Republicans and Patriotism
Here they go again.
This morning's Washington Post reports that George Allen has impugned the patriotism of his opponent for the U.S. Senate, James Webb. Now I'm not going to say that a person can't be a patriot without serving in the Armed Forces. I consider myself a patriot, and I was damned glad when my draft lottery number was over three hundred because I would have been a rotten soldier. And I'm not going to argue that having served in the military automatically makes one a patriot; surely those troops currently facing charges of murder and rape for their behavior in Iraq don't deserve to be considered patriots because they were simply thugs in uniform. But Jim Webb is a highly decorated combat veteran. Since his honorable discharge, he has served his country in a number of appointed positions when he probably could have made a lot more money doing something else. If there's a reason to claim he's unpatriotic, I don't know what it is. Oh yeah. He opposes an amendment that would allow Congress to pass laws prohibiting physical desecration of the flag.
But when Republicans are in trouble, they have a history of claiming their opponents are unpatriotic. President Chickenhawk, Mommy's Best Boy, found John McCain unpatriotic--and never mind the years as as POW. Saxby Chambliss was elected to the Senate after claiming that Max Cleland, who had done nothing much for his country except sacrifice both legs and one arm and then serve as Director of the Veterans Administration, was unpatriotic. And now George Felix Allen claims that Webb is unpatriotic.
I'll make this simple because these men are obviously speaking to people who are very simple and can't understand the serious issues that face the country. If Max Cleland or Jim Webb or John McCain wants to say someone's unpatriotic, I'll listen to that. They've earned the right, and their standard is probably pretty high. But Chickenhawk, Allen, and Chambliss never put anything on the line for their country except their cushy jobs. And it should strike all of us as odd that they only throw these charges when they're in danger of losing those jobs and need to rally support among people who have a Pavlovian response to the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthem.
This morning's Washington Post reports that George Allen has impugned the patriotism of his opponent for the U.S. Senate, James Webb. Now I'm not going to say that a person can't be a patriot without serving in the Armed Forces. I consider myself a patriot, and I was damned glad when my draft lottery number was over three hundred because I would have been a rotten soldier. And I'm not going to argue that having served in the military automatically makes one a patriot; surely those troops currently facing charges of murder and rape for their behavior in Iraq don't deserve to be considered patriots because they were simply thugs in uniform. But Jim Webb is a highly decorated combat veteran. Since his honorable discharge, he has served his country in a number of appointed positions when he probably could have made a lot more money doing something else. If there's a reason to claim he's unpatriotic, I don't know what it is. Oh yeah. He opposes an amendment that would allow Congress to pass laws prohibiting physical desecration of the flag.
But when Republicans are in trouble, they have a history of claiming their opponents are unpatriotic. President Chickenhawk, Mommy's Best Boy, found John McCain unpatriotic--and never mind the years as as POW. Saxby Chambliss was elected to the Senate after claiming that Max Cleland, who had done nothing much for his country except sacrifice both legs and one arm and then serve as Director of the Veterans Administration, was unpatriotic. And now George Felix Allen claims that Webb is unpatriotic.
I'll make this simple because these men are obviously speaking to people who are very simple and can't understand the serious issues that face the country. If Max Cleland or Jim Webb or John McCain wants to say someone's unpatriotic, I'll listen to that. They've earned the right, and their standard is probably pretty high. But Chickenhawk, Allen, and Chambliss never put anything on the line for their country except their cushy jobs. And it should strike all of us as odd that they only throw these charges when they're in danger of losing those jobs and need to rally support among people who have a Pavlovian response to the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthem.
posted by amsterdr at 9:36 AM
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