Thursday, April 06, 2006

You Lie Down With Dogs...

...you wake up with fleas.

I used to have some grudging respect for Curt Weldon. When I lived in PA, he was my representative, and although there were a lot of matters I had substantive disagreements with, I thought he was an honorable guy.

But when a tough election year hits, I guess you show your true colors. And when you're part of the Republican machine, you fight dirty--especially if your opponent is a veteran, as is Joe Sestak.

I guess it's all part of the Repug playbook, trying to politicize a little girl's brain tumor. Atrios has the details.

Mr. Weldon, when my dad had problems with his lungs, we took him out of state. Because we knew the people at Johns Hopkins were going to give him the best possible care. When a loved one has a health emergency, nothing else matters. And it's ridiculous and low to try to make political hay out of it.

I thought you were better than that.

Rob

11 comments:

Rob S. said...

I see your point, Tom, and I agree to a certain extent. I do think that, as a whole. Democrat politicians are more honorable than Republican ones at this point in time. A great deal of that is situational. Republicans have been in power for so long that they’re the ones with the most opportunity for the biggest forms of corruption. No one bothers bribing a meter maid if they’ve got a judge in their pocket. And congressional Repubs have been led by such a corrupt cabal that I can’t help but consider them guilty by association. Think about how many of them signed on to change the rules so that DeLay wouldn’t have to step down as leader when indicted (even though they were finally shamed by a few Republicans who put honor before party).

And frankly, when Democrats fight dirty, there are plenty of places that will call them on it. Unless it really turns my stomach, you won’t see me piling on. Partially because I want them to win, and turn this country around. Partially because I just plain won’t hear about it (so your myopic comment is, in this instance, right on the money). I read mostly liberal blogs, so if it’s something that’s getting a lot of play in conservative circles, I may just not have seen it. (Although I recommend to you the Bull Moose, an ex-Republican who’s much more conservative than I am, yet still makes a whole lot of sense. He’s one of the few bloggers who really makes me rethink and defend my positions. You’ll like him.)

Things I like about Republicans: The 23 House Repubs who voted against the DeLay rule, without equivocation. I’m sure there are a few other things. April is apparently National Grilled Cheese Month, and I’d be surprised if Republicans didn’t have something to do with that. But I honestly don’t see a lot worth liking on that side of the fence right now. What am I missing?

Things I don’t like about Democrats: Aside from Cynthia McKinney not wearing her damn ID pin and freaking out when capital cops don’t recognize her, my main beef isn’t with the politicians but with the base. I think a lot of liberals sell Democratic compromisers – particularly Joe Lieberman – short. While sometimes I don’t agree with things he says or the decisions he makes, I think he makes most of his choices on principle. Plus, I think his demonstrated willingness to work with Republicans will be a great asset when we retake the Senate.

But, having admitted to some myopia, I guess it’s time to take steps to correct it. I’m making 2 offers:

1) Let me know of a couple of conservative bloggers or columnists I can read on the web that may persuade me (not the angry idiots of Little Green Footballs, but sensible folks). I’ll read them and let you know what I think.

2) If you want, I’ll set you up with a password to post on the main page here. I think it’ll make for a more lively blog, and you’ll be able to point out what you think I’m missing.

I’m open to either or both. Let me know.

Rob

Rob S. said...

One more thing.

Despite all my hand-wringing above, I should note that "The Democrats do it too" is neither a defense nor an excuse for Weldon's actions.

Jeri said...

It's not an excuse, Rob. It's an apparently successful attempt at distracting from the real culprit here. Curt Weldon pulls shit like this, and you have the temerity to call a spade a spade. Now you feel like you have to apologize for being right.

Things I don't like about Democrats: our obsession with fairness and the idea that there are two equal sides to every issue.

Enlighten-NewJersey said...

In terms of political corruption you do live in New Jersey don't you Rob?

What exactly did Weldon say or do to cause Sestak to use his daugher's illness as a campaign issue? Anyone have Weldon's actual statement that started this 'fight'?

Was it the one in which Weldon questioned Sestak's comittment to the Pa. district because the challenger has rented a home in the congressional district in order to run against Weldon?

If that's the Weldon statement that started it all, then we'll leave it to others to decide if the girl's illness was used by Weldon or Sestak for politcal purposes.

Rob S. said...

I'll respond more later; I'm pretty busy now. But "a blowjob and worse"? In my experience, there aren't too many things that are better.

Rob S. said...

Except, of course, for the good Colonel, depending on your point of view.

Dave said...

OK, tom... so explain why if Cliton were in office today, doing what Bush is doing (and has done), there would be an outcry from Limbaugh and everyone else who is right of center, yet they're A-OK with what Shrub is doing wrong.

hypocrites, that's why. i'd rather Bush lied about a BJ under oath than killed thousands of people who didn't need to die.

get it? who's myopic now?

ps: nice link to the Colonel, Rob.

Rob S. said...

Yikes. Simma down, now.

Tom, you’re setting up a false equivalence. There’s nothing remotely similar about lying about a blowjob and lying to get our country into war. Nothing. Clinton wronged his wife. He didn’t do jack to me or you. There’s no law against parking your pork in someone else’s pen. Frankly, four out of six of my favorite presidents were philanders, and I may just be in the dark about Lincoln and Washington. I’m beginning to think it’s a requirement for doing a good job. If Bush were to appoint a Secretary of Keeping My Balls Empty, it would probably do him good.

