CSPAN Monday AM — Are Republicans more patriotic than Dems?

[prolesunited]

This is call-in the question right now. Try to get on and failing that, post your answer here.

[Walt Starr]

1. Oh for Goddess' sake

That's fucking slander any way you want to put it. This is all of the necessary proof to show that CSPAN has a bias.

[Paschall]

2. God, I hate comparative advertising

The other guy always claims his dick is bigger. :-(

[Terwilliger]

3. Based on some article in the Moonie Times

it is odd that C-SPAN would base their segment on this piece

I don't think I've seen the "Is George W. Bush a traitor?" segment.

[xchrom]

7. oops! there it is.

they've actually dragged this question around before -- just said it differently.
and it is a perfect example of how the left can be demonized by a concerted media effort -- it's the perfect ''have you stopped beating your wife, yet?''

[prolesunited]

9. Here's the article link

Republicans are more patriotic, more religious and more content these days than their Democratic counterparts, according to a new survey of american political values released by the Pew Research Center on Nov. 5. The poll of 4,000 adults taken from July 14 through Aug. 5 found that nine out of 10 respondents overall described themselves as "very patriotic."

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20031109-115504-3239r.htm

The complete survey, "The 2004 Political Landscape," can be viewed at the Pew Web site http://people-press.org

[KoKo]

16. "Patriotism is the Last Refuge of Scoundrels," and an article about RW'ers

RWTalk Radio:
The Last Refuge of Scoundrels

Invited to speak on talk radio, the author is ambushed and abused, fodder for two Right-wing fanatics hell-bent on destroying sensible discourse and making fools out of themselves.

By Regis T. Sabol

I got a taste the other day of what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the vile right-wing demagoguery that spews over the public air waves from AM radio talk shows. Just about any city with an AM radio talk show boasts a few Rush Limbaugh disciples. The guys I ran into in Erie, Pennsylvania, were Limbaugh wannabes. They had the same flapping jaws but not half the intelligence.

Because I don’t listen to talk radio, I didn’t know what I was in for when I called Jeff Johns at WJET 1400 Talk Radio to get publicity for MoveOn.org, a national anti-war organization. Local delegates of MoveOn, along with delegates across the country, were presenting a petition to our district congressman, Republican Phil English, on Tuesday. The petition, containing the names of more than 350 of the congressman’s constituents, asked him to urge the Bush Administration to let the UN inspectors do their work before plunging America into war.

more at..........http://afgen.com/talk_radio.html

[LeahMira]

18. What's the definition?

...nine out of 10 respondents overall described themselves as "very patriotic."

Meaning exactly what? That they feel our government is best? That they believe the U.S. is the greatest? If that's the definition, I don't want anything to do with patriotism.

[mmonk]

4. I don't see

how following Bush blindly is patriotism. Bogus premise.

[mhr]

5. Define Patriotism

eom

[nostamj]

6. have democrats stopped beating their spouses?

do democrats hate freedom more than republicans?

unbelieveable question.

[bleedingheart]

8. The marjority of men and women who fought and served in WWII

were DEMOCRATS!

Since FDR Democrats are feared liberals...that proves that the most liberal of us have been this country's greatest patriots!!!!!

[ewagner]

10. Part of the problem

Republicans have "branded" partriotism, the American Flag, God and who knows what else.

In some respects its easier to be a Republican than it is to be a Democrat because all that is required to be a Republican is that you wave a flag and repeat patriotic platitudes. Democrats believe in a more nuanced patriotism; a patriotism that requries that you actually understand the issues and consequences.

Molly Ivans wrote an article for Mother Jones over the weekend that talked about the success that Bush* has had with anti-intellectualism and I was immediately taken with the connection between the Republican version of patriotism and the anti-intellectual movement. They are joined at the hip.

The answer, I think, is that the Democratic Party has to play up that being a Democrat is the most patriotic thing you can do but the details escape me as to how it would be implemented.

We've got to take these "brand names" away from the Repubs.

[Q]

11. This question implies that Republicans...

...are indeed more 'patriotic' because they blindly support Bush*. It's insulting to Democrats and suggests an 'inevitability' that to not follow Bush* is 'unpatriotic'.

- Notice that this question is followed up by a 'guest' saying there's no 'cronyism' in Iraq.

