The Bush Bashers’ Reality Check Bounced
By Thomas Lindaman (03/26/06)
Since the beginning of Iraq War II: Electric Boogaloo, liberals and Democrats maintained that Iraq didn’t have weapons of mass destruction and that anything Bush said to the contrary had to be a lie. Years went by with little to no progress on that front and the people who rejected the notion Iraq had WMDs smugly told us that Bush lied. It didn’t matter what we found, they were right and the Bush Administration was wrong, perhaps criminally so.
Then, we hit the motherload. Within the past six months, there have been a number of people, including investigative reporter Richard Miniter and one of Saddam’s own military officials, who have come forward with hard evidence that Iraq had WMDs in direct defiance of the 1991 UN cease fire Iraq signed to end the first Gulf War. If that wasn’t enough, recently released and translated documents and tapes show that Iraq had WMDs and started talking to Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda. The only thing missing was a Valentine’s Day card from Osama to Saddam “Pooky” Hussein. This was the slam dunk the Bush Administration had back in 2003 that partisan critics claimed didn’t exist. And what have these same partisan critics said now that they’ve been proven wrong since the very beginning?
“Bush lied about Iraq having WMDs.”
What???? We have evidence that Saddam not only had WMDs in direct defiance of the United Nations, an organization that the left in this country is still enamored with to the point that I think Maureen Dowd is stalking Kofi Annan. And these boneheads still maintain Iraq didn’t have so much as a moldy tuna salad sandwich, let alone a stockpile of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.
At this point, it becomes useful to separate the critics from the merely critical. Although it may not seem like it, I do consider myself a critic of the Bush Administration on important issues, such as immigration and Homeland Security. A part of this requires me to do some homework and think through my opinions. I have seen quite a few people from both sides of the aisle do just that and I thoroughly enjoy discussing their points of dissent. To me, and I’ll wager to them, this sort of critical eye is healthy for the country because it is well-reasoned and rooted in wanting us to do well by ourselves and by the world. I have no quarrels with you folks who have legitimate beefs with the Bush Administration’s handling of the Iraq situation.
On the other side, we have the merely critical, the partisan attack dogs willing to malign Bush for anything from jaywalking to not being able to speak clearly without stumbling. These are people I call Bush Bashers because no matter what, they are against the President. Well, that, and I have a thing for alliteration. The thing that separates the Bush Bashers from the critics referenced above is that reality matters to the critics, whereas the Bush Bashers have to try to create reality every time new information that contradicts them comes across the wire.
There seems to be a massive reality disconnect within the Bush Basher ranks, but there aren’t any clear reasons why. Some claim it’s nothing more than partisan crybaby tactics from Democrats upset that they’ve lost power. Others say it’s because their political ideology is a mental disease. I don’t buy this completely, but given the fact that these same folks thought Al Gore and John Kerry were brilliant, they might have a point. But, I have a different viewpoint.
One of the big parts of the modern liberal mindset is an egocentric belief that liberals are more intelligent and, thus, mostly right about any given subject. Doubt it? Just ask them. Anyone who disagrees with their learned position, regardless of how much thought actually went into said position, is seen as stupid and, thus, not credible. After all, they don’t agree with the smartest people in the world! How smart could these dissenting speakers be?
As it turns out with the Iraq WMD issue, pretty darn smart.
I’ve tried to keep track of the number of times the Bush Bashers have been wrong, but I gave up because I couldn’t get the time off work to update the Bush Bashers Have Been Wrong This Many Times toteboard. But it might have been easier to do the Bush Bashers Have Been Right This Many Times toteboard considering they haven’t been right on much, if anything. But it’s still early. They might be right sooner or later.
But I’m not going to hold my breath waiting. I rather like breathing.
The Bush Bashers are in a vicious circle. The more time that passes, the more they’re proven wrong. The more they’re proven wrong, the shriller they become. The shriller they become, the more power and credibility they lose. The more power and credibility they lose, the more outrageous their statements become. The more outrageous their statements become, the easier it is to prove them wrong given time. The easier it is to prove them wrong…well you get the idea. So, how do you break the cycle? Admit you were wrong, reevaluate your opinion on whether Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq, and either come back with proof to support your original position or to support your new position. America will thank you.
Oh, and see what you can do to put a muzzle on Cindy Sheehan. The only person more embarrassing to the Bush Basher side has the last name Kennedy.
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