This morning's Op-Ed piece by William Kristol is the most direct command a neo-conservative can use. His title: Be Afraid. Please. Kristol's premise is that electing Obama with a Democratic-controlled Congress will give Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid free reign. The direct quote is: "But if the voters elect Obama as president, they’ll be putting Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in untrammeled control of our future."
Frankly, after the last eight years of Bush, Cheney, and yes, Bill Kristol, I would be thrilled to let Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have untrammeled control of our future. The Neo-Cons have had untrammeled control and have destroyed the US economy, led us into an unnecessary and elective war, trashed the environmnet, ignored the crumbling infrastructure in the USA, and generally made the USA the laughing-stock of the world. Do I think Obama walks on water? Absolutely not. He's flawed, deeply so. Pelosi has been quite disappointing. But I would much rather have their flaws in charge than another four years of the Bush/Cheney administration.
Kristol writes about the November election: "Maybe they’ll decide it’s more important to have John McCain as commander in chief than Barack Obama as orator in chief." His focus, of course, is war. War. Be afraid. He wants voters to be afraid, because fear keeps people paralyzed. How can you make change, when paralyzed by fear? McCain is a known quantity - Bush Lite - while Obama is an unknown, a (deep disdain in the tone, per neo-con style) "lib."
Obama is not a liberal. He's a centerist, always has been, much like Bill Clinton was, much like Hillary Clinton is. We've become unable to electe a true liberal in this nation. If we were, we'd have Dennis Kucinich as the presumptive Democratic nominee. But Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, and he gets my vote for these three words: The Supreme Court. More, really. He gets my vote because I will not support a man who has said that we need to stay in Iraq for 100 years.
And I will not allow the Neo-Cons to continue to bully me into a place of fearful submission. Bill Kristol wants you to be afraid. It's time to tell him that HE should be afraid, because we are angry, fed up, done. Pack it up, Bill.
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This is a good post Diva. I was just talking about something similar this morning with a co-worker. I talked about how people who hate any form of gun legislation are always painting the country as far more dangerous than it really is.
It's interesting how no conservatives thought it was a bad idea to have a Republican president and Republican controlled Congress. Now that their grip on power is slipping, it's all doom and gloom.
And this focus on national security is really wearing on me. Whenever I hear someone talk about how successful Bush has been in preventing terrorist attacks, I always ask "How many domestic terrorist attacks were there before 9/11?" The previous World Trade Center bombing, of course. The Oklahoma City bombing, but that was two Americans, not foreign terrorists.
The point is that I can cover the roof of my house in rubber and say that it prevents lightning strikes but in the entire history of my house, it's never been struck by lightning. "Preventing" an extremely low probability event is pretty tough to quantify. I'm not convinced that McCain makes us any safer than Obama. If terrorists want to strike, there's still plenty of ways to do it, even on Bush's watch.
If Kristol is afraid, I am glad. I really am.
Nothing terrorizes me anymore, raising four kids has been enough to anesthetize me to anything. I'm still planning on voting for the Jood/Nunly ticket. It's time for a real third party and we're it....nothing says "party" like free donuts and root beer.
btw, glad to see you got some fun in the sun and much deserved down time. Hope you had fun!
The king of NeoCon canon law spouting his creed in the liberal New York Times. Go figure.
I echo your sentiments exactly. I have no delusions that Obama will save the country. None.
I realize, though, that the Bush administration has done it's inept worst to ruin the country.
I am starting to be 'very afraid' of John McCain....VERY...
*"About 300 guests turned out Saturday night to celebrate the 90th birthday of Joseph 'Joe Bananas' Bonanno, retired boss of New York's Bonanno crime family. He retired to Tucson in 1968 . . . John McCain, R-Ariz., and Gov. Fife Symington sent their regards by telegram."
The Arizona Republic - January 17, 1995
McCain was one of the "Keating Five," congressmen investigated on ethics charges for strenuously helping convicted racketeer Charles Keating after he gave them large campaign contributions and vacation trips.
Charles Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities.
McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least nine trips on Keating's airplanes, and three of those were to Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."
Obama may NOT be a perfect candidate...but WTF....John McCain IS a grossly flawed candidate!!
Well said, Diva. Kristol is losing control and that scares him.
Wanna know what scares me? The terrorists right here in our midst. Perhaps Kristol would like to discuss conservative crazies who shoot up "liberal" churches.
drdon, that Kristol and his ilk have been running the show for as long as they have done is only because of their manipulative use of language. Telling people that "Bush has done a good job preventing terrorist attacks" is indeed akin to telling people that a rubber roof prevents lightening strikes. I snap my fingers to keep away the rhinocerosis, and it works just fine. See any in your neighborhood?
Blueberry, me too!
