Flying Blind
The continuing contortions of the Republican Party on the national scene border between humorous, pathetic, and disgusting. Starting with the disgusting, we have Cheney’s ongoing assertions that torture works. From yesterday’s Face the Nation:Cheney said that techniques such as waterboarding were successful in producing security results, citing Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, whom he said did not cooperate until after he had been waterboarded. "Once we went through that process, he produced vast quantities of invaluable information about al Qaeda."
The statement contradicts all evidence released thus far, which paints the alternate picture that the FBI obtained useful information long before Cheney’s CIA showed up with wet rags to extract justification for invading Iraq. Word is that Zubaydah was providing good information until they starting waterboarding (83 times) after which he professed to be Shirley MacLaine. Cheney’s assertion about KSM?
183 times?
Turning to the pathetic, I refer not to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor’s suggestion that the GOP needs to listen and learn from voters (imagine), promoting a listening tour, nor do I refer to Rush Limbaugh’s slamming of the idea with, "We need a teaching tour." I refer to the embarrassing retraction of Cantor after Limbaugh’s remark:
SCARBOROUGH: So, let’s start with Rush Limbaugh, who seems to be mocking the idea of a listening tour. What do you say to Rush?
CANTOR: You know, Joe, really, this — this is not a listening tour.
Turning to the comical, aware that the current crop of white, bald, overweight, and decaying images (Limbaugh, Gingrich, Cheney. .) is hurting the Republican Party, former McCain-Palin campaign advisor Nicolle Wallace is speculating on who might take the helm, including the apparently conservative actor Gary Sinise.Gary Sinise?
She also speculates on the military, perhaps David Petraeus or Ray Odierno, but why these guys would want anything to do with the GOP is unclear. Neither occurs as obsessed with oppressing science and teen sex, promoting the fastest possible incineration of the planet, unprovoked and unnecessary wars, corporate greed fests, and mandated prayer in school. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah, coat hangers in back alleys and torture.
Perhaps the GOP would have better success finding inspirational leaders if it had an inspiring place to go.
posted by x4mr at 9:13 AM
10 Comments:
The proper response to Cheney when he tries to claim torture worked is not simply to argue it did not (although that case is easy to make and should be), but also to say "so what"?
Some lines you don't cross, it doesn't matter if they work.
I look forward to the Sinise - Petreus ticket in 2016.
Sirocco is absolutely right.
Cheney is so arrogant and self-righteous in his evil that I don't think he realizes what he is revealing about himself.
His statements show his brutality and lack of humanity. I honestly don't think Cheney sees what Sirocco, x4mr, Liza (well, I guess everyone here) sees plain as day.
Cheney is an example of the soulless monster utterly devoid of remorse or conscience, a true demon.
Palin/Sinise 2012! The "first dude" would have cause for alarm.
I've been happy to watch the party shred itself up until many of my conservative friends began lamenting that they don't have anyone at all to represent them.
A good friend of mine was, until a week ago, a Republican volunteer activist. Now he wants to switch parties and become a Dem. The problem is that he'd barely support 1/2 of the Democratic party platform. It's people like him I actually WANT in the Republican party because he's a smart, moderate fiscal conservative.
There are a lot of moderate Republicans that I like and can agree with on many issues, but they are losing traction to Cheney, Romney, Gingrich and the like.
Bad image: Cheney having sex with Sarah Palin.
Worse image: Limbaugh having sex with Ann Coulter.
Worst image: Cheney guzzling body shots off Limbaugh's bare buttocks.
Gads, Anon. What did we ever do to deserve such abuse?
Porn talk is not permitted at this blog unless it's really good.
Like Nav, I agree with Sirocco's additional point, and what Stephen notes is happening across the entire country.
I need to go look at Liza's cute doggie photo for a few minutes.
Andrew Sullivan has a good post about Cheney on Atlantic.com today.
I have mixed feelings about all of this media attention being paid to these GOP whack jobs. On one hand, their craziness is undeniable and perhaps should be seen. On the other, everyone is just so sick of them. If we aren't going to charge them with crimes, then at least we shouldn't have to hear about them.
Palin seems to be someone that the media absolutely cannot let go of. She is a tabloid story generating machine.
They LOST the election and they are irrelevant, hopefully for a long, long time.
I might have to start reading the Atlantic more often. X4mr recently linked to an excellent article there, and the link Liza just provided gives the best write up I’ve yet seen regarding what the f*** is going on with Cheney, matching Nav’s remarks about his pathology.
Good insight, Nav. Cheney has no clue about the point Sirocco made.
Both Cheney and Limbaugh are seriously sick and twisted beings that are malevolent to everything around them. Cheney is despised by "the machinery" of government employees that have had to work directly or indirectly with him over the past eight years. Over time the extent to which this malignant cancer undermined US principles and convictions will become clearer. It will all be bad, and Cheney will far surpass Nixon as the worst thing to ever happen to the White House.
Cheney is utterly consumed by greed for everything. He is a locust of infinite appetite to consume everything with regard for nothing. May he live long enough to see himself universally condemned by the nation and the world.
I remain unconvinced Limbaugh is as "committed" (for lack of a better word) to the approaches he espouses as Cheney is.
I agree Cheney is simply malevolent, and clueless about what his views say about his character and (lack of) humanity. Limbaugh, on the other hand, is ultimately an entertainer who has spent several decades carving out a comfortable niche for himself.
I am convinced he knows very well how depraved his shtick is, but keeps at it because it is what his listeners want to hear. Of course, that likely makes him worse than Cheney, not better.
sorry, that pic made me think of Gary Sinise in Ransom.
"Me? I'm a morlock, and you're an eloy."
I don't know why.
I am NOT the anon who graced this thread with the concept of Limbaugh's ass.
Huckabee is blasting the listening tour as well.
They're in meltdown, with one side screaming that they are irrelevant if they don't moderate, and the other side screaming they are irrelevant if they do.
Quite possibly both sides are correct.
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