House of Eratosthenes

A couple months ago I made an observation about something really and truly bizarre that hasn’t gotten very much press at all since then. I would expect there would be a lot more eyebrow-raising and tongue-clucking about it, since I don’t like it. And failing that, if a whole lot of people disagree with me and like what I don’t like, I would hope there would be a lot more discussion about it. There hasn’t been any discussion. None.

I’m referring to the decision by a whole bunch of power-brokers in Washington, who know a great deal more about the inside political track than I do, that as the world’s oldest political party gears up to fight in the midterm elections and possibly take control of a chamber of congress, that party’s official position on what to do about Iraq will be — and you could never write this as fiction, no publisher would accept it — Nothing! Butkus! Did you know that? Did you know Democrats think, officially, that the time has come to get back to scaring old people with wildly implausible tales of Social Security payments being cut? Did you know they’re getting ready to run the campaigns you remember, “blah blah blah lock-box blah blah blah cost-of-living adjustment blah blah blah right-to-choose blah blah blah rich get richer, poor get poorer blah blah blah glass ceiling, make the minimum wage a living wage.”

It’s kind of stunning. A major political party is flailing around trying to find some issues, obviously having a tough time finding them…hundreds of weird-beard goat-molesters are trying to kill us in order to broadcast a political message. If you are travelling overseas, you may be kidnapped and killed. If that previous sentence was “if you are out walking too close to a power line, you might get cancer and die” — Democrats would know what to do about that. Whoa, try and stop ’em. Just don’t expect anything to actually be done to make things better for you if you’re the one with cancer! But when it comes to the mad mullahs, it’s a whole different kettle of fish. Our fearless Democrats who want to be our fearless leaders, are willing to come out and say that they’ve got nothing to say.

I don’t know if Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, who represents the 5th Congressional District of Florida, reads my blog. I would expect hardly anybody does. But how then do you explain this gem which appeared in the St. Petersburg Times-online this morning.

Every time I meet with the liberal antiwar groups, the buttons always say, and are invariably the first words out of their mouths, “We support the troops.” I always wonder what liberals mean by “support” for the troops. And I have had quite a bit of difficulty finding out. These groups can never tell me.

As far as I can tell, when liberals say, “We support the troops,” they mean this time around they aren’t going to spit on our vets and they won’t protest welcome-home celebrations. When liberals say, “Support the troops,” as far as I can tell they mean refrain from personal attacks on our soldiers. This time around, liberals are hiding behind the rhetoric of a button and a slogan.

I disagree. Support is not a slogan. Support is more than wearing a button. Support is active. Supporting the troops is not saying things that encourage our enemies. Support is not saying things that make it harder for our troops to fight. Supporting the troops requires a commitment to win.

Let’s ask Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., about her support for the war on terror. I’m talking about her actions, not her rhetoric. The leader voted against funding for the Patriot Act and she voted against establishing the Department of Homeland Security. How about for our troops on the ground? The leader of the Democrats voted to cut intelligence funding by $500-million and voted to cut intelligence authorization by nearly 1 percent. This is how liberal Democrats support the troops.

Now, that’s solid gold stuff right there. But then Brown-Waite swooped in for the kill:

Anyone can criticize any aspect of the administration’s policy, but like it or not, it was a policy choice. Liberal Democrats have no policy and no vision for our security. Pelosi, the liberal leader in Congress, even said they would have an issue agenda for the 2006 elections, but it will not include a position on Iraq.

Are you kidding me? The minority party will not have a position on the biggest foreign policy challenge we face? Oh, I forgot Democrats’ position is they “support the troops.”

I’ve been robbed, but I’m not calling the police. I’m quite flattered.

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Imitation is the Sincerest Form VMonday, February 6th, 2006

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Monday, February 6th, 2006