Why The Republicans Deserve to Lose...Badly

Exhibit A: The Worst Congress Ever

How our national legislature has become a stable of thieves and perverts -- in five easy steps

by MATT TAIBBI

"The 109th Congress is so bad that it makes you wonder if democracy is a failed experiment," says Jonathan Turley, a noted constitutional scholar and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington Law School. "I think that if the Framers went to Capitol Hill today, it would shake their confidence in the system they created. Congress has become an exercise of raw power with no principles -- and in that environment corruption has flourished. The Republicans in Congress decided from the outset that their future would be inextricably tied to George Bush and his policies. It has become this sad session of members sitting down and drinking Kool-Aid delivered by Karl Rove. Congress became a mere extension of the White House."

Exhibit B: The 10 Worst Congresspeople

Exhibit C: Bush concedes Iraqi echoes of Vietnam War

There's a few things about this that illustrate what horrible leadership our country is presently enduring. Let's start off with the accurate comparisons to the worst war in American history.

Asked whether he agreed with the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who wrote that attacks in Iraq seem "like the jihadist equivalent of the Tet offensive", Mr Bush said: "He could be right. There's certainly a stepped-up level of violence, and we're heading into an election."

For those that can't see the blatant hypocrisy of Bush talking about Iraq and elections, take a moment and recall what happened moments after the 2004 election. A refresher...and recall...this was after Bush kept talking before the election about how good things were going in Iraq.

November 8, 2004

Iraq's interim government declared a state of emergency for 60 days on Sunday ahead of January elections amid spiraling insurgent attacks that have killed 60 Iraqis in two days. Prime Minister Allawi said the move, which will grant his government sweeping powers to impose order, was intended to ensure that upcoming elections would be held in a secure environment. He said the measures were a message to insurgents of his determination to root them out, as he warned rebels in Fallujah once more to give up amid intense preparations for an expected assault on the city west of Baghdad.

[full story]

Jump ahead two years and during another election cycle, and we see the same kind of b.s. being pulled again. The difference this time is Bush is complaining about the Iraqis "standing up" against U.S. forces. From Exhibit C.

The insurgents' goal was to force the US to lose its will to continue in Iraq, Mr Bush said.

"My gut tells me that they have all along been trying to inflict enough damage that we'd leave," he told American ABC television.

So they idea of fighting is to win? And WTF is up with his gut? Is he following Colbert's Book of Thinking With Your Gut? [1]

Also, and I know this is a difficult truth to face, but much of our problem in Iraq is because Iraqis are standing up and doing so against the Neocon's goals.

He then does something as dishonest as the Republicans did back in '04, i.e. saying "Saddam/9-11" over and over again (updated now to "Insurgents/Terrorists").

"And the leaders of al-Qaeda have made that very clear. They believe that if they can create enough chaos, the American people will grow sick and tired of the Iraqi effort and will cause [the] Government to withdraw."

O.k. quick question...what is Al Qaida or the Mahdi Army that recently seized a city in Iraq?

Quick Answer [2].

This simple Q and A demonstrates, beyond any shadow of doubt, why Bush is a failure as Commander-in-Chief and should resign.

He doesn't even know who we are fighting (hint: mostly Iraqis).

Exhibit D: The RNC is campaigning on a platform of fear while claiming to be fighting a War on Terror ™

The Republican National Committee has just released a new web ad, designed to remind everyone of what is at stake in this election. It's well done; check it out:

That "it's well done" comment comes from a crazy man. And only a scared little baby would agree that this is a good argument for voting for Republicans.

We used to be the home of the brave, but 12 years of Republican leadership, and one big attack, have...somehow...turned our nation yellow. By campaigning on fear, the Republicans illustrate, again, why they can never win a War on Terror™...their use of fear during campaigns increases our susceptibility to the tactic.

Exhibit E: This crap is just ridiculous. Click on "Listen to the Ads" and then listen to a few. They should, if you have a similar conscience to me, make you sick.

Exhibit F: Republicans live in Never-never land regarding The War in Iraq. Without comprehending reality, they will never be able to turn it into something better than it is.

The guerrillas in Iraq are strong because they are popular. A leaked Pentagon poll last month showed that 75 per cent of the five million-strong Sunni community support armed resistance.

The present slaughter in Iraq is taking place because the existing ethnic and sectarian hostilities have combined with animosities that have been created by the occupation. For instance, a Sunni ex-army officer supporting the resistance now sees a Shia serving in the Iraqi army or police force not just as the member of a different Islamic sect but as a traitor to his country who is actively collaborating with the hated invader.

The last excuse for the occupation was that at least it prevented civil war, but this it very visibly is not doing. On the contrary it de-legitimises the Iraqi government, army and police force, which are seen by Iraqis as pawns of the occupier. When I've asked people in Baghdad what they think of their government, they often reply: "What government? We never see it. It does nothing for us."

Please, wake up, America. It is time for these people to go.

The lot of them.

--fin--

[1] Via Steven Colbert's roast of the President.

By the way, before I get started, if anybody needs anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers. Somebody from the NSA will be right over with a cocktail. Mark Smith, ladies and gentlemen of the press corps, Madame First Lady, Mr. President, my name is Stephen Colbert and tonight it's my privilege to celebrate this president. We're not so different, he and I. We get it. We're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We're not members of the factinista. We go straight from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say "I did look it up, and that's not true." That's 'cause you looked it up in a book.

[2]

BAGHDAD, Iraq Oct 20, 2006 (AP)— The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized total control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah on Friday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by one of the country's powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said.
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The Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations Friday morning, planting explosives that flattened the buildings, residents said.

About 800 black-clad militiamen with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers were patrolling city streets in commandeered police vehicles, eyewitnesses said. Other fighters had set up roadblocks on routes into the city and sound trucks circulated telling residents to stay indoors.