Lions Sportscaster sings Right-wing Karaoke
(Warning: I’m pissed off. Have a nice day :-) )
It’s hard enough to believe that the right-wing media has the gall to smear grieving war mothers. You’d think they’d smear the Pope if he went to Crawford with Cindy Sheehan. They’ve taken it on themselves to label her as “nutty”, “insane”, and my favorite: Rush, the three-hour hate monger, calls her “completely made up”. The smear tactics from the right never stop. Ever. This is what they do when they have an indefensible situation that makes them look the charlatans they are (Bill Maher mocked it very well). They even somehow got ahold of the woman’s divorce papers and put them on the internet (as if the Right doesn’t have their own marital issues). Ann Coulter (authentic nut-job herself) said this: “It’s the strangest method of grieving I’ve seen since Paul Wellstone’s funeral. Someone needs to teach these liberals how to mourn.” Klassy.
Cue local sportscaster-turned-windbag Frank Beckmann. You’re on, buddy!
Yes, Frank knows one-sided arguments. He knows how to swallow what he really feels in order to tell a story. That’s what sportscasters do; you can’t be too ‘homer’ in your rhetoric. Well, Frank stuck to his guns today, writing a piece of shrill that’s completely expected from the right. Yes, Frank reads his Powerline.
He echoes the GOP talking points of “Cindy met with Bush already”, which is true. Did he listen when she told (and other corroborating mothers tell the same tale) of a “buoyant” President, getting up in her face, introducing himself with his full name and title (like she hadn’t any idea who he was), and that he didn’t know her son’s name and that he kept calling her “Mom”?
“Mom”? WTF is that about? Not only does this sound like a man with no empathic synapses firing in the attic (Bush’s mocking of Karla Fay Tucker is more than enough proof of that – Google ‘Bush mocks Karla Fay’), but to hold such a disconnect from the raw emotions involved should send shivers down one’s spine.
Frank goes on to crush Ms. Sheehan by having the unmitigated gall – get this – to disagree with the right. Have Mercy! Cindy had the nerve – the NERVE – to have other people that feel the same as she does to join her. Seriously, what is wrong with this woman?
Frank doesn’t like what Cindy has to say. Frank basically denigrates her ability to think on her own by saying she’s been had by the Left; that these “radical anti-war groups” (ever notice that anyone that disagrees with them gets the term ‘radical’ added?) have taken over and orchestrated her entire vigil. Of course! There’s always a coordinated attack… I mean, it always is for the right (see the ridiculous and laughable “America Stand for Your Freedom” “march”, brought to you by the Pentagon!), so why should the left be any different, right, Frank? Oh puh-leaze. As Triumph the Comic Dog said before the elections; “If Bush took a dump on stage… you’d say ‘he looked very comfortable up there’.”
Yes, Cindy speaks frankly (hehe). But Mr. Beckmann doesn’t like such talk. Don’t like the term ‘fascist state’? I’m pretty sure 75% of the people reading me now don’t know what that really means. Here’s a primer: 14 defining characteristics of Fascism. You can do as much connecting the dots as you like. Is the term ‘war crimes’ a bit harsh, Frank? Well, torture and murder – both of which has been proven just within the “penal system” in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo – tend to lean towards such emboldened, radical terms. Also, you might wanna peek at what the rest of the world is saying. I know, I know… it’s so unAmerican to give a rat’s ass about what anyone else thinks. Weak. But, seriously, have you bothered to read? You might reconsider – or have to reinvent – the word ‘radical’.
Frank says this:
“Never mind that this charade may embolden terrorists in Iraq to fight longer against our brave volunteer military force. Never mind that Casey’s sacrifice is overshadowed by this embarrassing spectacle. Soon, the cameras will be gone, the stories will stop, and Cindy Sheehan will go home.
But the radicals will find someone new to exploit and ignore the damage they cause.”
