How the GOP Became a Party of Whiners Over Osama

[babylonsister]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/01/michael-tomasky-how-the-gop-became-a-party-of-whiners-over-osama.html

Michael Tomasky: How the GOP Became a Party of Whiners Over Osama
by Michael Tomasky May 1, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
Republicans love to act like tough guys. Yet it’s the Democrat in the White House who got Bin Laden—and the GOP that’s throwing a temper tantrum about an modest Obama ad.


It couldn’t be more hilarious, watching these Republicans rend their garments over the Obama administration’s bin Laden video. Imaging the paroxysms we’d have been forced to endure if George W. Bush had iced the dreaded one is all we need to do to understand how hypocritical it all is. But what obviously gets under Republicans’ skin is not the fact of this video’s existence, but the fact that Barack Obama got him and they didn’t, which destroys their assumption of the past decade that they are “the 9/11 party.” And more than that—and this is the real story here—it’s the fact that the Democrats don’t appear to be afraid of the Republicans anymore. That, to Republicans, is what’s truly unacceptable.




Oh, please. See, it works like this. The rule is: Only Republicans are allowed to even mention September 11. Because it happened on their watch, you see. In a rational world, that would count as a demerit—and indeed might have led to George W. Bush’s removal from office, or at least to far more strenuous demands that he offer proof that he took that August 6 PDB seriously. But in the “Americaland” parallel-universe amusement-park ride the GOP took us all on over the past decade, it actually registers a plus, because it gives them the right to speak about how it felt to be in charge on that awful day, how hideously unknowable the burden was, etc. They own, so they believe, the stories, the images, the pain. So they’re allowed to speak for America on the subject in a way they believe Democrats are not.

Given this context, it really grates their cheese that Obama, of all people, is the one who has earned the right to boast about killing bin Laden. Bush had seven years. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, no stone would be unturned in the search, he vowed. A mere few months later, Bush was “truly not that concerned about him.” This was one of the most jaw-dropping things I’ve ever heard a president say. Imagine if Roosevelt had said that in the spring of 1942 about Admiral Yamamoto. Or indeed, imagine if Obama had come into office saying that. He’d have been ... I guess I’m not allowed to say crucified, but something close to that. Instead, Obama did the opposite. He actually was concerned about where bin Laden was, and he did the brave thing that Bush notably and demonstrably failed to do.

snip//

Between now and November, the Republicans will try to do two things re bin Laden. They’ll try to say it wasn’t that big a deal. “Even Jimmy Carter,” Mitt Romney said yesterday, would have issued the order. Why “even” Jimmy Carter? Carter actually did issue a very risky order, and even though it went the wrong way on him, the evidence tells us that of course he would have. Bill Clinton also tried to get him, but missed him by a couple of hours. So the president to question on this score is Bush.

And second, they’ll wail about 9/11 whenever Democrats do mention bin Laden. They will do this not because Republicans have dedicated themselves to preserving the memory of 9/11. Rather, they’ll do it in an effort to intimidate Democrats into not mentioning it—because they know it hurts them and makes them look like the incompetents they are. Well it’s not 2002, and Democrats should be afraid no longer.

[Cosmocat]

1. +1,000,000

nm

[BumRushDaShow]

2. K&R

[TahitiNut]

3. The BIGGEST lie: "He kept us safe."

It's mind-boggling how the GOPhers, using every propaganda trick in the book, flew in the face of having the worst attack on American soil in the entire history of the nation and, rather than accepting responsibility for being completely asleep at the switch, proclaimed themselves "defenders" of the people and best-suited to "Keeping America Safe."

"It wasn't our fault"??? Bullshit. The BIGGER/BIGGEST lie is that they "kept us safe." And much of the public bought it.

Aided by Faux News and EVERY media outlet in the country, this BIG LIE flies in the face of absolutely every fact of the past 30 (and more) years.

It's beyond gross hypocrisy to whine about Obama's "divisive" killing of bin Laden. There isn't a word in the English language to describe how totally insane their "logic" is.

[Thor_MN]

4. Please find a different name for the GOP...

Being from Minnesota, we would prefer that you not connect our University Mascot with the clusterflop that is the GOP. Our state GOP just cut an undisclosed deal to avoid eviction for nonpayment of rent on their offices. They are deeply in debt, so I'm not sure where the money for the back rent is coming from.

I agree 100% with what you are saying, aside from equating Gophers with the GOP.