I got this from the Ohio Republican Party in tonight's email:
Outrageous and offensive.
There’s just no other way to describe the gutter campaign tactic the Obama campaign pulled Sunday.
“I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President.” That’s what Obama spokesman Gen. Wesley Clark said Sunday on national television.
Sadly, it’s not the first time the Democrats have tried to smear John McCain’s war record, and it won’t be the last.
Will you contribute $100, $250, or $500 today to help us push back?
We’re building an Ohio defense fund to counter these insidious attacks by Sen. Obama and his supporters.
John McCain spent five years being tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His heroic service to our nation stands in stark contrast to Sen. Obama’s thin record (that doesn’t contain a single day of military duty).
Please help us fight back.
Your contribution of $100, $250, or $500 will help us build a defense fund here in Ohio so we can counter these slash and burn tactics by a candidate who promised a “new” kind of politics but delivers more of the same.
Kevin DeWine
Deputy Chairman
I don't know what's funnier... that I'm on their mailing list, or that this is considered outrageous and offensive after what the Bush administration did to Gen. Wesley Clark or what Republican Representative Saxby Chambliss did to Vietnam Vet and triple amputee, Max Cleland, or what the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth did to John Kerry or what W's DD214 did for him... oh wait, the department of defense's official records don't count for anything. (Cleland, for those of you who have forgotten this real hero already, left three major body parts in Vietnam then came home to serve as the Georgia Representative until Chambliss, who avoided duty in Vietnam with a bad knee, questioned his patriotism - QUESTIONED HIS PATRIOTISM! and got away with it to beat him for the rep seat.) To me, that kinda makes Clark's comments pretty insignificant, pretty "who gives a shit?" even if I'll admit that I may not have said it out loud myself. Seriously... outrageous and offensive? Just stop.
Before I go on, let me reiterate that I had a lot of respect for Senator McCain as much for his military service as for his bipartisan git r done-ness in the senate. He was one of few congressmen who remembered that he was elected to work for us, not sulk or smirk from one side of the aisle. He put ego and party aside and continued to debate and discuss until compromise was reached and the work got done... but that was before he underwent the transformation to become a national party figure.
NOTE: the following is true of BOTH parties: Apparently rising to the top of national party politics even castrates otherwise hardworking, common sense guys like Sen. McCain. It's sad, really. His purposeful and blatant distancing from Bush made him much more likable a year or two ago than I find him now. I truly felt that for the first time in my voting life I would experience an election that might actually turn out ok for the nation regardless of the winner as opposed to being a matter of desperately pleading on behalf of the lesser of two evils. That all changed as McCain's rhetoric changed to match that of his party. In other words, I was cool with both candidates until McCain opens his mouth lately.
Back to the Ohio Republican Party newsletter: Since Clark's comments were on behalf of the party I'm backing this year, I'll admit that I'm not real proud of what he said. I mean it's something I've always thought - it's not like McCain (or any other detainee or downed fighter pilot) tried to get shot down and become a prisoner (I hope) And how does being shot down qualify one to lead? Right? But even I wouldn't say that out loud in the context of a national campaign. Surviving what McCain did ranks right up close to the ultimate sacrifice. So I wouldn't say what Clark said to the press, from a position of prominence, during a campaign. I'd say it in a bar. In fact, I think I have, seriously... if it were a democrat wouldn't repubs say the same thing? But that don't make it right for a national figure to say publicly during the campaign.
And then there's the whole "smearing a war record" part. Hello, can you say "swift boat veterans?" But what are the Ohio Repubs worried about anyway? War record smearing only hurts Democrats. W's war record didn't even need smearing. The record itself was a smear. The fact that he couldn't even fulfill his National Guard "get of Vietnam free" pass and still got elected twice is a pretty good argument that war records of Republicans will not be considered as detrimental to their careers.
But seriously, Ohio Republican Party... outrageous and offensive? In modern campaign terms? More so than the Swift Boat Veteran ads criticizing a decorated active duty officer while a National Guard deserter gets re-elected? More so than questioning a disabled combat veteran triple amputee congressman's patriotism? Really? No, REALLY?
And how in the hell did I end up on your mailing list? Now that's outrageous! (a guy buys one semi-automatic weapon and suddenly the NRA and the Republican Party assume he'll hand over all his money!)
Luth,
Out
PS I apologize for the previous post - not the content, but the terrible writing. I just couldn't go to bed yet and had to spew something.
4 comments:
Mark your calendar, Luth. I agree with one of your political posts. Yes, Clark should have been circumspect, but clearly all he was saying was that McCain's war record in itself doesn't qualify him for the presidency. If it did, then obviously even someone like you could be president.
All hyperbole and political diarrhea.
For McCain to be successful next fall he has to prove he is not another Bush. It may be too late now.
Wow this may be a first for me as well. I agree with a political post from Luth. McCain has allowed himself to be drawn into the party line and away from what has he has stood for. That is why a true independent thinker and politician will never be elected President and if they were they would get nothing done beacuse both parties in congress would block everything from passing.
McCain is interesting. In 2000 he went out of his way to irritate the Christian right, the group that really propelled Bush into office. He established himself as a maverick, someone who refused to tow the party line and he often clashed with Bush. It wasn't until about a year ago he started to make nice with the conservative Christian base.
It is ironic now that he is starting to assimilate more of Bush's policies especially in light of many Conservative Christians falling off the Bush bandwagon. When Bush was popular, McCain separated himself from him, now that Bush's ratings are in the toilet, McCain aligns himself with him. Doesn't make sense.
And what is Obama doing? Yes, he is saying he is "not-Bush" but he is also trying to position himself as a centrist, someone who can appeal to a wide range of positions. I think it's smoke and mirrors on his part, but at least he knows what it'll take to win.
Well count me in agreement too...no surprise there...but this time let me say that the particular trend that the whole Wes Clark thing represents is equally prevalent on both sides. I believe it's known in pundit parlance as "manufactured outrage."
The game is to pretend to be completely and utterly appalled at something the other person did, no matter how inconsequential.
Sick of that. Guess what folks...we see through this, no matter which side of the political spectrum you are on. Cut it out.
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