Hitchens: Distortion of Kerry OBSCENE, NIXONIAN, FANTASTICAL

[Sensitivity]

At the end of the day (literally), we are left with a cowardly
Democratic Party.

On CNN, even someone like Chris Hitchens (Iraq-War booster) had to express
profound disapproval of the slimy Bush spin machine and dismay that
Kerry was forced to "apologize" for something he obviously did not do.

He said Bush's posit that Kerry was "insulting the troops" was truly
"fantastical." He referred to the Whitehouse machinations to concoct the
attack on Kerry as "truly obscene and Nixonian."

If a slob like Hitchens has the balls to speak the truth,
how is it that the Democratic Party could not close ranks
and take Kerry's lead to go after the bastards and their
immoral war?

I am ashamed of my Party.

[Jo March]

1. Well, there are folks here who are doing much the same

Everyone knew what Kerry meant yet several DUers have expressed anger, outraged and said that Kerry should "shut the fuck up."

Kerry has apologized but that's not enough. The GOP will continue to slime him and the Kerry bashers will say that he deserved it. It boggles the mind.

:eyes:

[blm]

5. How do people think a Dem president got impeached for NO CRIME OF OFFICE?

They control most media now. ALL Dems are a target, and anyone who thinks their choice is holding a special immunity card is living in LALA LAND.

The key is to stick it out and keep hammering back at them. That's basically what Katrina did, after all.

[Jo March]

7. Yep - what was done to Clinton couldn't have happened w/o media

They simply obeyed orders. They are doing it now.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Agreed on the media.

If Kerry said "Hello," media would say "Kerry supports 'Hell, Oh!'"


But he said "I'm not going to take it!" and then he took it 24 hours later.


I was rooting for Kerry on this one because it was such obvious bullshit. Even though his "apology" was also spun to smithereens, it has to leave one with the feeling that Kerry doesn't know how to wade in these waters.

He knows the media is against him.
He watches as they cut his "gaffe" into out-of-context spaghetti.
And yet he still blows it.


Love him as a Senator, blm. His presidential aspirations are over.

He just got "Screamed."

It's frightening how easy it is.

[blm]

15. I doubt it - people are brave behind his back, but who'd do it to his face

and walk away without being roundly clocked?

None of them do. Maybe because that while they may have people disposed of, Kerry's done it altruistically with his bare hands in defense of others.

Kerry is probably feeling very defensive about his country these days.

[napi21]

2. I don't view their reaction as cowardly this time. What they really wanted is

to get this off the front page! I actually think that by tomorrow, it will be history as far as the media is concerned.

Haf a lot of Dems jumped on this to side with Kerry and slam Shrub, THAT would have been the 24 hour story till the election.

[Sensitivity]

3. This was never about Kerry. It was Lies, Distortion in War and Politics

It has cost the country it treasure and its soul.

[MrModerate]

4. I disagree . . .

Schimpanski is a dyed-in-the-wool SOS and most Americans know it. The fact is lost only on pols and pundits.

Kerry was right earlier when he told the "despicable" 'Licans to go fuck themselves. His subsequent "apology" is a symptom of why he was regarded by a large part of the electorate as weak-kneed.

The party is blowing this one. They should pile on Schimpanski. The hell with the chattering classes.

[Sensitivity]

10. They could have done that by Trashing Bush's lying, cruddy, despicable

tactics, policy, and warmongering.

[gulliver]

6. Don't be ashamed of your party.

Kerry probably would not want or expect the party to close ranks around him. It's one soldier going down in a political war. It makes me mad. I'm sure it makes a lot of Dems mad.

[karynnj]

20. As a Kerry fan watching this hurt -

but sitting back now, I can see it got people like John Murtha on the TV. He quickly said Kerry supports the troops and that this was a smear than spoke sincerely and clearly on the nightmare that is Iraq - the subject that Kerry was really addressing. Ignoring the Kerry part - hard for me to do - it was a real chance to hear the results of the Republican agenda in Iraq.

The NYT poll in today's paper shows that Iraq is the main issue for people - something almost everyone on DU would agree with. Some Democratic leaders wanted Iraq NOT to be an issue. They were furious when Kerry, Feingold, Boxer and Harkin insisted on introducing legislation on it. That lagislation and the Levin amendment done in response to it were important. Imagine how different it would be without them - they pushed the agenda and where the nation stands. (The situation on the ground hurts Bush as well).

Imagine if there were no amendments, how would the Democrats respond to the charge that they have no plans. Now, they can point to their amendments and mention that many Republicans are speaking in those terms now. From this it's clear why the Republicans are distorting Kerry's statement. He has been one of the people who has changed the country's view on what to do on Iraq. This smear took him out as someone speaking before the election - but not before he got the actually covered Tuesday smackdown. It may not have helped Kerry personally, but it was an awesome condemnation of the Bush Iraq plan - and it was likely more total coverage than he would have got.

Also, while Kerry is now quiet, it put Murtha on speaking of what he speaks of best - the impact of Iraq on the soldiers. This reachs people that political cleverness or gaming doesn't. Isn't this better than the constant disscussion of the well reviewed Webb books? That's what it replaced. This my hurt John Kerry or not in the future - but it clearly is hurting Bush now.

[seabeyond]

8. slob like Hitchens has the balls to speak truth.... and TWEETY

i hear ya. i am disgusted. and many on this board to "pretend" kerry did something wrong for the sole purpose of trashing kerry. isnt worth getting kerry, what it does to our party, or allows media to get away with

i am ashamed too

[BeFree]

11. Me too

Ashamed that so many on DU keep spreading the rovian crap.

