Bloodsport Politics
By Carol Devine-Molin (10/08/07)
There's a widely viewed video clip floating about the Internet from Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show", which speaks volumes about the current political landscape that's become downright toxic. Jon Stewart, the guru of political comedy, masterfully assailed liberal media darling Chris Matthews on his new book "Life’s a Campaign" that was intended to illustrate how the average Joe can utilize political skills to succeed in life. Matthews will not soon forget the "book interview from hell."
Stewart was mortified by the premise of the book, dubbing it a “self-hurt book” since political campaigns, by their very nature, are essentially “contrivances” and “artifice”. Stewart further averred that the book was a “recipe for sadness”; and he queried where in the book does it say “be good, be competent?” Matthews was clearly caught off guard, and in his usual loud and rambunctious manner, shouted at Stewart, “I thought you weren’t afraid of me!” Stewart incisively remarked, “I fear fascism”.
Stewart was understandably repulsed by a “how to” book on spin and manipulation not only in the political sphere, but in everyday life. Why? Because systematic conniving smacks of the modus operandi of sociopaths who say and do anything to “get over”, the truth be damned. In respect to governance, you wind up with tyranny.
That being said, because Stewart is a Left-of-center type of guy, I doubt that he’s willing to acknowledge the truth about Congressional Democrats. They’ve now crossed the line to throw-in with the Far Left fringe, most notably media matters and moveon.org, in efforts to publicly lambaste conservative radio talk-show giant Rush Limbaugh. It’s about attempts to instill intimidation and stifle free speech. Yes, Jon, we’re slipping and sliding toward fascism. However, the Left has made a huge blunder – Limbaugh is going to return fire on the Left big time. He has a significant forum, many hours of airtime in any given week, and millions in his audience.
Moreover, Congressional Democrats are throwing a bone to the kook-fringe Leftists that despise Limbaugh and conservative talk-radio. It’s essentially a booby prize since Congressional Democrats failed to make good on their promises to get the troops out of Iraq. Good little minions, here’s that pat on the head. Never mind that you’ve been betrayed by the Congressional Democrats who have no intention of leveraging their power for immediate troop withdrawal. Heaven knows that Congressional Democrats will refuse to cut off war funding, irrespective of their machinations. Do you really think they want to be held accountable for plunging Iraq into utter chaos upon precipitous troop withdrawal?
Of course Limbaugh is the Left’s primary target, but the slap-down also sends a message to other influential conservative radio personalities that they better watch their step. Moreover, it’s meant to have a broader chilling effect upon any writer or blogger who dares to criticize the Democrat Party or She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named during this presidential campaign season.
Truth is vital. And when someone is being smeared, truth is their best defense. Which brings me to the specific attack on Limbaugh – attempting to cast him as anti-military – that’s being perpetrated by the barking moonbats, acting in tandem with the Democrat Congress. The allegation is going nowhere fast simply because it’s a bunch of malarkey. You have to look at the overall context of Limbaugh’s remarks.
When Limbaugh said, “phony soldiers”, he was clearly referring to a specific individual, Jessie MacBeth, who falsely claimed he was sent to Iraq and took part in atrocities. MacBeth’s story was bogus – He washed out of the military in about six weeks time, did not go to Iraq, and was subsequently prosecuted by the feds for his false claims. As Limbaugh stated, “I was talking about one genuine convicted, lying, fake soldier, who was undermining this mission, who was doing his best to demoralize the troops. I stand up for the troops!”
This orchestrated endeavor by the political Left to impugn Limbaugh is patently silly. Anybody who listens to Rush knows that he honors the service of our troops and is a staunch supporter of the military. For Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to denounce Limbaugh on the record, calling for him to publicly repudiate his ostensible slur against the troops, is laughable. We’re talking about a trumped up allegation for political purposes. What’s even more mind-boggling is that Congressional Democrats are oblivious to the fact that the American people watch these public displays of stupidity. Abysmal Congressional approval ratings will certainly continue. The question is: How low can they go?
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