Republican candidates see Dubya shooting himself in the foot, ask for bigger gun and more bullets
Published by punkass marc January 25th, 2007 in Bush is a cock, Governmental Failures, Imperialism for Dummies, WingnutsYou’d think their party’s horrible mismanagement of an unwinnable war built on deceit would make it difficult for aspiring Republicans to step into the presidential arena with tough talk and promises of delivering a super-sized helping of liberty to all the flag-waving disadvantaged youth of the world.
If anything would dissuade a rational person from the folly of nation-building through force, it would be our debacle in Iraq. While Johnny “Reb” McCain’s got too much of his rep tied up in the perpetual war in Iraq to back down, other Republicans have more flexibility. Dark horse conservatives coveting the Oval Office could distance themselves from this unpopular mistake and return to the rhetoric that got George Bush elected in 2000, when he said the following in a debate with Gore in 2000:
I don’t think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we’ve got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president [Gore] and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders.
[I'll wait a moment for you to finish dry-heaving.
...
Because, y'know, if Iraq is a careful use of our troops, what on Earth would George Bush would consider ill-advised and hasty? Is he patting himself on the back for resisting the urge to send a half-dozen Merchant Marines into Beijing to impose democracy with an iron fist?]
Bush lost the 2000 popular vote (and really, the electoral vote if you take away the fraud and intimidation tactics), but the man was supposed to lose in a landslide. Disingenuous as it was, the rhetoric above helped boost his appeal.
Just 6.5 short years ago, it would’ve been extremely unpopular to advocate nation-building… which sounds an awful lot like the way it is now.
Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of California formally launched a longshot White House bid on Thursday with a pledge to strengthen the military and protect American workers from unfair trade practices.Hunter, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Congress and former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, endorsed President George W. Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq and said “it has a good chance to work.”
“In Iraq, our success hangs in the balance, but the proposition that expanding freedom is an American interest cannot be argued,” Hunter said in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he launched his campaign. Speech excerpts were made available in Washington.
Hunter’s a nobody on the national landscape, and parroting the doomed words of his party’s favorite won’t distinguish him from the Republican pack. We might be designing lasers that make people feel like they’re being burned alive in hopes of reducing the people we have to shoot, but very few normal people consider our occupational tactics expansive of anything but expensive violence. A Republican who figured this out and strongly advocated a return to fiscal and moral responsibility might actually make a few waves. Fortunately, almost none of the conservative hopefuls have realized that abandoning this war as a cause is probably their only hope.
Few Democrats have yet to wise up to the enormous popularity of liberal ideas. Several of them continue to talk tough about possible future military/anti-terror efforts despite our national discontent over war. But at least they aren’t talking of “expanding freedom” these days. It’s not much to hang our hats on, but it may be our saving grace in 2008.
Where I live—Huntsville, AL, headquarters for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command—the effects of the war can clearly be seen. There aren’t a lot of paraplegics wheeling around, or any big military graveyards close by. Nope, there’s just a ton of defense contractors raking in the dough.
Over $250 million is spent on the Iraq war per day. I look around and see the money here…Boeing, United Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics…all sucking back $2 billion a year. The budget numbers for the defense programs here are mind-numbing, considering it’s a small southern city:
$3 billion for Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
$856.4 million for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.
$489 million for 108 Patriot missiles.
$324.2 million for the Non-Line-of-Sight-Launch System.
$167.1 million for the Army Light Utility Helicopter program.
$144.9 million for the Multiple Kill Vehicle program.
$101.8 million for 12 armed reconnaissance helicopters.
There are a lot of people who want the war to continue because it is putting filet mignon on the table and the latest Callaway drivers in the golf bags, and that’s enough for most people to convince themselves that we really should stay the course. And that $255 million per day is enough for most people to put off thinking about it for at least one more day, and like Annie said, tomorrow is always a day away.