If Frank wants to turn this into a PR battle, don’t bother. Bush can’t find the courage to come to the end of the driveway to speak frankly with someone that disagrees with him. This is nothing new at all, as every one of those famous “townhall meetings” are filled with Kool-Aid drinkers, and dissent is met with expulsion, arrest and Young Republicans imitating Secret Service agents. Did the red flag go up for anyone else when he said he doesn’t read the paper? I doubt this man knows that anyone really disagrees with him, much less that his approval ratings are in the low 40’s and sinking.
The right has lost this one, and badly. THEY KNOW BETTER than to smear a grieving military Mom, but they were left with no choice. Why? Because this war has no legs:
– The reasons were either wrong or lies (you decide)
– The management of the ‘reconstruction’ has been a complete and total sham, filled with unfathomable fraud (see: $8.8 billion MISSING. That’s right. MISSING.)
– Remember when it was stated that this reconstruction would pay for itself?
– Prisoner torture so horrid that the public has been sheltered from the worst of it by this Administration (gee… do you think THAT has ’emboldened the enemy’? What’s that, Frank? Can’t hear you…)
– 12 new permanent military bases in Iraq (doesn’t sound like a country that’s leaving anytime soon, eh?)
– The inability to make serious ground against the insurgents (regardless of what Dick says), and no real timetable for withdrawal (stay the course)…
Oh, yeah. And, 1,800+ soldiers dead. Not to mention countless thousand of innocent Iraqis… you know, the people we were sent to ‘liberate’.
So, what do Frank and the rest of the smear-mongers hope to gain from this attack? Charge her with being political? Guess what, guys. You made an entire country political, and woke the sleeping giant – the Democrats – with a series of blunders and lies. It was the end of the world when Clinton lied, but if these guys do it for the Flag, it seems to be OK (a quickly dissipating number, I must say)
The ‘radicals’ you speak of, Mr. Beckmann, are the ONLY people with any sort of checks and balances on this big-government, free-spending, war-mongering Administration. This ‘culture of life’ WH has produced a record number of uninsured, record number of families with children declaring bankruptcy, and 4 million more in poverty – mostly CHILDREN.
Flying back from vacation to save a brain-dead Terri Schaivo made sense, and this man doesn’t have the decency to walk to the end of his driveway to answer on simple question… ‘What noble cause did my son die for?’
And so it goes. One woman’s cause has been joined (naturally) by hundreds locally, and hundreds of thousands virtually. Frank and his buddies think this is just bunk, all the working of the far left.
They’d better wake up.
Preach on, brother, preach on.
Ugh, I caught that, too. Was Beckmann always like this?
Funny how the whole world seems to be turning into a scene from Donnie Darko.
anger… hatred… smearing… mocking…
are all easy to recognize when they are used to oppose us, but are not so recognizable when used to support us…
So let me get this straight; if I here you correctly, you are insinuating that politicians use unsavory methods for proving their point, and insuring their own power?! ;)
Well. if the Republicans have let us down, at least we can count on the Democrats for their beacon of moral goodness…Hey, lets gets Michael Moore and Hillary Rodham-Clinton to sing a duet like John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in Grease (note hyphenated name in both cases). True. it wouldn’t really improve discourse in America – but it would make it more entertaining.
(Sung to the tune of “Summer Nights” – from the Motion Picture “Grease”)
War protestin’ had me a blast – War protestin’, happened so fast
I met an anchor crazy for me – I met a network, N – B – C,
Bogus doc’s; are he-here to stay, til’ uhh-oh that blogger is right.
Michael Moore, Michael Moore, did you prepare the tar?
Michael Moore, Michael Moore, like, did you feather Rath-ar?
She stood by him, when Bill found a tramp – he came on ‘er, got ‘er dress damp
“I saved his life (he nearly drowned) when Ken Starr was pokin’ around”
Playin dumb, something’s begun, but uhh-oh those observant “Rights”
Michael Moore, Michael Moore, were your cameras in sight?
Michael Moore, Michael Moore, did you attack
lie-es; with spite?