[LittleApple81]

12. I liked the question from one of the callers: Why do you quote

that terrible rag (The Moonie times)... they only have a readership of around 100,000... why do you give them a relevance they don't have.
GOOD QUESTION!

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. Certainly not more patriotic,

At one time, the military was known as a conservative organization that defended liberal freedoms. Now it's a conservative organization that defends conservative freedoms.

[BarbaRosa]

14. Republicans are more willing

to wrap themselves in the flag or hide their activities behind the flag. They are more ready to label others as unpatriotic. If they are truly that patriotic, why are they tearing down everything that is American.

[Kolesar]

15. THIS should be the subject: Cheney’s Long Path to War

This week's cover story from Newsweek:

Cheney’s Long Path to War
The Hard Sell: He sifted intel. He brooded about threats. And he wanted Saddam gone. The inside story of how Vice President Cheney brought into shady assumptions and helped persuade a nation to invade Iraq


http://www.msnbc.com/news/991209.asp?0cv=KA01&cp1=1

[SoCalDem]

17. I just called in..

mentioned the idiotic backdrop and halliburton etc:)


This guy is NUTS.. Now he's saying that Cheney would NEVER be involved...Hah..

Like he did not visit the CIA to prop up the yellowcake lie almost daily..

He does not think our "suspiscions" are logical..:eyes:

[Bozita]

21. That was a great call

You hit on a lot of stuff in very little time.

[prolesunited]

22. Heard you!

:yourock:

[pansypoo53219]

19. hell no the repugnicans ain't

since they wanna do it on the cheap. Dems want to FUND security.

[Skinner]

20. That's just offensive.

:grr:

[burr]

23. Are Democrats more patriotic than Repukes?

That's the real question!! :wow:

[SoCalDem]

24. Are republicans more susceptible to propaganda than democrats?

That would be a more appropriate question:)

[LittleApple81]

25. Have you noticed WHO GETS KILLED FIRST when DICTATORS take over?

Thinking people, intellectuals, writers....
Not the yes people.

[Melsky]

26. "Unpatriotic" is the new "communist"

as a way to villify and accuse people who disagree with them.

[JHB]

27. How high do Republicans goose-step?

It's a more valid question.

"A great nation is not saved by wars, it is saved by acts without external picturesqueness; by speaking, writing, voting reasonably; by smiting corruption swiftly; by good temper between parties; by the people knowing true men when they see them, and preferring them as leaders to rabid partisans or empty quacks."
---William James (1842-1910), American Philosopher

[Paschall]

29. Great quote! Aren't the Jameses--all of them--wonderful?

How can one even respond to this C-SPAN question without falling into the (intentional?) trap of sounding like a jingoistic nationalist?

But then I guess that's why it's called the PATRIOT Act, huh? Being a "patriot" is the law. :eyes:

[prolesunited]

31. Some other quotes on patriotism

Barbara Ehrenreich:
No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Carl Schurz:
The peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: "Our country -- when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right."

Edward R. Murrow:
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.

G. K. Chesterton:
My country, right or wrong" is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying "My mother, drunk or sober.

George Bernard Shaw:
Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.

H. L. Mencken:
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.

Mark Twain:
Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let me label you as they may.

Theodore Roosevelt:
To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. (1918)

These were lifted from here, one of my favorites sources for quotations:
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/

[dofus]

28. Patriotism had become

the national football game.

My team is better! Our guys beat your guys! Yay!

With all due respect to football, or any sport fan, it's not just cheering your team or painting your face or getting drunk on game day. Those are okay in support of a team, but patriotism is more important and more subtle. It means not just blindly supporting your guys no matter what, but wanting and helping your country to be the best it can possibly be, supporting justice for all, fair laws honestly enforced, and a society that allows all citizens and guests in the country to live good and decent lives -- does that about cover it? There's more, but patriotism is more than a slogan.

[Catherine Vincent]

30. Why in the hell is C-Span asking that question??!!!

Ridiculous! I am sending them a f'ing email!

[Kamika]

32. Did CSPAN define patriotism?

Kinda think they should do that first.

[Military Brat]

33. Repubs = chauvinistic patriots; Dems = "love of country" patriots

Part of the definition of patriotism is a belief in the inherent superiority of one's country and its inhabitants over other countries; that's the Republican version.

The other part of the definition of patriotism is support (and love) for one's country; that's the Democratic version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotism