July 1 - 14, 2003

VOL. 1 ISSUE 6

LET’S GET SOMETHING STRAIGHT:  THIS NEW BREED

OF REPUBLICAN IS PATHETIC

by John S. Ashton

July 10, 2003 –  Thank you for welcoming me to The Moderate Independent staff.  I am not as calm as some of the others that work for M/I, but I don’t think this is a time to stay calm.  In fact, it’s really time to start kicking ass – not just playing defense, but getting pre-emptive on these pathetic Bush/Limbaugh lie and manipulate types.  The damage is too substantial, the cause too important.  I am out ta kick some ass and I ain’t stoppin’ until the last of these living jokes is bludgeoned back into the world of useful, honest, fair discourse.

Here is what set me off this time, a recent exchange between a me – a normal person who values honesty and fairness - and one of these Bush/Limbaugh Republicans.

I am in step three of the Texas Three-Step method for fighting back against this new breed of dishonest, manipulative right-wing cowards with this person.  This means that I’ve already successfully stopped them from throwing labels at me, and have gotten all the way to the end where they say, “Let’s just not talk about politics.”

By usual, polite standards of us fair-minded people, that would be it.  We would respect that, and this person could crawl off into their Bush/Limbaughian world of like-minded liars and get deeper and cockier into their hate and lies.

That crap is over.  No one will rest until they remember how to be honest and fair.

So, I forwarded the following information regarding which Democrats and Republicans actually served in the military to this Republican friend (the information was taken from the web site AWOLBush.com.)  You see, I had been called wimp, pacifist, etc. so many times by this person for not agreeing with how Bush is handling things that it was time to fire back – with facts, of course.

So, I sent:

Prominent Democrats

·        Representative Richard Gephardt - Served his country in uniform, 1965-71

·        Representative David Bonior - Served his country in uniform, 1968-72

·        Senator Tom Daschle - Served his country in uniform, 1969-72

·        Former Vice President Al Gore - enlisted August 1969; sent to Vietnam January 1971 as an army journalist, assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade headquartered at Bien Hoa, an airbase twenty miles northeast of Saigon.

·        Bob Kerrey... Democrat... Medal of Honor, Vietnam

·        Daniel Inouye... Democrat... Medal of Honor, World War Two

·        John Kerry... Democrat...Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat

·        Charles Rangel...Democrat... Bronze Star, Korea

·        Max Cleland... Democrat... Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam

·        Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) - U.S. Army, 1951-1953.

·        Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) - U.S. Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.

·        Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) - U.S. Army Ranger, 1971-1979.

·        Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) - served as a U.S. Army officer in World War II, receiving the Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
Bill McBride, Democratic Candidate for Florida Governor - volunteered and served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam; awarded Bronze Star with a combat "V."

Prominent Republicans

·        Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve.

·        Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey - avoided the draft, did not serve.

·        House Majority Leader Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve. "So many minority youths had volunteered ... that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like himself."

·        House Majority Whip Roy Blount - did not serve

·        Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - did not serve. (An impressive medical resume, but not such a friend to cats in Boston.)

·        Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-KY - did not serve

·        Rick Santorum, R-PA, third ranking Republican in the Senate - did not serve.

·        Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott - avoided the draft, did not serve.

 

·        Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld - served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor. Served as President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East and met with Saddam Hussein twice in 1983 and 1984.

·        GW Bush - decided that a six-year Nat'l Guard commitment really means four years. Still says that he's "been to war." Huh?

·        VP Cheney - several deferments, the last by marriage (in his own words, "had other priorities than military service")

·        Att'y Gen. John Ashcroft - did not serve; sought deferment to teach business ed at SW Missouri State

·        Jeb Bush, Florida Governor - did not serve.

·        Karl Rove - avoided the draft, did not serve, too busy being a Republican.

·        Former Speaker Newt Gingrich - avoided the draft, did not serve

·        Former President Ronald Reagan - due to poor eyesight, served in a noncombat role making movies for the Army in southern California during WWII. He later seems to have confused his role as an actor playing a tail gunner with the real thing.

·        "B-1" Bob Dornan - avoided Korean War combat duty by enrolling in college acting classes (Orange County Weekly article). Enlisted only after the fighting was over in Korea.

·        Phil Gramm - avoided the draft, did not serve, four (?) student deferments

·        Senator John McCain - McCain's naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. Why did the Bush campaign smear him so? At least Senators Cleland (D-GA), Kerry (D-MA), Kerrey (D-NE), Robb (D-VA) and Hagel (R-NE) defended him.

·        Former Senator Bob Dole - an honorable man. decorations

·        Colin Powell. What are we to make of Powell? On the one hand, a long career as a military manager. On the other hand, accused of covering up the My Lai massacre. Back on that first hand, one of the seemingly sane voices in this administration when it comes to Iraq (or at least he used to be). On the other hand, a clear hypocrite ("I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units...")