Anyway, with so much money rewarding so many people for keeping the war chugging,well…these crazy rednecks had been waiting forever to get into Iraq, and now that people are even possibly still THINKING about popping Iran—-I mean, the best thing that could happen for most people here is that there is a SUPER quaqmire in Iran, because the engineers and subcontractors designing missiles will be assured a job till they’re retirement age—they won’t have to worry about contracts getting renewed, and unfortunately, that weighs more on their mind than some kid they don’t know getting blown to bits by an IED.
So, while the tide is turning, there’s still a LOT ($) of current ($) beneath the surface ($) pulling in the wrong direction…
You know what’d be awesome? If Boeing, United Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics ALL GOT INTO THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING HEALTHCARE BUSINESS.
“Expensive and revolutionary treatment of disease for ordinary Americans will never stop as long as Big Healthcare is getting fat off government contracts. As activists gathered to protest the extension of the American lifespan to 215 years, analysts estimated that $250 million per day was being spent on curing painful forms of cancer and worldwide distribution of the AIDS vaccine.
“‘Look at it this way,’ Craven McTaxpayerteat, spokesman for Northrup Gamma Knife said. ‘It’s still $5 million less than we’d be spending on war, and tax revenue has never been higher, since days lost to illness has dwindled and productivity skyrocketed. I can’t believe any of us were ever stupid enough to oppose this. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And evil.’
“‘Also, since we couldn’t figure out what to do with all that money, we’ve cured everyone in the entire world of all disease and decay, which means no one will attack us. Which doesn’t really matter, now that we have the Resurrection Engine in preliminary testing anyway.’”
If anyone brings up how this solution would add to the overpopulation problem, I’ll kick you. Of course, if we had a massive moneyhungry medical lobby, you could get that looked at for free and any fractures would be cured instantly with a super new quickie-heal heat ray.
JoeC,
Fascinating stuff! Those $$$ figures you post are certainly eye-opening.
I know the defense contractors of the world have a lot to gain from perpetual war, and appealing to them might be the easiest way for any candidate to build a campaign war chest.
But if you were a Rethug candidate not named McCain, wouldn’t you be looking for ways to stand out from him (besides not looking like you’ve already been embalmed)? Most of the big defense money will go to him or someone like him. Even if they cut you in, won’t most of the chickenhawks vote for our National Chickenhawk (that would be McCain again)?
All I’m saying is that if a Republican wanted to make some noise, not only would that person come out against the specific handling of Iraq, but as a changed soul who sees the light and would never seek to nation-build again.
Marc: apologies about the length of that first post…didn’t realize how long I’d rambled (Crap! I’m doing it again! Help me!) till I hit the submit key. If I was a Rethug (Rethug heh heh…I like that!) I’d be looking for contrast with my fellow Rethug chickenhawks, but as much easier as it’s becoming to oppose the war without being labeled a traitor, there are still some deeeeeeep pockets out there who want it to continue…have convinced themselves feeding their greed is better for all people concerned, including those poor Iraqis.
As long as I (running as a Rethug) can get the deep pockets in my corner, I’ve got the main stream media in my corner, and 80% of the rest of America can be brainwashed with the hot new commercials I will campaign with. If I was opposed to switching parties, I’d think the only way to beat out McCain would be to show the deep pockets how I was going to escalate military spending even MORE than McCain. Of course this would involve choosing from a large pallette of Bovine Excrement, but Red States eat that crap like it was the last Kit Kat in the store.
It WOULD be interesting to see how a majorly Anti-war Rethug would poll, though. Seriously, very recently, talking to a guy who works at NASA (not a low-IQ, mind you…just no heart) said, “I’d rather see 1000 foreigners die before one American got killed.” He said it quietly (since the Dems are now in charge…), but I think the Rethug citizenry hasn’t really changed their hearts deep down…most of them still buy heavily into the “us or them” mentality.
Auguste: Dude! Wouldn’t that solution just add to the overpopulation problem???
;-) 
I say healthcare should start focusing on quality instead of extending the length of life. This will begin by signing into law my “Pop a Cap on Centenarians” bill. As a great citizen of America you’ll still get social security when you reach your sixties, and free health care that will give you extraordinary quality of life, but when you hit 100, you’ve had your share. Time to let somebody else enjoy your pad. We pop a cap in yo’ ass.”