Leftist Démos struggle for significance

[igloo]

Leftist Démos struggle for significance

Mark Alexander (archive)

May 30, 2003 | Print | Send

Top of the fold...

The continuing dangers on the Iraqi front with Jihadistan emboldened anti-war critics this week, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld rose in defense of our actions there. "The transition to democracy [in Iraq] will take time," Mr. Rumsfeld acknowledged, laying out President George Bush's 13 principles for Iraq's transition to free-market democracy. "It will not be a smooth road. ...As Thomas Jefferson put it at the time: 'we are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed'."

The quibblers and naysayers evidently expected that the rapid military victory would necessarily be followed by an equally quick transition to peaceful representative government -- all while Saddam's Ba'athists still infest the countryside, threatening coalition troops and innocent Iraqi citizens alike. (Frankly, we are surprised our daily casualty rate is not much higher.) The stakes are too high to let the critics of the war derail progress toward truly freeing the Iraqi people.

In tandem with the liberated nation's process of democratization, Mr. Rumsfeld noted that Iranian ploys to encourage a theocratic regime in neighboring Iraq will not be tolerated. His warning to the "Axis of Evil" state: "Iran should be on notice that efforts to try to remake Iraq in Iran's image will be aggressively put down." To this end, the Defense Secretary guaranteed the presence of coalition security forces in Iraq "for as long as is necessary."

While this promise must, of course, be balanced by the valid concern that the U.S. may overstay its welcome in Iraq, of greater importance is that the U.S. and its allies not leave the country too early, opening the door to an eruption of ethnic violence and the emergence of a radical Islamic regime. The Secretary's words are also encouraging because they represent the Bush administration's realistic approach to the democratization of Iraq: to force the emergence of democracy and a free market too quickly could backfire in a wave of anti-American sentiment. Modesty is the best policy in encouraging democracy in the Middle East; ultimately, in the words of Heritage Foundation fellow James Phillips, the U.S. "can only patiently assist the Iraqis to find their own way." We can't script it for them.

Concerning the ongoing hunt for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, the CIA and DIA issued a white paper Wednesday, concluding -- as we reported last week -- that the pair of trailer facilities discovered in Iraq were indeed mobile bioweapons laboratories designed to produce biological agents while evading detection. As we have noted previously, we believe much of Saddam's biological and nuclear capacity found its way across Syrian and Iranian borders. (You will recall that in the early days of the Gulf War, Saddam moved his prized fighter aircraft to Iran -- with whom he had been at war for much of the previous decade.)

Leftist political opportunists are offering preposterous and mutually contradictory claims -- either that the Jihadi threat is much greater than President Bush and his team have made out, or that al-Qa'ida and its linked sympathizers and adherents neither now are nor ever were really much of an opponent. (The latter argument relies on what we view as a distinction without a difference -- that Osama bin Laden's network is a mere fraction of the shadowy international Islamic extremist terrorism movement, and that each portion taken separately is not a great threat.) So, which is it?

Of course, while these shameless opportunists are busy playing their left hand against their right, Jihadis continue to regroup around the world, and in several major U.S. urban centers....

In other news...

President Bush is off on a bit of summitry this week -- stopping off first in Europe for the G-8 Summit, but then taking an unexpected trip to the Middle East for some serious diplomacy. The President is seeking "dividends" from success in the battle of Baghdad, to apply toward negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

But can there really ever be peace in that blood-soaked region? Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seemed this week intent on making a stab at renewing the so-called "peace process," dragging along the more reluctant members of his cabinet into a favorable vote on separate steps in the "roadmap," while holding out some stated reservations and outright rejecting by formal vote the "right of return" for Palestinians to enter Israel.

Sharon even once invoked the studiously shirked "occupation" word to denote the Israeli stance toward the disputed territories. New Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is set to be the sole negotiator replacing head Palestinian terror chief Yasser Arafat at the summit table in Jordan next week, and Sharon and Abbas held a preliminary meeting Thursday. Most analysts concur that the Palestinian terrorists will once again not adhere to their first required step on the "roadmap" of ceasing attacks on Israelis, so the destination will not soon be "peace" any more than the Oslo Accords led toward it. Stay tuned -- this diplomacy will be hot for the next week.

Quote of the week...

"Americans and every free nation on Earth can trace their liberty to the white markers of places like Arlington National Cemetery, and may God keep us ever grateful...." --President George W. Bush (Today is Memorial Day proper, and we are reminded of the inscription above the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God.")

On cross-examination...

"This year, we remember not only the heroes of the past, those who battled the evils of their times -- totalitarianism and Communism -- but the heroes of the present -- your comrades -- who fell fighting the latest form of tyranny, the tyranny of terrorism." --Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

Open query...

"How many times have we applauded those who 'made a difference in the lives of others' and been admonished to do the same? On the face of it, that has to be one of the more mindless generalities of our modern era. After all, didn't Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Castro also make a difference in the lives of others?" --Walter Williams

News from the Swamp...

On Wednesday, President Bush signed a $350-billion tax cut into law -- a mere shadow of the $726-billion cut the administration originally proposed. Nevertheless, Mr. Bush remained optimistic, saying, "By ensuring that Americans have more to spend, to save and to invest, this legislation is adding fuel to an economic recovery."

The President has enacted a tax cut each of his three years in office, beginning with a $1.3-trillion cut in 2001, followed by a $42-billion stimulus plan in 2002. The Federalist looks forward to seeing what the President can accomplish through 2008!

On the Hill, we are shocked -- SHOCKED! -- to report that the Démos are warming up their class-warfare rhetoric. Sen. Mark Dayton protested, "This tax bill is one of the most dangerous and destructive and dishonorable acts of government that I have ever seen. It is a shameful looting of the federal treasury by the rich and powerful in America, compliments of their friends in Congress."

Memo to Sen. D: "Looting of the federal treasury"? Whose money is it?

The BIG lie...

"The consensus of economists was that the plan needed to be responsible, immediate and tailored to create the most jobs for the money. Unfortunately, the plan the President signed today missed on all three." --Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle

This week's "Braying Jackass" award: "The Bush tax cuts have failed. They are not making the economy better, they are not helping people get jobs." --Demo Rep. and presidential candidate Richard Gephardt

On the Left...

Remember Adam Clymer, the New York Times Leftmedia protagonist who was the subject of a few choice words caught by an open mike between then-Governor George Bush and Dick Cheney in September of 2000? "There's Adam Clymer, major league @$$#*!! from the New York Times," said Mr. Bush. Dick Cheney agreed: "Oh yeah, he is, big time."

Well, Clymer was back in the news this week, this time for his stern rebuke of the Democrat Party in a New York Times analysis piece: "The [Democrat] party finds itself in a desperate effort to rebuild and to avoid permanent minority status. Though immediate attention may focus on the 2004 presidential election, which Democrats could win if the economy remains sluggish and voters blame Mr. Bush, a victory would not necessarily reverse their long-run decline. For years, Democrats have focused on the short term, both in mechanics and ideas, concentrating on the issue of the month or the year rather than articulating a clear identity, and preferring to try to rally their own faithful rather than seeking to win over the middle or even chip away at groups now heavily Republican. This approach is all the more glaring when compared with the Republicans' success at planning and financing long-range projects and developing a clearly identified platform showcasing a consistent set of issues over the years."

Clymer is not alone in his perspective of the state of the Democrat party's disarray -- a perspective that is gaining ground among the party's own leadership. Al From and Bruce Reed of the Democratic Leadership Council recently wrote, "No party ever needed definition, or redefinition, more than the Democratic Party today." Likewise, former DNC chairman Robert S. Strauss argues that Democrats win only after Republicans make crucial mistakes such as the Watergate scandal or the first President Bush's mishandling of the economy. "We didn't stand for anything," Strauss says of the previous election cycle. "We got what we deserved -- nothing."

Clymer concludes, "The Democrats' glass is not half full, but half empty, and it appears to be leaking."

Columnist Tony Blankley more aptly sums up the Démos problem: "The Republicans have convinced a majority of the public that their central domestic policy (low taxes, free markets, self-reliance and traditional values), and their central foreign policy (security through military strength and aggressive strategy and tactics) is right for the times. The [Democrat] Party -- in its collective heart and mind -- opposes such programs and values, but can't find plausible alternative strategies."

Of course, given its drift, the Democrat National Committee is having a hard time making ends meet -- and recently laid off 10 of its 100 personnel, all of whom were black. This prompted Donna Brazile, Al Gore's ultra-Leftist former campaign manager, to protest, "I'm just outraged. They started reading me the names and I said, 'Oh, oh -- they're all black.' I went through the roof." DNC Chairman, Clinton lapdog Terry McAuliffe, who criticized Republican efforts to attract black voters two weeks ago, saying "Republicans are good on the photo ops, but there are a lot of false promises," now says the layoff was a "mistake."

From the "Clinton Presidue" Files, Clintonista "Sid Vicious" Blumenthal is back with the publication of his highly revisionist book on The Clinton Wars. Apparently, the "Clinton Legacy Enhancement Project" is in full swing, or perhaps we should say "full spin." But a bunch of us -- we rag-tag band of rebels in Sid's "war" analogy -- were there, and we know the truth and will be pointing out the inaccuracies and outright deceptions. Former New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Lelyweld pans the book: "Familiar narrative corners are cut in familiar ways; obvious omissions are not remarked upon; and presidential self-pity flows between the lines."

Next up is Sen. Ms. Hillary Rodham-Clinton-Rodham's autobiography, Living History -- written by three auto-ghost writers. Even her jacket photo had 20 years airbrushed away. Shortly after the queen's book hits the fan, her Prevaricator-in-Chief hubby Bill, will release his novel autobiography.

Around the world...

The first draft of the European Union's constitution is getting mixed reviews -- predictably. British diplomats like the version in the works because the central authority is limited to majority votes on energy, immigration and asylum policy and regional aid, reserving to member nations decisions on taxation and foreign-policy matters. Those EU-niks favoring a stronger central structure are unhappy -- but they take our name in vain by falsely referring to themselves as "federalists." We repeat, federalism is a structure of ordered liberty with governmental powers reposed at those levels best suited to ensuring consent of the governed -- which the EU definitely ain't.

It is all elementary -- no "union" including both France and Germany will survive -- oil and water, don't ya know! And speaking of France, they still can't understand why so many Americans remain offended by their obstruction of our campaign against, and their collaboration with, Iraq -- a campaign essential to our national security and that of our allies.

Memo to Jacque-ass Ch-Iraq and company: Sometimes pictures speak louder than words. To better understand why Patriot Americans have long memories, link to -- http://federalist.com/news/priceofliberty.asp

[igloo]

bump--

becomes more relevant each day as the left and anti-American, anti-Bush brigade launched their WMD-"who lied" crusade..

Since all of their doomsday predictions leading up to the war were wrong, they are hoping this will stick....

As a suggestion, I would concern myself with your human rights hypocrisy.....