugish forms of totalitarianism could be appeased. He delayed the inevitable struggle until the enemy grew much stronger. The West is faced with a threat by Islamic fundamentalism. The biggest problem we face is actually recognizing we have a problem with a religion. No one in the PC crowd wants to mention the giant pink elephant in the room charging at us. Some deny we have a problem with Islam. Some think Islam can be appeased. Those are the Neville Chamberlains. They will avoid the fight while the storm clouds of war gather. The Neville Chamberlain analogy fits to a tee.
Olbermann claims the Chamberlain government refused to listen to the critics of the government (Churchill) who recognized the threat of fascism and nazism. That is where his revisionist version of the analogy breaks down. The critics of this administration do not recognize a threat ignored by the administration. Its the other way around -- they deny the existence of the threat recognized by the administration. Although this administration has not public voiced a perfect understanding of the threat we face, they certainly understand the threat better than the critics, who deny the existence of the threat, who claim the threat is a figment of their imagination, a ploy for power. I am sorry, the critics lack understanding. THEY ARE WRONG. They are Chamberlain.
On Sep 1, 2006, at 2:35 AM, xxxx wrote:
Tom,
You had to scroll down on the page link I sent earlier. the following is what I intended...
Keith had some very choice words about Rumsfeld’s "fascism" comments tonight. Watch it, save it and share it.
Olbermann delivered this
commentary with fire and passion while highlighting how
Rumsfeld’s comments echoes other times in our world’s
history when anyone who questioned the administration was
coined as a traitor, unpatriotic, communist or any other
colorful term. Luckily we pulled out of those times and we
will pull out of these times.
Remember - Rumsfeld did not just call the Democrats out
yesterday, he called out a majority of this country. This
wasn’t only a partisan attack, but more so
an attack against the
majority of Americans.