I took them bowlin’, for columbine – when camera’s rollin’, I toe the party line
I made a film, and it was a crock – hollywood loved it (now theres a shock!…)
Telling the truth don’t mean a thing, but uh-oh those lyings “rights”
…
I think we will find that as a rule there is a one-to-one ration between glass walls and throwns stones these days.
I know that it was “CBS,” not “NBC” – but it didnt ryhme as well :P LOL
Nice post, Doug. Kinda clever.
I’m looking forward to the time when the righties can make those one-to-one stone throws that involve anything more than marriage infidelity — ESPECIALLY since those on the ‘moral right’ have NOTHING to hide, right? Right, Newt? Right, Rudy?
Right??
Look, you wanna talk about Bill’s infidelity (since it’s all the right will ever talk about – not much else to nail the left on, I guess), then talk about it. Whenever Bush’s record – or DeLay, Frist, etc – the first thing out of the mouths of the Right is Monica. Well, good for you guys. It’s always bringing up how everything was Clinton’s fault. It’s like the right stands in front of the mirror and practices it.
There’s a major disconnect, though. Bill was wrong, he admitted it, and apologized. We were highly disappointed in his behavior, although we’re still stunned by the voracity of the way the Right went after him (did you know that Clinton wasn’t in office for a single minute without being under some kind of investigation? And considering that all Starr came up with was a blue dress, that’s not exactly something to be proud of). But, again, there wasn’t much else to go on: we had the greatest economy this country has known, more people got richer (ALL AMERICANS) than in any other time, a balanced (+) budget… the list goes on. You know, all the things that supply-siders promise, but have NEVER been close to delivering, and probably never will.
Now, can Bush say ANYTHING positive about his Presidency? I mean, leave the war out of it.
– Economy? Heh.
– Deficit? WOW.
– National debt? Mercy. We’re borrowing over a BILLION dollars a day. A BILLION. The ‘tax and spend liberals’ (which, of course, as Clinton proved, is not true) have turned in to the ‘borrow and spend conservatives’.
– Corporate welfare? DAMN! Impressive tax breaks for big business. God knows ExxonMobil needed it, after their shabby $7 BILLION profit last quarter.
– The poor? Gettin’ poorer. Over 4 million more in poverty. Is THAT a value?
– The middle class? That $300 per year isn’t really making up for it, now, is it?
– Gas prices? I thought he was gonna “jawbone” the OPEC. Funny how the oil-based Administration isn’t terribly upset about high gas prices.
– Bin Laden? 1,400 days and counting.
– “Healthy Forest Initiative”? Gimme a break.
– “Clean Air Bill”? For WHOM?
– “No Child Left Behind”? ASK THE TEACHERS who generally hate it, and the state and local governments that are GOING BROKE having to foot the bill for the incredibly underfunded mandate.
– Abu Ghraib? You thought we had forgotten.
– PlameGate? That ain’t going away, either.
– Social Security? The “crisis”, uh, “problem”, uh… well, it’s still here, whatever it is.
And THEN there’s the war(s). There isn’t enough room to speak of it here.
Not to mention the almost farcical amount of partisanship — basically shutting out the Democrats on anything and everything… that ‘uniter’ spirit died pretty quickly.
Now, take all these issues, and constantly put a big fucking smiley face on them – everyday. How long did y’all think it would last? Never admitting that things need to be done better, that problems exist, and that a change in course is wise, is not ego — that’s a God complex. And, this pretending to be a “war president” wears off, ok? Even Nixon said, during the run-up to the ’92 election, that playing up the ‘war president’ thing “really helped a lot in ’72”. But, like almost every second term president, it’s all falling apart.
We all know how he got elected again, and it wasn’t on his own record. Honestly, folks, was this worth “saving marriage” from those horrible homosexuals?
The shine is off, people are (FINALLY!) waking up to find one big, nasty mess – both here and abroad. And there’s no exit plan… for any of it.
“”Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – Lord Acton.