E.J. Dionne, in the WashPost, points out how Bush and Cheney - neither of whom have served in the military (well, Dubya "served") - have turned on John Murtha, as they did on Kerry, questioning his patriotism, his loyalty to his country, and his support for the military.
Forget that he served in Vietnam - where they didn't. Forget that he has constantly supported the Administration. Oh no. Forget that he was awarded two Purple Hearts. Apparently he didn't deserve them.
Dionne writes:
In any event, what we know about Murtha, McCain, Kerry and, yes, Bailey, is that they served in combat in Vietnam. What we know about Bush and Vice President Cheney ("I had other priorities in the '60s than military service'') is that they didn't.
What's maddening here is the unblushing hypocrisy of the right wing and the way it circulates -- usually through Web sites or talk radio -- personal vilification to abort honest political debate.
And he continues, with the double standard:
When a Democrat went to war, there must have been something wrong with the way he did it. Gore's service was dismissed because he worked "only" as a military journalist. You can even find Bush's defenders back in 2000 daring to argue that flying planes over Texas was actually more dangerous than joining the Army and serving in Vietnam the way Gore did.
The Republicans had an even bigger problem with Kerry, who did unquestionably dangerous duty patrolling rivers. Not to worry. The Swift Boat Veterans simply smeared him.
But then - we know all about the double standard. Clinton lied about a blowjob from some saucy intern. And they impeached him. Dubya has lied about the war in Iraq, he's broken the law with spying and with torture, he's lost a major city, his Congressional lieutenants are all facing corruption charges - and not a single Republican bats an eyelash.
As I've said before - I'll take one for the team and blow him. Then we might get progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment