kos touches a nerve...gets attacked.

How can you tell when something strikes a nerve on the right?  When they can't stop jumpin up and down screaming about it.

So yesterdays "Why are conservatives so afraid", which was great by the way and sounded just like this astute comment,
post drew some fire from Byron York at National Review Online this morning here

In a stunning new statement, the enormously influential left-wing blogger Markos Moulitsas attacks the very basis for the war on terror, attributing American efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks not to national security concerns but to...conservative cowardice

which was then picked up as...

Free Republic
shit.

followed by some lovely quotes like

This looks like the fight we've been looking for, bring it on big boy. The cowards in Congress might cower, but you wont find that in Texas!

and

Dear Kos: You're a damned idiot.

What can I say, I'm just trolling for some right wing Abramoff quotes minding my own business when I come across this stuff.  Gettin' dirty so you don't have to!  

Jeez, as influencial as he is, you'd think that thay would get Markos' name right!

Anyway, kos, you touched on a nerve, now lets grind that nerve with a sharp metal hook!

•  Yeah, Baby! Bring. It. On!

  Hey Freeper, you wanna piece of me?  
  Maybe they have us confused with the wimps in the DLC or Joe Lieberman.  Maybe they've watched too much Alan Colmes.  LOL!  If that's what they think Kossacks are all about, they are sorely mistaken or as my Daddy used to say, "you are in for a very RUDE awakening."

  by goldberry on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 08:53:04 AM PDT

  •  The whole mindset of "manly men"

    is what gets these idiots into so much deep shit to start with.  They believe that all 'wingers are buff, macho, gun-totin' Gary Cooper types ready to face down the badguys...and as a result get lured into the sorts of predictable clusterfucks like Iraq (and Iran or Syria?)

    Security can be better achieved by being smart.  Sure, sometimes you have to back up "smart" with violence or the crdible threat of violence, but that isn't all there is.  And deep down they know that their boy W Rex hasn't been smart, so they fall back on their bullying ways out of fear and confusion.

    Kos nailed it.  And this kind of reaction just goes to prove it.

    by Shadan7 on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:14:23 AM PDT

    •  Predictable

      Lakoff's analysis of the conservative positon as the "strong father" mentality was right on. If I remember correctly, the strong father (masculine intentional here) has the duty to be strong, determined, disciplined, and ready to protect his family from external threats. To not do so is a moral failing in that worldview. The important unit here is the family, not necessarily the community, so if rights are curtailed to make the family safer, that's fine.

      Of course, we're the "nurturing parents" type of people, and we realize that everything will go to hell very quickly unless the community is protected.

      When we poke at them with accusations that they are afraid, they take it personally because it's at the core of their moral worldview. A strong father doesn't show fear, and doesn't waver in the face of uncertainty. Saying that the strong father is afraid is the same as saying that they are morally weak, corrupt, and perverted. It's the EXACT COUNTERPART of their idiotic "why do liberals hate America?"

      by pdrap on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 12:25:51 PM PDT

•  Oh what a Piddle!

  I mean pity!

  by missliberties on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 08:55:55 AM PDT

•  Score two

  Yellow elephants hit broadsided.

  Apparently the fight they have been looking for is not the fight against al Quaeda.  Apparently the war they want to fight is not in Iraq.

  Apparently, they are too much cowards to leave their keyboards and go volunteer to fight the war on terror themselves.  Look who's voting with their feet.  Look who says one thing and does another.

  Listen any lurking freepers or NRO afficionados.  We know how important national security is.  But if Bush thinks he is increasing our national security he doesn't have a clue.  And you recognize that too.  Why else would you not be in the sands of Iraq if this is such an effective means of stopping terrorism?

  by TarheelDem on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:04:12 AM PDT

•  They cower in front of true power

  time in a jail cell does not appeal to the freepers whatsoever.

  Snaps them back to reality, immediately.

  Again, when the entire issue of torture is exposed, which it will be, even the average freeper will understand the threat to him.

  Psycho soldiers in Iraq, the Pentagon...

  by ChicagoCub on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:06:04 AM PDT

  •  nope

    The average Freeper doesn't give a damn about torture as long as it isn't happening to him.

    That's why those nutjobs are so dangerous - if they're not the ones being held indefinitely without a warrant, tortured into confessions of acts they didn't commit, having their homes broken into secretly by the FBI, etc. then they don't care that it's happening.