Nunly, this is indeed why we are running, and why we will win. Except Dr. Zaius has stolen my Minister of UFOs, the cad.
okjimm, John McCain is an ethical nightmare. I don't believe he will be elected fairly - it does not rule out the possibility of another stolen election.
dcup, the well-funded, right-wing terrorists in our midst, who love blowing up liberal churches, synagogues, planned parenthood clinics. They scare me too.
Agi, right - how did Kristol get printed in the NY Times?
Kristol is a regular contributor to the NYT. He was hired last year, I suppose, in some misguided effort to appear "fair and balanced". Besides, the Gray Lady kowtows to the same masters as most media in the US.
Here's my take:
Be Afraid. Please.
Dr. Know, I could not even get my head around the comment about "winning wars." I truly hate Kristol, and all he stands for.
Nunly, this is indeed why we are running, and why we will win. Except Dr. Zaius has stolen my Minister of UFOs, the cad.
Damn! I knew that the ape, Dr. Zaius would try his apery tricks on us! Fine, we'll get us another Minister of UFO's. I'm sure there are others out there who could see the importance of such a position.
I guess we'll have to do a search for a new Minister of UFO's. I heard that Kucinich might be interested in the job.
Oh, M.E., do you think Dennis Kucinich might join into the fray? Shiny.
Maybe the choice isn't such a great one, but I'm not voting for the grossly flawed candidtate. I'm voting to try to save my life/our lives, Diva.
This Holly Near song comes to mind. (But, substitute "voting" for "singing" in the refrain.)
Repeat the refrain at each elipsis:
We are a gentle angry people...
Refrain: Singing, singing for our lives
We are a land of many colors...
We are an anti-nuclear people...
We are gay and straight together...
We are a peaceful, loving people...
I thought I drafted Kristol? Damn we gotta get you into office so I can abuse my power to draft neocons!
Border, that song is quite appropriate, voting, voting for our lives. We are at a dangerous juncture.
Bradda, clearly he missed his notice. Really.
"Untrammeled control of our future" by Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid -- LOL.
Kristol is beneath contempt. Just another one of those armchair warriors who never met a war he didn't like, as long as he doesn't have to fight in it.
Tom Harper, I am honored by your visit. And yes, Kristol (and Wolfowitz, and the lot of the PNAC originals) are beneath contempt. However, they are quite dangerous, and, if (god forbid) McCain is elected, then we are all fucked.
Not that I ever swear.
Great post Diva!!! Its going up on Sirens okey dokey? ;)
"Life is full of disappointments."
Right underneath is a picture of the smilin' coward.
Now that's fucking funny.
Sometimes I feel like we're trading on the lesser of two evils when it comes to Obama. I was very disappointed in his FISA vote, but Obama is certainly not the fear-monger that Kristol wants us to (re-) elect. I will likely vote for Obama in November for these reason and because he recognizes that we one nation amongst many nations that share this planet and we should act as such.
Dusty, yes, thanks. And double thanks for your great graphic over there.
Randal, Bill Kristol is just about as devious and manipulative as they get. Let's send HIM to the front line.
Spartacus, I will vote for Obama for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the prospect of McCain in office scares me at a level I cannot describe.
I have to agree with Kristol about having fear of Pelosi & Reid. They have been infected with that spineless disease going around Congress.
They both deserve to have their asses kicked to the curb in the next election.
they have done a real disservice to this country with the perpetuation of both wars and allowing the executive branch & the other person- one Dick Cheney, who declared himself not a part of the executive branch, from an undisclosed location, to engage in high crimes & misdemeanors. The list of crimes is long.
So I hope Obama gets his act together.... but I join you in absolute horror of McCain at the helm.
As co-founder of the Project for the New American Century [ 2 ] William Kristol is directly responsible for the war in Iraq. Why he has not yet been tarred and feathered by the media is beyond me.
Fran, Kristol is not refering to Pelosi or Reid as anything other than symbols - targets of fear - it is manipulative and typical of his misuse of language.
Dr. Z, the PNAC's 5 year plan (which has been taking longer than 5 years, oddly) was to "Americanize" the globe. They targeted Iraq as the lynchpin for the Middle East, followed by regime change in Iran. Kristol, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Jeb Bush, Paul Wolfowitz - these are the puppet masters of fear, and for reasons I will never understand, the media will not touch them.
I guess I should be afraid of all the people you mentioned above and so many more. But I'm not. All the people you mention, divajood, should be afraid of us. We need to keep fighting and speak out.
The thing I find most frightening is, despite everything we know, everything that's happened, and everything that will happen, Mc Cain still has a very good chance of winning.
Stella, thank god for the internets, eh?
Fairlane, you're right. McCain still might be the next President. That's terrifying.
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