UPDATE: This is now Part I of a Series, which continues in Part II Here.
By now it’s no longer news that last night, on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, Representative Don Young of Alaska "quoted" our Sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln and said "Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." Kovie posted a great diary about this here shortly after it happened. Greg Sargent at TPMCafe has posted video of the speech here.
More after the jump, including an update at the bottom.
And once again (just as with the Edwards blogger affair), anyone as blog-addicted as I am has been able to watch the origins of this thing brewing and percolating in the cesspool of "underground" right-wing media for several days (as observed and documented by Glenn Greenwald at his new home and by Fred Clark at Slacktivist, among others) before finally belching forth fully formed into the mainstream. In this case, the immediate origin of this vile and slanderous Lincoln "quote" was the opening of Tuesday’s Frank Gaffney column ("Truly ‘inappropriate’ behavior") in the Moonie-owned and proudly far-right Washington Times. But Gaffney didn’t just invent the fake quote out of thin air; rather, it’s been floating around the right-wing for a handful of years now and as Glenn Greenwald noted, it has been traced by factcheck.org to a December, 2003, article which appeared in Insight magazine (and yes, that would be the same Insight magazine that was founded as a sister publication to the Washington Times -- so, hey, at least they’re being consistent in their slanderous falsehoods, which I suppose is better than one can say about the Bush administration). Note also that as of this morning, the online version of the column is still hanging out there with that fat, juicy, fake Lincoln-channels-the-spirit-of-Benito-Mussolini quote right at the top, with no correction or clarification or any other acknowledgment that the purported quote is a baldfaced lie. But what the heck, if no one’s going to call them on it why should they? Unlike those of us stuck in the reality-based community, they make their own reality -- next time they can say "As Representative Don Young has courageously stated, Abraham Lincoln himself realized the danger of a divided nation in a time of war and called for the execution of such saboteurs" and they could say that now they’re no longer technically lying.
Now I know what you may be thinking: yes, a Republican is literally calling, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, for the execution of those who speak out against the war; and yes, this is in the abstract pretty horrific, but it’s not like this is anything new, and after all it’s not like there’s anything we can do about given the current attitude of the mainstream media, which holds Democrats and progressives to a much different standard than Republicans and conservatives. You may rail against the hypocrisy of this "It’s OK of you’re a republican" double standard, and try to imagine what would happen if a Democrat spoke out in either the House or the Senate AGAINST our current policies. . . Oh wait, you don’t have to imagine, just remember how Dick Durbin was (amid calls for censure by Newt Gingrich) forced to tearfully apologize in the well of the Senate chamber for saying, in essence, that Americans shouldn’t torture people because if we do that we’re no better than the Nazis (and please note that I don’t at all think there’s any comparison between what Senator Durbin originally said -- which was factually true, morally appropriate, and consistent with American values -- with Rep. Young’s speech, which was none of the above), but after venting think to yourself that there’s really nothing we can do.
And you may suspect that, if the mainstream press covers this AT ALL, it will only be in the most oblique and light-hearted of ways, with none of the seriousness which ought to attend the fact that a MEMBER OF CONGRESS LAST NIGHT ON THE HOUSE FLOOR JUST CALLED FOR THE EXECUTION OF THOSE WHO SPEAK OUT AGAINST OUR CURRENT IRAQ POLICY. Well, OK, on this last point you’d be right. It’s all a big funny joke to the Gang of 500. Here’s fully-credentialed member of the Beltway Media Kool Kidz Klub Mary Ann Akers, who blogs as "The Sleuth" at Washingtonpost.com (and who just two days ago was breathlessly reporting about how David Sirota, a "Longtime Democratic activist" was denied a press-pass because he’s "not a liberal writer but a liberal activist" but nevertheless made a "clever end run around the rules" to sneak inside the nation’s capitol; see Sirota’s take on the incident here) reporting in an oh-so-lighthearted manner about that wacky Don Young in today’s post entitled "Honest, it wasn’t Abe" (heh - get it? Because people call him "Honest Abe"? See, she’s not just kool, she’s klever):
During House floor debate on the Iraq War resolution Thursday, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) fell into a trap that's caught plenty of other Iraq war supporters -- misquoting Abraham Lincoln as advocating the hanging of lawmakers who undermine military morale during wartime.
See, it’s an easy mistake to make, sort of like stubbing your toe. No biggie.
Young certainly added a sizzle to an otherwise fairly bland debate by raising the specter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her party faithful being arrested for opposing President Bush's troop surge.
Because all that talk about our troops dying for no good reason and about the incompetence of the Bush Administration was so booooooooring. Young was just trying to make it fun, that’s all.
The only problem: Lincoln never said such a thing.
OK, fine, props to her for actually stating the truth even when it contradicts something a republican says. (Although the fact that we feel obligated to thank and congratulate Washington journalists for stating a true fact -- that is, for DOING THEIR F*ING JOB -- shows you just how low we’ve sunk.)
Michael Bishop, the former executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, said it's easy for both sides of the debate to quote Lincoln. Those who oppose the Iraq War, he pointed out, can easily cite Lincoln's fiery speech on the Mexican War from the floor of the House in 1848 when he denounced President Polk "for waging what Lincoln considered to an unnecessary and immoral war."
OK, I’m with you so far...
Or if you're for the Iraq War, Bishops said, "Lincoln emerges as a very useful example because of his constancy and determination to win in the face of terrible opposition from within his own party and from the Democrats."
Oops, lost me there.
Shortly after he left the House floor Thursday, Young found out that -- woops -- he had mistakenly put words in Abe's mouth. Young's spokeswoman, Meredith Kenny, said the congressman took the quote directly from an article he read in The Washington Times on Tuesday, which as of Thursday had not been corrected.
