Republican Ron Paul Supports RNC Chair Michael Steele After Latest Gaffe

I saw an interesting exchange (2.00 / 1)

briefly this morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe show about Michael Steele.  A heated exchange took place between Republicans Pat Buchanan and Dan Senor (former Pentagon and White House adviser in 2003).  Like Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol, Dan Senor thinks Michael Steele is out of line.  Pat Buchanan did not agree with Senor but he does with Paul.  John Cornyn's silence should tell us he is on the side of Buchanan and Paul.  

There is a civil war taking place within the GOP between the extreme right and the moderates, what few remain.  Of course we won't hear much about this in the MSM.  The GOP purity tests, purging and witch hunts will be largely ignored especially on FOX Fixed News.

We will likely hear more about tiffs between the progressives and centrist Democrats.

 

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by: Libby Shaw @ Tue Jul 06, 2010 at 15:10:59 PM UTC

And what about the civil war among Dems... (0.00 / 0)

that SHOULD be taking place? There is no hope of winning in Afghanistan. Whatever hope there was vanished when the Iraq War began. Why do the Dems keep supporting this newer version of Vietnam? Steele was right - no invading army has won a land war in the place since Alexander the Great got stopped there. If the USSR couldn't win with hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground, what chance to we have with far fewer troops?

Steele was off-script, but he wasn't wrong. Obama does own this war now and it's another shitty, useless one.  

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by: stacksucker @ Tue Jul 06, 2010 at 16:31:30 PM UTC

Oh so now it's useless (3.00 / 1)

but not when W. went there and let Osama escape at Tora Bora? How I recall when Republican Party and its tools in the media jumped up and down, waving its poms poms cheering on W.s war in Afghanistan.  All, including Dick Cheney, and his neocons, Bill Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, Liz Cheney failed to mention the fact that no one had a won a war there for a thousand or so years. Nor did John Cornyn, Kay Bailey Hutchison or any Texas Republicans, for that matter, utter a peep of protest at the time.

How we Dems love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning.

If you want to talk about something totally useless how about W./Cheney Co.'s ginned up war in Iraq?  What about those non-existent WMDs and ties to Al Qaeda that never existed? What about the billions upon billions of taxpayer money that have been flushed down that toilet? What about the killed and maimed?  I guess Michael Steele will try to rewrite history on that one too.

Afghanistan is most likely an impossible war to win.  You won't find me or many Democrats disagreeing with that.   But the fact that the GOP is trying to blame the Bush Administration's endless screw ups on Obama is an act of appalling and irresponsible cowardice. The GOP is obviously incapable of taking responsibility for its own endless oil warring actions and irresponsible acts, especially in Iraq.  Just find a target of blame and go the character assassination, scorched earth politics route.  What a principled and patriotic strategy.  

This is what happens when a party lets the narcissists and crazies take it over.  Now the GOP has become the Party of Partisan Misery and Obstruction.  Punish the jobless by voting NO on extended unemployment benefits and a jobs bill.  Reward Wall St. by voting NO on financial reform.  Reward BP by voting NO on industry regulation.

Swell.  

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by: Libby Shaw @ Tue Jul 06, 2010 at 19:30:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Worst Form of Partisanship. (3.00 / 1)

With all due respect, the issue is not actually about this particular war; it is about improper partisanship.  

As someone who has served in uniform, no war "belongs" to any President.  We owe it to our men and women in uniform to not get caught in the type of uber-partisan argument that Steele was using.

Let's face it, Steele was not against the war when it started on theoretical or moral grounds; and he was not against the war when Bush continued it or expanded it before the end of his term.

No, Steele is against it now, if he actually is, solely because he thinks he can score cheap political points if the body count continues to rise.  That is the lowest form of political demagoguery ever!

The worst form of partisanship is being for or against something, not based on principle, but solely because the other party supports it or is against it.  

Unfortunately, the ability of politicians to change position based solely on this type of knee-jerk partisan basis is why so many Americans do not believe in either party.

For those Democrats who are consistently against war in general, or against the continuation of this particular war, that is fine.  I will fight against anybody attacking anyone's patriotism for ethically, honorably, consistently, and based on reason arguing against war or any particular war.

But as a Democrat who believes in a strong defense and that American strength is needed in order to insure a world with peace and justice, I believe the problem with Steele's statement is that we should not use our troops for cheap political points.

Anybody from either party who engages in such demogoguery should be challenged and forcefully so.  

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by: Eric Roberson @ Tue Jul 06, 2010 at 20:41:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wrong on several points. (0.00 / 0)

First, while I agree that winning is unlikely, it is wrong to say that a land war has never been won.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

And while there are obvious differences, Germany and Japan after WW2 were not exactly ideal candidates to set up a free government.  

Second, the most absurd part about Steel's statement was to try to make it Obama's war.  First, anyone with a brain knows that it was started under the Bush administration.  To try to blame it on Obama for being there is ludicrous in the extreme.  Second, support for that war was bipartisan and nearly universal.  It was and is our war.

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."- James A. Baldwin

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by: Timothy @ Fri Jul 09, 2010 at 06:59:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wow. (0.00 / 0)

I don't see a prescription for success or sanity in any of that rah-rah rant.

This administration, not the last, is waging a war in Afghanistan. This administration, not the last, is asking for billions for defense spending. This administration, not the last, is waging a "surge" that is costing more in American lives this year than in the 9 previous.

It's been an un-winnable war for years now. That doesn't excuse Bush OR Obama. At some point, Dems have to own up to continuing to pour our young ones and treasure into a black hole in pursuit of a couple of hundred insane nomads. It doesn't make since. Nor does it make sense for this Party to rally round the president when he's wrong.

We do the Party and the President a favor when we think for ourselves and call him out when he's in error.

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by: stacksucker @ Tue Jul 06, 2010 at 20:43:29 PM UTC