Blue Collar Muse

Sitting in airports most of yesterday, I got an earful of CNN’s coverage of Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama.

It effectively undercut two of the most damning truths about Obama. Particularly galling was the interview with Claire McCaskill. Grinning like the Cheshire cat, she gushed Obama must be the best choice since Powell, a military man, would never support someone unqualified to serve as CinC or who trafficked with terrorists. This despite the fact Powell’s endorsement included nothing addressing the validity of those two points. Even afterward, General Powell did not address with specificity his rationale for endorsing Obama.

By far, however, the most disappointing aspect of Powell’s endorsement was his contention that, despite his decision, he still considers himself a Republican. I do not know the General nor have I ever spoken to him. I believe he is a good man and his skilled service to our country as a military man is beyond exemplary. But I cannot accept his contention that he is a Republican. It is not because he endorsed the nominee from the other side. It is his stated reasons for doing so.

Over the last 8 years, three prominent Democrats endorsed the GOP nominee; Zell Miller, Democratic Senator from Georgia; Ed Koch, former Democratic Mayor of NYC and Joe Lieberman, former Democratic Senator from CT and 2000 Democratic VP nominee. When these Democrats endorsed the GOP nominee, they did so deliberately and with specificity. They did so while remaining Democrats.  With the exception of Zell Miller, they did so while disagreeing with Republicans on almost every other point except the War on Terror. Concluding aggression against the US was the greatest threat to the nation and that Democrats could not or would not see that, these men broke with their party to support a GOP nominee.  Miller’s endorsement followed in the well established DixieCrat tradition of Conservative southern Democrats.  There was nothing that demanded these men be excluded from the Democratic Party.

There was a fair amount of criticism from the Left directed at these men for their decision. Like Powell, however, they maintained they were still Democrats while breaking with the party on the war. That break cost them. While Miller retired shortly after his endorsement, he was villified by Leftists. Lieberman was actively opposed by the Democratic Party in his bid for reelection to the Senate. These men remain Democrats in all things except for their endorsements. Ed Koch is supporting Obama and thinks Palin is scary. Joe Lieberman still caucuses with Democrats and votes with them on virtually all matters not related to the war. It is clear, whether or not you agree with their assessment of the war, that was the reason they supported the nominee from the GOP.

Colin Powell’s rationale isn’t even close to as specific. It’s filled with nebulous and meaningless platitudes. Obama brings a fresh set of eyes to the problem. Well, so does Sarah Palin. Obama is inclusive. This is simply laughable as there is literally zero evidence for that. If inclusiveness is the criteria by which we are to judge, McCain is the hands down winner. Powell is uncomfortable with the rhetoric coming out of the McCain camp regarding Obama’s association with terrorists, both foreign and domestic. Evidently he is OK with the rhetoric coming from the camps of terrorists, both foreign and domestic, that support the Illinois Senator.

In short, Powell’s objections to McCain aren’t policy based. They aren’t ideologically based. They seem to be based in personality. That is not to say personality has nothing to do with how to evaluate a candidate. But it ought to be last on the list and certainly not a basis for abandoning party policy and ideology. Unless, of course, your policy and ideology is more akin to the other guy’s than to the one you are generally associated with.

Colin Powell, when asked if he was still a Republican, responded that he was. With all respect to the General, I must disagree. There is little evidence from his speech that he is. His endorsement of Obama ignores that Obama is for bigger Government, higher Taxes, decreased personal Liberty, weaker national Defense and a host of other anti-GOP notions. Powell does not list a single issue or policy with which Obama is at odds with the GOP and which he considers paramount beyond all considerations for the safety and security of our nation. Instead, he gives a general and sweeping endorsement of the man and his policies which are unquestionably Left of center.

If you can explain to me how this is a Republican view, I’m willing to listen. But from here it sounds like a Democrat in GOP clothing standing up for what he believes in. I have no issue with the good General if he wants to hold Democratic views. I would appreciate, however, the intellectual honesty to admit the same and make the announcement that he cannot, in good conscience, remain in the GOP any longer and that he was endorsing the Democratic agenda.

That’s an endorsement I could respect.

Blue Collar Muse

Popularity: 74% [?]