"woops."
"Now that he's been informed these are not the actual words of Lincoln, he will discontinue attributing the words to Lincoln.
Hmmm, but I guess no plans to head back to the House and apologize for the slanderous misattribution of these vile words to President Lincoln. And, let’s see, now that he knows Lincoln didn’t actually say that, does he also reject the message of the underlying statement?
However, he continues to totally agree with the message of the statement,"
OK, so even though Lincoln didn’t say it, nevertheless Representative Young DOES believe that "Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." Wow, I’m glad he’s going to stop slandering Lincoln but that’s still really F*ing scary.
And no, Kenny said, Rep. Young was "not advocating the hanging of Democrats."
Oh, well I’m glad we’ve cleared that up. I guess just arrest or exile then.
ACTION PLAN: So what to do now?
Atrios suggests calling Don Young’s office and asking who precisely he thinks should be hanged and sharing your own fake Lincoln quotes, which is a fine idea as far as it goes, but it strikes me that we ought to also be treating this as a serious opportunity to take a stand against precisely the sort of outrageous, eliminationist sentiment that freelance journalist David Neiwert has done such an outstanding job tracking and analyzing at his blog, orcinus, and of which Representative Young’s speech last night is just the latest example.
We need to be demanding that the Democratic leadership TODAY call for the censure of Representative Young. Let’s drag his sorry anti-American ass to the well of the House to tearfully apologize for his remarks last night.
As a procedural matter, if the Democratic leadership on the floor had any instincts, they would have immediately risen and made a point of order and asked that Rep. Young’s "words be taken down and stricken from the record" in accordance with Rule XVII, clause 4 -- you may recall that this was what happened when Jean Schmidt called John Murtha in a floor speech a traitor in December, 2005. It appears too late for that now -- according to the precedents of the House, such a point of order must be raised immediately after the offending words are spoken.
However, there appears to be nothing preventing the House from taken up a motion to censure or reprimand Representative Young for his words on the House floor at any time. I believe that the House Democratic leadership not only CAN, it MUST do so in order to stand up for itself and for fundamental American constitutional principal.
Look, I understand that the response of the Democratic leadership may be "we don’t want to move the focus off of the pending toothless non-binding resolution by moving to censure Representative Young." And fine, they don’t need to interrupt debate on the resolution to deal with this. But they’re scheduled to vote this afternoon on the resolution, and then head home for a week for "President’s Day Recess". There’s no reason they can’t vote on the resolution, and immediately thereafter take up a motion to censure Rep. Young. And it strikes me that not only is it important to take a stand against the eliminationism represented by Rep. Young’s statements, but that if the Democrats had any instinct for the jugular they could do so in a way which is a big political winner.
I mean, my God, the talking points and the speeches practically write themselves:
"Not only has Representative Young attacked the patriotism of the majority of Americans who recognize the folly and disaster of our current Iraq policy -- in addition, just a day before this House adjourns for the holiday honoring our nation’s Presidents, indeed just 3 days after the birthday of our Sixteenth and some say our greatest President, Abraham Lincoln, Representative Young stood on this chamber floor and defamed and slandered the memory of Mr. Lincoln, a champion of American freedom, by falsely putting into Mr. Lincoln’s mouth the some of the most vile, filthy, disgusting, and profoundly anti-American sentiments ever uttered on this chamber floor.
No, my friends, President Abraham Lincoln never called for members of Congress speaking out against a war to be "arrested, exiled or hanged." But here’s something he did say:
"Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure. Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect, after having given him so much as you propose. If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, "I see no probability of the British invading us"; but he will say to you, "Be silent: I see it, if you don't."
"The provision of the Constitution giving the war making power to Congress was dictated, as I understand it, by the following reasons: kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. This our convention understood to be the most oppressive of all kingly oppressions, and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us. But your view destroys the whole matter, and places our President where kings have always stood."
And another great Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, also spoke on these issues, so fundamental to our system of American democracy:
"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.
To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."
Madame Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Now please go call your Congressperson and ask them to support censure of Representative Young for his odious statements on the House floor last night.
UPDATE: Wow, cool, thanks to the "Rescue Rangers" for the frontpage diary rescue! As Editor & Publisher describes here, the Washington Times website has now disappeared the offending Frank Gaffney column down the memory hole, apparently without any explanation or retraction. Hat tip to Glenn Greenwald, who in his latest post at his new home describes and has an audio link to his on-air debate with demolition of Frank Gaffney last night on the Alan Colmes show, which is itself worth a listen.
And while Representative Don Young may wish he had the same magical ability to make his own statements on the floor last night disappear into the mist, he might find it a little bit more difficult, since the Congressional Record reporting on yesterday’s floor speeches has already gone to print. Ah, yes, let’s see, page H1717, middle column, about halfway down – yes, here we have it):
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I have listened to this debate on both sides of the aisle for the last 2 days, the third day in fact, and probably will listen to it tomorrow.
I rise in opposition to H. Con. Res. 63, and I would like to make a quote: ``Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged,'' Abraham Lincoln, who had the same problem this President had with a very unpopular war. The same problem with people trying to redirect the Commander in Chief; the same problem, if they had been successful, we would not have had the freedom of the people in this country.
What I say today is for my daughters, my Joanie, my Dawn; my grandkids, [names of 10 grandkids] and all the rest of them I missed and I apologize . . .
Hmm, that’s a new one on me: "I dedicate this unhinged eliminationist rant to my grandkids. Don’t say Grandpa never gave you nothing! Now give me a big hug!"