A Progressive on the Prairie

Back (briefly) from hockey. Now that the Repugnican hatefest is over, I want to comment on its main theme -- America is "safer" with Dubya in charge. Once again, Bush and crew mislead the American public.

In his State of the Union address after September 11, Bush expressed the framework of his "plan" to make us safer. He identified the "axis of evil" and summarized the pre-emption doctrine: "I will not wait on events while dangers gather. I will not stand by as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."

What happened? As Bush and crew feverishly misled the American public about the threat posed by Iraq, the North Koreans told us they had a nuclear weapons program. Based on the neocon hype, we invaded Iraq to quell the threat of WMD. Within months, the North Koreans abrogate an accord to keep Korea nuclear-free, begin weaponizing plutonium and it begins to look as if they actually have nuclear weapons.

So, invading Iraq to eliminate WMD didn't seem to deter North Korea. But then, North Korea is so far away from Iraq. Certainly, the invasion had an effect on Iran's policies. It sure did. It appears Iran accelerated its nuclear weapons program coincident with our actions and involvement in Iraq. In fact, it continues to push forward, even announcing it the last few days that it will begin converting tons of yellowcake. (You know, the stuff falsely cited in another State of the Union address as a basis for invading Iraq and which led the Bushies to out a CIA agent.)

Yes, invading Iraq certainly taught Iran and North Korea a thing or two. Unfortunately, the two remaining members of the "axis of evil" -- and likely other countries -- concluded their best option is to develop nuclear weapons. (Something even the mainstream media has actually started to figure out.) That undoubtedly makes America and the world safer.

And this is only the impact of Bush's policies on nuclear weapons development. It omits the recent assessments that the "most probable scenario" in Iraq is "fragmentation and civil war." (Via Cursor). It overlooks the thousands (if not millions) of additional terrorists and the overwhelming hatred of the US in the Middle East that the Bush administration has engendered. Far more "dangers gather" and the peril grows because of Bush and his Crusade.

How can Dubya and the Repugnicans claim they're making America safer? It's just their usual tactic -- if you repeat falsehoods often enough people begin to believe them. (As one commentator noted, "True Lies" would be an excellent title for what was spewing out of the GOP hate gathering.) Reality, though, shows the Great Misleader and his policies are an abject failure when it comes to making America or the world safer.
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Limited blogging ahead as "foreign relations" take precedence -- the World Cup of Hockey in St. Paul. USA vs. Russia Thursday and v. Slovokia Friday. Thus, a longer edition of Worth The Time.

• Slate's William Saletan on What does 9/11 tell us about Bush?
  
  
• AlterNet excerpts a portion of a new book arguing that Bush is trying to transform the US into a Christian theocracy.
  
  
• Cursor, an everyday "must read," has started derelection, a blog "covering the coverage" of the election.
  
  
• I've posted a link before but given all the vomitus spewing from the RNC about the Great Misleader, it's worth a repost: Bush in 41.2 Seconds. (Soundcard necessary).
  
  
• Doug Wiken at Dakota Today has had about all he can stand from the Repugnican convention drivel and is firing back.
  
  
• Todd Epp looks at the Daschle-Bush hug ad. (I challenge anyone to find an anti-Daschle blog that contains a critical word about Thune or his campaign.)
  
  
• Dissident Voice has two thought-provoking pieces. M. Junaid Alam takes a critical look at the concept of "winning" the so-called war on terror while Canadian John Chuckman takes what can only be called a harsh look at America's squandering of September 11.

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Even Robert Novak says the Misleader is trying to shove a platform down the GOP's throat (with almost half the first draft dedicated to "prais[ing] Bush as a war leader.") And as might be expected, while keeping them off the main stage at the convention, Bush is more interested in playing to the religious right than traditional conservatives.

While platforms frequently aren't worth the paper they're written on, if not re-defeated, Bush will no doubt do his best to shove a religious right agenda down our throats. (And Thune will be more than happy to assist in imposing those views on us).

What would I put in a platform? I've blogged before about Ted Rall and his excellent book, Wake Up, You're Liberal! The book opens with a personal credo whose ideas would be an excellent basis for a political platform. Some excerpts:

Each human being is morally obligated to work as hard as possible to make life as good as possible for himself and his fellow human beings, not in that order.

The burden of the effort to improve life should fall most heavily on those in the best position to do so, beginning with the wealthy, powerful, educated, healthy, grandfathered, and otherwise privileged. This is unfair, yet necessary. If not on them, whom?

Any society that can afford it should guarantee its citizens the basic essentials of life: food, housing and medical care. Despite occasional arguments to the contrary, the United States of America is such a society.

The United States of America is a grand experiment whose laws and rhetoric are unsurpassed by any in history. All too often, we fail to live up to our ideals. The gap between what we say and what we do -- not jealousy, or reverse nationalism, or religion -- is the root cause of anti-Americanism around the world.

As citizens of the wealthiest and most powerful nation to have ever existed in the history of our species, there is no excuse for our shortcomings. We Americans can accomplish anything we decide to do. When we fail, it is almost always because we have never truly tried.

The American people are fundamentally good, but are more often than not misled by thugs and charlatans.

It is true that, in the United States, most poor people live better than many middle-class people do in the third world. So what? That fact doesn't vindicate neglecting the relative poverty in our midst.

Anyone who is concerned about what kind of sex [consenting adults] have or who they have it with needs to shut the fuck up.

We need a separation between church and state because the state is stupid enough as it is.

This certainly is not the be all and end all of political theory. But it is a good start and certainly a better reflection of an America that reflects American ideals than the Bush-Repugnican vision.
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There's no other way to put it: Rudy Giuliani is full of shit. He even said the Misleader "can see in the future."

(And as a follow-up to yesterday's post about exploiting 9-11, the Washington Post notes today that the opening night of the Repugnican convention "was replete with unabashed efforts to invoke the emotional trauma of New York's Sept. 11 catastrophe on behalf of the Republican campaign.")
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Not much blogging. Seeing oldest daughter off to first year of college had bigger impact on weekend (and me) than expected.

Life goes on, though, and today, the Repugnicans will begin exploiting the tragedy of 9-11 and misleading the American public about the effect of Bush's policies on the "war on terror" and a parade to the podium designed to make Bush's crew look more mainstream than they really are. In honor of the opening of that convention, I'm passing along an e-mail forwarded to me a couple weeks ago. I do not know the original source.

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

(Post updated with links)

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