Bush has wronged the country. He’s taking us down a path that pushes the power of the executive way ahead of the checks on it, and what worries me (and should worry you) is that I don’t see any future presidents—liberal or conservative—willingly giving up some of those powers. Like it or not, Bush has writ the future, and it’s most likely going to mean increased surveillance over every aspect of our lives. Kids in the future won’t have the opportunities to make mistakes that we did. Everything will be on the permanent record.

That says nothing of the unjust war he started, or the just war that he abandoned in order to fight the one he wanted to fight. Every sperm is sacred, except for the ones who grow up to be soldiers. He’ll waste those lives by the thousands.

Tom, go back and look at my previous posts. I don’t think (and I’m willing to admit I could be wrong on this) that I target conservatives in general in most of my posts. I go after conservative politicians, who do more than enough to make me angry. I don’t say much about conservative voters, simply because I don’t want to disrespect you or any of the other conservative friends and family I have. I think you’re wrong, but you’re entitled to be wrong without me harping about it to you.

But the politicians signed up for the gig. They’re directly harming the country. They’re eroding the freedoms our civilization is based on. And they’re getting rich doing it.

Tell you what – when the Dems are back in power and they’re trying to undermine the first amendment (my favorite!) by trying to crack down on sex or violence on TV and whatnot – I’ll be all over their asses too. You have my word on that.

But to say Clinton’s as bad as Bush or DeLay – that’s just a frightening lack of perspective.

Rob

Rob S. said...

Oh, and Enlighten – I’ve been pretty busy with my play, so I haven’t been able to dig any farther into Weldon’s statement than Jonathan E. Kaplan’s original article in The Hill, which did not quote him verbatim but characterized the criticism of his living arrangements as an attack, and the later “suggestion” seems of a piece with that:

“Weldon attacked Sestak’s decision to continue owning a home in Virginia while only renting in Pennsylvania and questioned why Sestak did not move back to Pennsylvania when he was working at the Pentagon. Weldon commutes from Pennsylvania each day.

Weldon also suggested Sestak should have sent his daughter to a hospital in Philadelphia or Delaware, rather than the Washington hospital. Sestak said that as soon as doctors give his daughter the all-clear, he’ll buy in Pennsylvania.”


The Hill is where most stories about this lead; I haven’t seen anything further.

And living in New Jersey, certainly I’m aware of corruption and, more to the point, dirty campaigning. Why, wasn’t it just 6 months ago a videotape purported to destroy the Corzine campaign was supposed to be revealed on the eve of the election? Whatever happened to that? There sure were an awful lot of rumors, but nothing of substance ever came of it, as I recall.

Dave said...

In short, I call em like I see em, too. I look at Bush, and I see a misguided, arrogant, sub-intelligent puppet. If he produced the 8 years that Clinton did, I'd only make fun of his poor mastery of the English language.

I'm not a raging lefty. For example, that kid who spray-painted the car in Singapore? Cane his ass and back til it bleeds. He was in their country, broke their law, so he should suffer their punishment. Too bad if he's American.

Frankly, it's the followers-of-Bush who seem brainwashed. They believe everything that Fox news tells them, believe everything that the White House says is true. I don't trust the government, no matter who is in charge. To me, they're all Republocrats.

They all take our money and put it toward their pet projects and what their lobbies tell them to do. Oh, and their corporate sponsors get some relief as well.

I'm far from a lemming. I see the current pack of NeoCons leading our country to a place where I'd rather it didn't go.

I also don't say the pledge of allegiance any more. How's that for anti-lemming? I can't even bring myself to say "under God" because, well, I don't think there is a God overlooking and favoring our country. Talk about a lemming mentality; it's the craziest fairy tale I've ever heard! Yet thousands, millions, believe their little comforting book of selective guidelines allegedly written by a Holy Ghost. Ooooh, spoooooky!

Ultimately, you must follow the money to see what's going on. For example, Diebold voting machines, Dubai port debacle, our poor trade relationship with China, and so on. The feel-good BS spouted by Bush doesn't belie the fact that our deficit continues to grow at an astronomical rate. Our children and their children will shoulder a heavy burden.

I'd like to see term limits on every elected official. EVERY ONE. No golden parachutes, no lifetime secret service protection, none of it. Pay should be that of the lowest-paid teacher. It sickens me to see all that money going to those scumbags.

How's that for free-thinking? ;)

Jeri said...

Tom said: Lets say bush had the exact same 8 years as president as clinton did. you would still get idiot liberals jumping out of the woodwork to try to demonize bush.

We HAD idiot liberals jumping out of the woodwork to demonize Clinton after his 8 years. They were called Nader voters. We have them (and Katherine Harris and Fox News and Jeb Bush) to thank for Bush squeaking out a victory in Florida in '00.

Because the far left wasn't a bunch of knee-jerk supporters of their party, they punished the Democrats for moving to the center (and accidentally punished the whole country).

So there is a big difference between the right and left extremists. One cares about power at the expense of truth, and the other cares about truth at the expense of power.