Late Nite FDL: The American Chickenhawk in its Native Habitat

[cal04]

You know, one of my favorite soldiers in the Pundit Wars these days is Randi Rhodes. So many of the people purporting to represent "us" in the media are about as passionate and compelling as a bowl of tepid, lumpy oatmeal. (I’m looking at you when I say that, Joe Klein.) They inevitably cave to conservative pundits, apologize for being liberals, and fall right in with the Republican tactic of painting common-sense, majority-held positions as some kind of far-left, extreme propositions. ("An exit plan for Iraq? YOU HATE AMERICA!") All of us know the drill by now.

Randi, well, she don’t play dat. She bites down on a topic and locks her jaw like a pit bull and doesn’t back down. Nowhere is this tactic more in evidence than in this confrontation from Larry King Live where weenie pundit Ben Ferguson attempts to take her down about Iraq and ends up getting his ass handed to him, but not before Ms Rhodes has shredded it, stomped it, backed over it a couple times with the car, and fed it to the pigeons.
Let’s go to the transcript, shall we? In the process of trying to defend his position in the 101st Fighting Keyboarders, Little Ben says, "I have friends in Iraq", as if this makes him an expert in U.S. Mid-East Policy.

But that’s just the opening Randi needs:
(snip)
FERGUSON: Randi, I have friends in Iraq, OK?
RHODES: Listen, you should be in Iraq. You’re 22. When I was 22, I was in the military. Why aren’t you there?!
FERGUSON: I’m 24 years old.
RHODES: Why aren’t you there?! Then GO!!
FERGUSON: And just because I support something doesn’t mean I have to always go fight.
RHODES: You go. You go. Go ahead. You go and then you come back because you know what happens when we come back?
FERGUSON: I support the Yankees doesn’t mean I wear their uniform. RHODES: Once you’ve served, you come back, and you’re suddenly a liberal. Do you know why, Ben? Because you’re only as good as the weakest. And that’s why you aren’t in the military.


MMMMMMMMMM!!! Tastes like Chicken Hawk!! Sigh. Where do they get these idiots, anyway? I am right on the verge of declaring that absolutely any guy who wears that stupid, pudding-bowl frat-rat haircut should be automatically banned from any speaking or writing engagement whatsoever. No Regnery book-deal for you, Scooter! And no, you can’t go try and cop some weed off Don Imus. We’re not letting you on his show, either.

more By TRex
http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/05/15/late-nite-fdl-the-american-chickenhawk-in-its-native-habitat/

[JaneGat]

1. Thanks for posting - Randi was most amazing and strong. n/t