Rove is right
Posted by Richard on June 24, 2005
Today’s NY Post editorial (log in with BugMeNot) starts with a wickedly funny observation:
To judge from the rising Democratic outrage, you’d think presidential counselor Karl Rove came to town Wednesday and compared liberals to Nazis, or Stalin, or Pol Pot.
Oh, sorry.
That was Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the United States Senate — slandering U.S. soldiers.
Rove, speaking to the NY Conservative Party, said, "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding to our attackers." Schumer, Clinton, Dean, Lautenberg, and others started screaming for his head and demanding an apology.
I was struck by two things about the Democrats’ outrage: First, they all reacted as if Rove had said "Democrats" instead of "liberals"; in fact, several of them accused Rove of insulting Democrats and demanded that he apologize to Democrats. I thought Democrats weren’t liberals. Don’t they routinely deny being liberals? Didn’t the Kerry camp get mightily upset when he was described as one of the most liberal Senators? I thought they were all moderates. The mainstream media says they’re all moderates.
Second, their protestations are blatant attempts to rewrite history. No, the country wasn’t completely unified after 9/11; no, the left didn’t unite behind the effort to go after al Qaeda and the Taliban. Ever since the Iraq invasion, the left has adopted this posture of "We were 100% behind the Afghan War because those were the people responsible for 9/11. But Iraq is just a distraction from that. Why haven’t we found Osama yet?" What a load of horse manure!
By and large, the left opposed the war in Afghanistan and predicted massive casualties, defeat, and quagmire almost immediately after it began. And Howard Dean famously insisted that bin Laden was not guilty until convicted by a jury, and complained that harsh accusations against him would prejudice his right to a fair trial.
The Post editorial offers a brief list of examples proving that Rove’s remarks were correct:
But, as Rove said, "submitting a petition is precisely what MoveOn.org did" after 9/11. "It implor[ed] the powers that be ‘to use moderation and restraint in responding to the . . . terrorist attacks against the United States.’ "
Extremism in the pursuit of political advantage? Let’s look at the record:
* John Kerry, the party’s 2004 standard-bearer, declared terrorism to be a law-enforcement problem, one he likened to going after prostitution, organized crime and illegal gambling.
* George Soros, sugar-daddy for liberal causes and Democratic campaigns — and the major money behind MoveOn — said the same thing. He called 9/11 a "crime against humanity," adding: "Crimes require police work, not military action" and charged that the War on Terror had claimed more "innocent victims" than the 9/11 attacks themselves.
* Sen. Joe Biden, now considering a 2008 White House run, said America would "pay every single hour, every single day" that bombs were dropped on Afghanistan in the campaign that forced out the Taliban.
* And Michael Moore, the capo di tutti capo of Democratic crackpots, said he "couldn’t understand" why America was targeting the Taliban, suggesting that we "examine our contribution to the unsafe world we live in."
The list, actually, is endless.
"Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said: ‘We will defeat our enemies.’ Liberals saw what happened to us and said: ‘We must understand our enemies’," Rove said Wednesday.
Right on.
The hysteria of his critics proves just how close to home the remarks hit.
Yep.
(HT: Power Line)
TF Stern said
I’d call this one a slam dunk, not being a basketball fan shouldn’t keep you from making points when the ball goes in the hoop. Nice job.
anonymous said
Calling you blog opinion does not protect you from libelous statements of fact such as : “Second, their protestations are blatant attempts to rewrite history.”
CBS/New York Times poll taken 9/20-23/2001 which flatly contradicts this statement?
Do you think the U.S. SHOULD take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks? Yes: 84% of liberals, 93% of moderates, 95% of conservatives.
Do you think the U.S. SHOULD take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks, even if it means that innocent people are killed? Yes vs. No: liberals 60% to 19%, moderates 64% to 21%, conservatives 76% to 14%.
What if that meant going to war with a nation that is harboring those responsible for the attacks, then do you think the United States should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks? Yes vs. No: liberals 75% to 6%, moderates 83% to 6%, conservatives 89% to 3%
What if that meant that many thousands of innocent civilians may be killed, then do you think the United States should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks? Yes vs. No: liberals 62% to 17%, moderates 69% to 18%, conservatives 73% to 15%.
Anonymous said
TF, thanks!
Anonymous, if I’ve libeled you, sue me. You don’t even know what libel is. In fact, you seem a little vague about what opinion and fact are.
A poll of the general public in no way counters or invalidates the Post’s specific examples of anti-war statements and activities by leading leftist figures and organizations. And their list could easily be expanded tenfold. With a little googling, I could turn up stories about public demonstrations against military action in Afghanistan in cities all across the country.
In other words, you have no idea what you’re talking about.