·        Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), served in USMC in Vietnam; wounded in action

--

You see, basic, simple information that rebuts the Bush Republicans constant claims that the military is Republican, and that all people who support the President are patriotic, good-Americans, and all Democrats and Independents who oppose the President are cowardly un-Americans.

So what was the response of this somewhat moderate but Bush-supporting Republican who received this e-mail?

More liberal crap.

How about Kennedy the murderer

Carter the gutless wonder

Clinton the philanderer.

Next scandal - Hillary spends taxpayer $$$$ to travel overseas to promote her book. Wait and see!!!

Of course ending with:

Let's pass on the politics

Like trained, first, the liberal label – what is liberal about facts?  Nothing! – then the tirade of irrelevancy about people who have nothing to do with the issue at hand – the Bush Republicans’ assertion that all Democrats and non-Bushies are un-American wimps and all Republicans are tough, military, true-patriots.

Yes, the pathetic nature of this new breed of Bush Republican on display yet again.

As I said, the person who sent this response is a moderate, not an extreme right-winger.  But what Bush and his Limbaugh level of buddies have done is attempt to eliminate any possibility of useful discussion about issues.  They desperately revert to hate, hate, hate, personalized, pathetic, impotent, ballless, spineless talk about Hillary and Bill.  And Carter?  Kennedy?

Wait and see if Hillary sells her book using tax-payer money, but ignore that Bush put $600 million dollars into the pocket of Cheney’s old company without competitive bidding?

This intelligent Republican person is no longer capable of having a useful, relevant conversation.  Any time something is brought up that is not strict Bush supporting propaganda, the fuses in the head are conditioned to start popping “Hillary,” “Bill cheated,” “Hillary,” “Hillary.”

What happened with Kennedy back in the 70’s may have been horrible.

Carter was gutless, and I would never vote for him.

Clinton, as everyone knows and as he has now admitted, was a philanderer.

Hillary MAY use taxpayer dollars to travel to promote her book at some point in the future (and she may also convert to Hinduism, who knows what the future holds.)

How come we moderate independents, fair-minded Democrats, and good, true conservatives can easily admit all of these things, but the pathetic Bush brand of Republican can’t admit anything that anyone does on their side?

Tom Delay (R-TX) selling legislative advantage to Westar?  Bush lying on a daily basis?  The Republicans repeatedly trying to pretend they are the tough, patriotic party, when in reality this Bush breed are so tough in words because they and their children can buy their way out of having to serve?

It really took hold last election.  Useful discourse became impossible.  The division between Bush Republicans and the rest of us became fierce, hate-filled (on both sides.)  Again and again I have seen good, intelligent, moderate people fall into the Bush/Limbaugh game, and after that point, all potential usefulness, intelligence, maturity, courage, and morality disappeared.  These grown adults became like the child who has just discovered lying.  They were given a new game and tough guy imagery that made life simple.  An answer for everything, a snappy comeback that kills conversation fed to each of them, all coated with the gravy that, “Yeah, we are tough, cool guys, and just listen to the other side whine like little babies that we aren’t being fair – what wimps.”

We all know this is true, how pathetic this new breed of Bush Republican is.  We all are strong on attacking the President.  We all are strong is mocking the pathetic Limbaugh and media associates.

But have you started taking on the losers in your life, the pathetic, dishonest, incapable of staying on topic, brain-washed Bush/Limbaughians?  They are the biggest joke this country has ever known.  Have you told them that?

Or have you avoided, been polite, backed off, agreed when they said, “Let’s not discuss politics.”  It is one thing to disagree on specific issues – that will always be, and there is no problem with that.

But this is lying.  This is pathetic conversation killing.  The smug assertions of anti-Americanism.  And, the constant switching the topic to Bill, Hillary, Bill, Hillary.  Kennedy?

This new breed of Bush/Limbaugh Republican is weak.  They are cowardly.  They are easily made fun of, since they are so obviously – provably - wrong on so many things.

I don’t know about you, but I ain’t putting up with it anymore.  I am on offense.  Bush/Limbaugh Republicans, you are not just a joke, but an affront to useful conversation, democracy, and everything that is good about America.  As a moderate independent who cares only about what is true, right, and best for America, I know that you must go, and I personally have to do my part to drive you there.

Why don’t you join me.  Cut and paste the above information and send it to that Republican friend or co-worker of yours – the one who had sent you all those dumb Hillary and Bill jokes, the stupid, unfunny forwarded e-mails.  Go ahead, give it back to them.

You are warned, wuss boys and hate-filled, logic-chopping, Hillary obsessing little girls, your days of lying and bullying in comfort are over.  Your pathetic asses will be subject to verbal and textual assault on a daily basis.

Ready?  Now cut, paste, and FIRE!!!

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