[nealmhughes]

9. Should I reference "Hitch" later this week, I shall not preclude it with the usual

"Gin-tossed Christopher Hitchen writes that..."

He does turn out a good one now and then, like his analysis of Ayn Rand where he said she had only one sole redeeming quality: "her stringent atheism."

[Generic Brad]

12. So you're ashamed. We still have your vote, right?

The alternative is far worse. Blush all you want, but please vote Democratic.

[wisteria]

14. I feel the same way. n/t

[LittleClarkie]

16. Even the repubs on my morning radio understood

and kept joking that Kerry needed to hone his joke telling skills, go to standup school or something, before he tried to go campaigning again.

[WinkyDink]

17. Is Hitchens drunk again? I have no use for a writer I once admired

beyond immensely.
No, Chris, it isn't "Nixonian"; it's BUSHIAN.

[elperromagico]

18. There are important lessons to be learned from this:

First, on a silly note: Memorize your jokes word for word.

Second, on a more serious note: If you're going to get into a fight with Republicans, you'd better be prepared to fight them until you either knock them down or they knock you down. They won't give up. They're in permanent fight mode.

[CTyankee]

19. Another rule should be "Don't go off message unless

your 'jokes' have been thoroughly vetted as goof-proof." Anybody reading the text of that joke could have seen a possible misunderstanding waiting to happen. Where were his advisors?

Our basic message was working so well. Trying to be clever can get you in a lot of trouble, as we've seen.

[karynnj]

21. Without this, would we have had Murtha on TV

quickly dismissing the smear - saying Kerry is there for the troops - and then speaking very much from the heart on what the Iraq war as Bush is choosing to fight it is doing to the soldiers?

Is this a better issue for the Democrats than the discussion of which was worse Lynne Cheney's lesbian novel or Webb's well reviewed respected novels? That is what it replaces.

[Sensitivity]

28. Great. Kerry was sacrificed to get Allen slime and Lyne Cheney sex of TV

[w4rma]

22. Hillary attacked Kerry to gain an advantage over him in the Presidential primaries.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2921617

[PATRICK]

23. Two other interpretations are also negative

That Hillary is now in the process of judging what kind of GOP votes she can attract with little else to do in her lopsided re-election run. So it is sort of a focus group strategy reflex not an attack on Kerry as a rival. Or that she is forever the dupe, the fall guy, with a big gap in political common sense to even play to the absurd spin in the first place.

The latter is the most true in any event. IF the world were a kinder gentler place for a while and she were to get away with that unnecessarily vulnerable "moral" stance, that weird weak type of bi-partisanship combined with overweening superior confidence(look out Joe Lieberman!), it would be more disastrous than getting unfairly deep-sixed right in the primaries. This is an inescapable sign of UNFITNESS for the presidency of this nation, no matter how sideways and muted her cooperation with Caesar's chorus was.

The house swept clean parable of Jesus applies. Beware. All the evils temporally swept out can have an open door to come back. Dems that backed up the incredible GOP game for "smart" reasons or "righteous" ones determine- IN ADVANCE- that that door be kept nailed open.

It is not a matter of grudges and slights against kerry but a primal demonstration of unfitness for national party leadership. Smaller fry who stay smaller fry are not so much the issue. Those who fancy themselves an easy, nice substitute for Caligula and that Caligula will simply end his term and fade away
and flatter the madness as part of the game... they too are an organic part of the decline of America- and the "bad days" will return with their stamp of systemic approval.

[karynnj]

26. The odd thing is that could really really backfire

One endearing, but extremely not political thing about Kerry is that he is the politician least likely to list the personal things he has done to help people. If Hillary tries to position herself - as she is doing in the ads - as the soldier's and vet's advocate, Kerry will be forced to speak of these things and its something he really has done for 35 years.

It also makes her look ridiculous. What remarks were "inappropriate"?

Kerry stressing the need of doing your homework and planning before invading. Her comment was made a day after Kerry defended himself and the correct text was out there. That comment is NOT inappropriate, but what she should be saying in her own words. If she means the words as said where the students are the ones who end up in Iraq - that IS true for some low income people and does not mean that all military are there because they can't make it in school. The only way the comment could be "inappropriate" is if she accepts the RW meaning that the words don't support from a person she knows wouldn't say that.

But, if it was Kerry's blistering defense - that is beyond hypocritical having just praised her own husband for his rage against Chris Wallace - where if anything he was more out there then Kerry. In fact, many people praised Clinton for giving all Democrats the power to speak up. Is she saying, all but Kerry.

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. Someone please answer this question:

Who is Andrew Sullivan's and Hitchen's target audience? Hitchens made a dash away from being labeled conservative, but we all feel that he has been moving in that direction for years. Andrew Sullivan was a Republican voice box, or perhaps, just maybe a Blame-Clinton-and-pick-up-a-paycheck pundit, but sure doesn't sound like one now. So, these two have alienated the Liberal base, and conservative Democrats would probably think that Hitchens is too fru-fru and Sullivan is too Liberal because he's gay. So, who really is their audience?

[erpowers]

25. Surprised, Agreed

I am so surprised that Hitchens defended Kerry. If you had asked me if Hitchens would defend Kerry I would have said no and asked what rock you had been living under. I agree with your point about Hitchens defending Kerry. If Hitchens defened Kerry than the whole Democratic Party should have defended Kerry. I am completely surprised that Hitchens defended Kerry to such a degree.

[Sensitivity]

27. Video of CNN segment: side-splitting

Someone trolling freeperville should get it to those good folk.