Remember the NYT, MoveOn.org and the General “BetrayUs” ad? Remember that fine Senator and patriotic American Harry Reid who said “The Surge has failed and the War is lost!”? Remember the drumbeat of quagmire, imperialist America, War for Oil and the rest of the Democratic Party nonsense designed to wear down our will and reduce our resolve? Turns out they were wrong - spectacularly so. They were joined in their error by far too many on the Right side of the aisle. If their opinions stated as fact, their anti-Americanism lauded as patriotism, their defeatism couched as strategy and the rest of the agenda they tried to foist on the public - if all of that was so badly off the mark, why should we listen to them on Russia v Georgia, Energy Policy, The Economy, The Housing Market Crisis or anything else for that matter?

Mark Alexander and the fine folks at The Patriot Post quote Jeff Jacoby in their brief today. Concerning their failure in predicting results for the War in Iraq Jacoby notes:

“The prevailing wisdom 18 months or so ago was that invading Iraq had been, in retrospect, a disastrous blunder. It had led to appalling sectarian fratricide and an ever-climbing body count. Iraqi democracy was deemed a naive pipe dream. Worst of all, it was said, the fighting in Iraq wasn’t advancing the global struggle against Islamist terrorism; by rallying a new generation of jihadists, it was actually impeding it. Opponents of the war clamored loudly for pulling the plug…

But what if we had known then what we know now?

We know now that the overhauled counterinsurgency strategy devised by General David Petraeus—the ‘surge’ —would prove spectacularly successful, driving Al Qaeda in Iraq from its strongholds, and killing thousands of its fighters, supporters, and leaders.

We know now that US losses in Iraq would plummet to the lowest levels of the war, with just five Americans killed in combat in July 2008, compared with 66 fatalities in the same month a year ago—and with 137 in November 2004.

We know now that the sectarian bloodletting would be dramatically reduced, with numerous Sunni tribal leaders abandoning their former Al Qaeda allies, and Shi’ite radical Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army being thoroughly routed by the Iraqi military.

We know now that by the summer of 2008, the Iraqi government would meet all but three of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress to demonstrate security, economic progress, and political reconciliation.

And we know now that, far from being undermined by the campaign in Iraq, the wider war against Islamist violence would show significant progress, with terrorism outside Iraq’s borders having ‘in fact gone way down over the past five years,’ as Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria noted in May—and with popular support for jihadist organizations plummeting across the Muslim world.

So what does hindsight counsel today? That Iraq is a pointless quagmire—or that it is a costly but winnable war, in which patience, tenacity, and smarts have a good chance of succeeding?”

The political Left is valueless, adrift and grasping at the equally drifting and valueless mooring of “Change!”. That they may win in November does not mean their ideas are better for America. Indeed, as Jacoby records for one significant instance, the evaluations, perspectives and solutions from the Left are demonstrably wrong.  Thus, if Americans elect Obama in the Fall they will be trading experience and wisdom for ideas proven to be destructive and impotent; nice sounding platitudes that taste sweet while swallowing and a lot worse on the trip in the other direction.

On the most important issue of the last 10 years, they’ve been wrong and for all the wrong reasons. I cannot even tell you that they were wrong but had America’s best interests at heart in their efforts. They did not. How can we possibly trust them now?

Blue

Popularity: 29% [?]

68 Senators voted for it. The President will sign it. Most of the House of Representatives supports it as well. Bi-Partisanship at it’s best is what it sounds like. Except we’re talking about FISA.

And a small group of House Democrats is holding up the process of renewing it. They’re offering little continuances while they debate the validity of extending retroactive immunity to Telecommunication companies for cooperating with the government in matters of Homeland Security.

But Democrats don’t have it in for big business. Democrats are all about supporting bi-partisan legislation. Democrats despise and decry small groups thwarting the will of the majority. Democrats, under Nancy Pelosi, are the best thing that ever happened to the country. We can trust that they’ll do the right thing. We can trust them to watch out for the little guy.

In the face of GOP calls for the House to remain in session to address this issue that many feel is vital to US national security, counter terror efforts and homeland security, Democrats left Washington this afternoon for a week long recess. I suppose they’ll take a look at this again if it seems interesting in a week or so. Did I mention that while they’re out on recess, FISA is set to expire? Hrmmm … Not to worry, though … they’re Democrats, they’re in the charge and they’re tough on terror so we can trust them with Homeland Security! Riiiiiight …

Video of the GOP walkout from useless House proceedings on FISA here.

Actually, I’m being too hard on the Dems.  There are a lot of them, in the House and the Senate, that are on the right side of this vote and I thank them.  But it’s their comrades that are putting political gamesmanship ahead of the country and Constitution they swore to defend.  To label them as despicable would be and affront to the truly despicable.   Perhaps they’ll be able to force their colleagues back to DC to take care of this urgent business.

Blue

Popularity: 40% [?]