Tuesday, October 29, 2002
Fred Barnes, the far right wing conservative who is used to balance out the just regualr right wing conservative Mort Kondracke on FOX “News::
BARNES: I mean, I’m glad you brought up the question of white guys, because there was a lot said about angry white men, and that this was the work of an angry white man. It wasn’t the work of an angry white man at all. It was a Muslim terrorist.
I find that logic interesting. While I don’t deny that the man engaged in what can be considered terrorist activities, what does his religon have to do with it? I have seen nothing that says he is a member of ANY known terrorist group. From all accounts he was a run of the mill nut case angry at the world, who happened to be Muslim. That doesn’t stop Barnes from his bigotry.
Will he refer to Timothy McVeigh as a Christian terrorist?
Will he refer to abortion bomber Eric Rudolph as a Christian terrorist?
Will he refer to Susan Smith as a Christian terrorist?
Will he refer to Jeffrey Dahmer as a Christian terrorist?
Will he refer to David Koresh as a Christian terrorist? (heck no, they are too busy accusing Reno of that)
I doubt it.
Wellstone's body isn't even cold yet and the jackals are already attacking his possible replacement, Walter Mondale. Of course the arguments are laughably pathetic and outright false. First they are questioning his "readiness" since he hasn't held office since 1981. This is absurd on so, so many levels. (This has been covered extensively in other blogs, so if you'vew already heard it, I apologize)
We have a president whose only public office was Governor of Texas, the 13th most powerful position in the state. Before tat his resume consists of a string of failed businesses.
Elizabeth Dole, jobless since 1995 when she was head of Red Cross. Before that she was "Assistant to President Reagan for Public Liaison." Ooooohhhhh!
And do we even have to go into the entire 1994 Republican Congress who used their utter lack of government experience as a badge of honor?
Mondale is a former 2 term senator, Vice President, and Ambassador. Saying that he is in any way "not ready for the job" is just laughable.
And then there are people questioning his age. Coming from the party of ole Strom, a man who literally has been found lost wandering the halls of the senate (I am not joking), I find that extremely funny.
Another attack is the old standby. Lie. The oh so sleazy Newt Gingrich on Meet The Press:
"Walter Mondale chaired a commission that was for the privatization of Social Security worldwide. He chaired a commission that was for raising the retirement age dramatically. He has a strong record of voting to raise taxes. I think that what you'll see on the Republican side is an issue-oriented campaign that says, you know, if you want to raise your retirement age dramatically and privatize Social Security, Walter Mondale is a terrifically courageous guy to say that.
There are so many lies and distortions in that paragraph its hard to know where to start.
First, the whole notion of Privatization" is a REPUBLICAN one, not a democratic one. Now that the stock market tanked and they realized the issue was a dead one, they not only dropped it, but tried to rewrite history and deny they were ever for it! (Josh Marshall is the one who covers that in depth)
And second, and more importantly, it’s a lie, as the Washington Post pointed out.
Best part of the article is this little tidbit:
Reached on his cell phone this afternoon, Gingrich's spokesman, Rick Taylor, said: "I wasn't aware of the dissent. But I haven't had a chance to talk to the speaker about it." Taylor said he would seek an explanation and call back later. As of late Monday, Taylor had not called back.
I bet his phone is broken or something….
And it didn't stop with Gingrich, The National Review repeated the same bogus crap too. They said, and I quote:
"a major advocate of President Bush's position on Social Security”
He's in favor of private accounts for Social Security and raising the retirement age."
Of course every word of that is complete and utter bullshit. And the author gave a weaselly halfhearted semi-apology(I didn't lie, I'm just stupid, and its you guys who are the jerks!).
Apologies like that remind me of Barbara Olson (current resident of Hell) and her "apology" for insulting the former Presidents dead mother. She called Clintons mother a "barfly who was used by men" and then, get this, apologized by saying "I did not intend to demean Virginia Kelley or her memory". Classic.
