A Tale of Two Parties
This morning's WSJ ran op-eds from
DNC Chairman Howard Dean and
RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman that offer a striking contrast between the Democratic and Republican parties. Here's the opening paragraph of Dean's op-ed:
Dean's other outright fabrication is on the economy, which defies all logic. How can an economy create as many jobs as we have over the past 3 years and generate as much new wealth as the economy has when the largest portion of the nation is getting left behind?
Dean's schtick isn't working anymore because the Right Blogosphere is dissecting his accusations. Democrats aren't taking advantage of the internet that Al Gore created, mainly because the mainstream blogosphere covers more information than the newspapers, TV and radio stations can cover. Dean's schtick isn't working anymore because the mainstream blogosphere is proving that all wisdom doesn't reside in Washington.
Dean's essentially asking you to believe him rather than "your lying eyes." The Mainstream Blogosphere is asking you to believe well-sourced research rather than Dean's irrational diatribes. Right now, the Mainstream Blogosphere is winning that fight.
Here's a taste of Mehlman's op-ed:
They say that it's a "distraction", that we'd be better served "fighting the real war on terrorism" by "focusing more on homeland security here at home" in one breath, then fight with all their strength to repeal the Patriot Act. They try and make the President jump through an impossible amount of hoops to surveil the terrorists already here with the TSP. They've tried taking away the CIA's most effective tools of interrogation.
Chairman Mehlman is making the case that we'd be far less safe if Democrats' policies were enacted. He's making the case airtight and compelling. If this sounds scary, it's because it should sound scary. A barbaristic group of extremists want to kill us with every fiber of their being. If they have to die to accomplish their mission, then that's what they'll do.
My neighbor is a typical Democrat. He's told me time and again that they'd leave us alone if we got out of the Middle East. That might've been true in the 40's and 50's, maybe even the 60's. That stopped being true in 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini unleashed a global terrorist movement. The Saudis contributed by not cracking down on the hate factories known as madrassas. PLO chairman Arafat stoked the fires by terrorizing Israel. The global terrorist movement reached critical mass with bin Laden's training camps being supported by Iran.
This global terrorism movement won't be stopped with our hands being tied behind our backs. We can't afford to be more worried about 'what the world community thinks' because this is war and we've got to match the terrorists' energy in this war between Western civilization and their pre-medieval barbarism.
This election is about answering the question of whether or not we'll fight this deadly movement with everything in our arsenal or if we'll fight it blind. When you strip away all the peripheral issues, this election's choices are really only about our will to defeat these merchants of death. One party, though flawed, still believes in fighting with everything in our arsenal. That's the Republican Party. The other party has told us with their policy recommendations that they believe in fighting blind. That's the Democratic Party.
To my thinking, there's only one choice for rational people. And it isn't the Party of Dean.
Posted Friday, September 22, 2006 2:36 PM
August 2006 Posts
No comments.
We need a Democratic Congress to fight the war on terror, and to end the war on America's families. Republican policies of the last five years have damaged our economy and failed Americans. Democrats believe strengthening the middle class is essential for a thriving economy that rewards work, provides economic opportunity to all and makes it easier for parents to devote time to their families. An economy that favors the top 1% at the expense of everyone else might be good for President Bush's politics, but a shrinking middle class is bad for capitalism, democracy and America. We need a new direction.The op-ed starts out with an outright fabrication then goes downhill after that. Why should Americans think that Democrats would do a better job of fighting terrorists when they cheered Judge Anna Diggs-Taylor's ruling the NSA's intercept program unconstitutional or when they hear Harry Reid brag about killing the Patriot Act? Or when they hear Russ Feingold saying that filibustering the Patriot Act is a "great moment for our Constitution and our democracy and a great moment in the fight against terrorism." That isn't a new direction. That's the Democrats' age old pacifist streak showing.
Dean's other outright fabrication is on the economy, which defies all logic. How can an economy create as many jobs as we have over the past 3 years and generate as much new wealth as the economy has when the largest portion of the nation is getting left behind?
Dean's schtick isn't working anymore because the Right Blogosphere is dissecting his accusations. Democrats aren't taking advantage of the internet that Al Gore created, mainly because the mainstream blogosphere covers more information than the newspapers, TV and radio stations can cover. Dean's schtick isn't working anymore because the mainstream blogosphere is proving that all wisdom doesn't reside in Washington.
Dean's essentially asking you to believe him rather than "your lying eyes." The Mainstream Blogosphere is asking you to believe well-sourced research rather than Dean's irrational diatribes. Right now, the Mainstream Blogosphere is winning that fight.
Here's a taste of Mehlman's op-ed:
Democratic leaders are saying Iraq is a diversion from the war on terror, that we should be more focused on defending the homeland. But again and again, the Democrats have proposed weakening our defenses.I won't insult your intelligence by telling you that Mehlman's op-ed is all sunshine because it's obvious that it isn't. What it is, though, is a sober analysis of the dangers we face. It's also a dissection of Democrats' policies. Let's start with Democrats' admonitions on Iraq.
We learned on 9/11 the need for coordination between federal, state and local governments; yet the majority of congressional Democrats voted against re-authorization of the Patriot Act. The foiled airplane plot re-emphasized the importance of following an enemy whose command and control is often obscure; yet Democrats opposed the NSA surveillance program and praised an activist judge's attempt to shut it down.
They say that it's a "distraction", that we'd be better served "fighting the real war on terrorism" by "focusing more on homeland security here at home" in one breath, then fight with all their strength to repeal the Patriot Act. They try and make the President jump through an impossible amount of hoops to surveil the terrorists already here with the TSP. They've tried taking away the CIA's most effective tools of interrogation.
Chairman Mehlman is making the case that we'd be far less safe if Democrats' policies were enacted. He's making the case airtight and compelling. If this sounds scary, it's because it should sound scary. A barbaristic group of extremists want to kill us with every fiber of their being. If they have to die to accomplish their mission, then that's what they'll do.
My neighbor is a typical Democrat. He's told me time and again that they'd leave us alone if we got out of the Middle East. That might've been true in the 40's and 50's, maybe even the 60's. That stopped being true in 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini unleashed a global terrorist movement. The Saudis contributed by not cracking down on the hate factories known as madrassas. PLO chairman Arafat stoked the fires by terrorizing Israel. The global terrorist movement reached critical mass with bin Laden's training camps being supported by Iran.
This global terrorism movement won't be stopped with our hands being tied behind our backs. We can't afford to be more worried about 'what the world community thinks' because this is war and we've got to match the terrorists' energy in this war between Western civilization and their pre-medieval barbarism.
This election is about answering the question of whether or not we'll fight this deadly movement with everything in our arsenal or if we'll fight it blind. When you strip away all the peripheral issues, this election's choices are really only about our will to defeat these merchants of death. One party, though flawed, still believes in fighting with everything in our arsenal. That's the Republican Party. The other party has told us with their policy recommendations that they believe in fighting blind. That's the Democratic Party.
To my thinking, there's only one choice for rational people. And it isn't the Party of Dean.
Posted Friday, September 22, 2006 2:36 PM
August 2006 Posts
No comments.