    They have no principles. No integrity. No decency. They care only about what's happening to themselves, and will tolerate ANY injustice levelled against someone else so long as they're made to believe that it's for their own good.

    They are the Germans who stood by and did nothing when the Jews were massacred.

    Nothing will bring them to their senses.

    by Richard Carlucci on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:41:41 AM PDT

•  No wonder they are defensive,

  they are being foisted on their own pitard or, to put it another way, they are being Roved. See here for my reasoning:  http://www.dailykos.com/...

  by accumbens on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:06:57 AM PDT

  •  hoist by one's own petard

     
    (pi-TAHRD) To be caught in one's own trap: "The swindler cheated himself out of most of his money, and his victims were satisfied to see him hoist by his own petard." A "petard" was an explosive device used in medieval warfare. To be hoisted, or lifted, by a petard literally means to be blown up.
    

    by Bluesman48 on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:42:06 AM PDT

    •  What we need

      is more relevance.  Hence, let me introduce you to Paul Petard a British cartoonist.  Therefore, being hoisted by Paul Petard is recognition that the pen is mightier than the sword.

      by melvonator on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:09:54 AM PDT

•  anyone who would

  let George Bush, or anyone, have dictatorial powers in the name of "national security" doesn't deserve to be an American citizen.

  Republicans need to find an Island of Cowardice they can go live on.  Let them ring it with a 200 foot brick wall lined with anti-missile batteries.  Let them cower in fear as life goes on without them.

  by Nordic on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:10:16 AM PDT

•  tbogg & digby &

  wolcott are all over this bedwetting meme.

  by rasbobbo on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:10:44 AM PDT

•  When attaked, blame Clinton

  
  They like to speak about how tough they are, even though they send others to fight their battles...

   Not unlike Clinton, who had fought bravely along side our men in Somalia and Bosnia through thick and thin.

  Well, Somalia wasn't his doing and...what is this about Bosnia?  And the President is different from nice 20 something able bodied men who cheerlead from the sideline.

  by FleetAdmiralJ on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:10:46 AM PDT

  •  You neglect to add

    that American troops suffered not one death in the Bosnian Campaign.  So had Clinton joined the air war he would have certainly survived. Wes Clark may have had something to do with that fine record.

    by melvonator on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:12:22 AM PDT

•  good news

  the enormously influential Kos

  give him an interview Mr. York. Ask him some tough questions.
  Then listen to the answers. Let's talk about it for once, instead of your insidious name calling you use incessantly instead of debating the real policy.

  Bring it on.

  by missliberties on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:12:30 AM PDT

•  They also quoted goldberry's comment

  Oooo, I LIKE this meme! (none / 0)

  It has a Wesley Clark flavor to it.  If you guys are so tough, why are you prancing around looking for a place to hide from the big-bad terrorists?  
  Ooooo, SCARY!  
  Poor little Americans, pissing themselves because some guys took out a couple of buildings.  We all have to get our survival plans ready in case they attack again.  Let's give all our hard earned Freedom to Big Daddy George so he can tell us when we can use the john.  
  Geez, Louise, you'd think Katrina would have snapped them out of it but the fraidy cats are still scared of those brown people with box cutters.  You're more likely to get swept away by a hurricane and where will Big Daddy George be then?  Clearing brush on his ranch.  
  (We'll see how good a job he did if those wild fires continue to spread.)

  -3.63, -4.46 "Choose something like a star to stay your mind on- and be staid"

  by goldberry on Mon Jan 02, 2006 at 02:04:41 PM EST

  Way to go goldberry!

  by NYC Sophia on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:16:31 AM PDT

•  I've Been Calling Them Cowards Since

  September 12th.
  Because they quiver in fear and shirk the real fight.
  And not just on a personal level.
  The red is yellow.

  by NewDirection on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:21:07 AM PDT

•  It still read fine to me

  They never answer the challenge of why they don't show their support of the Iraq War by serving themselves-- No, it's all about Kos- who did serve. I guess I'm too logical for these goopers!
  Laughable!

  by vcmvo2 on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:30:45 AM PDT

•  Neocon bedwetters

  They are nothing but little cowards who hid under the sheets after Sept. 11, wetting themselves.  When asked why they aren't over there fighting the war they believe in, they respond with "I've got better things to do."  Because they hate the troops and are afraid of getting dirty or having to work hard.  I have no respect for any of them especialy the likes of Jonah Goldberg.  Oh, they act tough and they pretend pretty good, but they are nothing but cowards.  Wolcott, Tbogg, and Digby got it right.  Bedwetter brigade, that's what they are.

