The Right's Joy of Misrepresentation

The right loves straw men. They're so much easier to k.o. than burly critics.

The beau ideal of these imaginary targets, repeatedly shadowboxed by Mr. Bush last fall, was that Congressional Democrats were opposed to eavesdropping on the ruthless Qaeda. Now that's just foolish; then came the bouncy shoulders and smirky, knowing grin.

The decider, however, studiously decided to avoid mentioning the Dems' actual opposition, which rested on that quaint little notion of constitutional legality.

What the heck. It was only civil liberties they were wanting to weigh in on -- a few piddling lines from the Bill of Rights. It wasn't like such a debate of such inconsequence deserved a lot of gravitas from the White House.

But wait, there's more. Yesterday the Washington Post's pugilisitic George Will took a break from puckering his brain to pleasure himself with the right's new straw-man model #2007, which, in his words, goes like this: "Congressional Democrats are ... afraid to [cut war funding] because they lack the courage of their (professed) conviction that Iraq would be made tranquil by withdrawal of U.S. forces."

Now, I quibble not with Mr. Will's assessment of Democratic courage. On the other hand, I've heard a littany of convictions voiced on alternatives to Mr. Bush's war mismanagement, but have yet to hear a solitary voice -- be it Democratic, or Greenback or Know Nothing -- "profess" the conviction that "Iraq would be made tranquil by withdrawal of U.S. forces."

But it's a great giggle for the easily amused right-wing base -- a real tee-hee, which is ring-management's real objective.

There they go again, those clownish Democrats, flashing the peace sign, reciting Ginsberg and reading Gandhi and placing naive trust in ethereal karmic vibes.

We get it. Boy, that's a good one.

Keep hustling caricatured fallacies, Mr. Will, since you know the wretched truth will enslave you otherwise -- the futility of what American soldiers face daily in Iraq: the "fluidity" of the multiheaded enemy's tactics, as the New York Times reported yesterday, the "focus on [gunning down] helicopters ... Roadside bombs [that] have been adapted to punch through heavily armored Humvees ... Attacks on Americans [that] also now include coordinated assaults from multiple locations, with a mix of weapons," a mix that now includes lethal chlorine gas.

A war without end so costly in human lives and national resources isn't really worth the effort of serious, honest debate. Is it? Mr. Will.

But it sure is good for some needling, partisan frivolousness over Democratic "convictions." And that is the true cause dearest to your and your right-wing brethren's hearts.

Comments

[Jay Randal]

Bush Regime can never win in Iraq, but Dubya will never pull out of Iraq as long as he is president. To save the troops he must resign or be impeached.