  by Green Zombie on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:37:42 AM PDT

•  Republicans

  They ARE cowards. Look at the chickenhawks in Congress and compare that with the Fighting Dems and the brave, decorated vets like Max Cleland and John Kerry. Bush and Cheney ran and hid from Vietnam, Bush even deserting from the National Guard. Meanwhile John Kerry, Max Cleland and John Murtha were receiving well-deserved decorations for bravery. Teddy Roosevelt would come in and kick the asses of most of the wimpy Republicans today. They are a disgrace to their party!

  But Conservatives today worse than cowards. They are also corrupt, amoral sleaze who loot America. Witness the awarding of a no-bid contract to Halliburton to rebuild New Orleans even as poor Americans were still stranded and dying in New Orleans. The Republicans are looting America for their own gain and lying at every turn to feed at the trough of Republican pork.

  AND they are failures. Bill Clinton prevented several terrorist attacks AND he was gunning for Osama bin Laden. Who stopped him? THE REPUBLICANS! The REpublicans quaked in their loafers when they heard Bill Clinton was going after bin Laden, a relative of some of the biggest of Bush's oil buddies. So they started whining and yammering for him to stop. Then Bush ignored Clinton's direct warnings regarding bin Laden. So Bush FAILED to protect America. And when the inevitable attack came, what did Bush and Cheney do? DId they lead the nation like Clinton did after the first WTC attack or like Tony Blair after the London bombings? NO! They ran and hid like frightened children. COWARDS AND FAILURES.

  Then did they capture Osama bin Laden and end al Qaeda? No. Even after 9/11 they are STILL failing the war against terrorism, putting it on the back burner to invade Iraq. They have FAILED to stop bin Laden and al Qaeda.

  Corrupt, cowardly failures. That is what modern Republicans are. They forget the honesty of Calvin Coolidge, the warnings and leadership of General Eisenhauer, and the bravery of Theodore Roosevelt and instead emulate the cowardly corruption of Harding and Nixon. Modern Republicans wallow in the worst of their party, sheltering corruption, mocking decorated veterans and looting America.

  Those who defend the Republican cowards should be ashamed of themselves! Are we better off than we were 5 years ago? NO! Our economy is down the toilet, gas prices are higher, the deficit and debt are worse than ever, we have fewer allies, our military is overstreached, we are less safe and our freedoms have been cut back. THAT is the sad, disgusting summary of Bush's presidency: failure, failure, failure at every turn. He couldn't even fully defeat the Taliban! They are still around. Why are REpublicans of today such chickenhearted defenders of corruption? That is not inherant in the Republican philosophy. In fact modern Republicans have BETRAYED the real REpublican philosophy in favor of corruption.

  Freepers shouldn't even be allowed to show their faces in public. They are such lying sacks of excriment that they don't deserve our attention.

  by mole333 on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:54:26 AM PDT

•  All of them look like fat boys who were

  bullied, so now they identify with the bully himself.

  by lecsmith on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 09:57:14 AM PDT

  •  jonah?? jonah??

    is that you??  

    if the shoe fits...

    by dougymi on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 12:25:57 PM PDT

•  i had a feeling...

  ...when I read that post of Markos's that its a theme we should be shouting from the rooftops. Now I'm sure of it.

  by odum on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:27:08 AM PDT

•  Maybe the Republicans are too busy

  allocating the real terrorism prevention money for souped up Partridge Family buses in places like Podunk, New Podunka, to go fight in Iraq.

  What really bugs me is that the Republicans don't see that the Katrina disaster was really exactly what a terrorist WMD'g of New Orleans would have been, except maybe a bit less horrific, and that Katrina proved that the Republican approach to detecting/preventing/coping with terrorism has actually weakened our ability as a nation to cope with a major terrorist attack.

  by sclminc on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:30:38 AM PDT

•  Traitor

  Representative Duke Cunningham has pled guilty to taking bribes for expediting defense contracts in time of war.  He is a criminal and a traitor.  He may not be a physical coward as he served apparently with distinction in Vietnam but he is certainly a moral coward to have succumbed to the blandishments of easy money.

  I wonder why more people do not label Congressman Cunningham as the traitor he is.  I wonder what the Byron York's have to say about ole Duke.

  by gmoke on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:35:35 AM PDT