Let us begin with master satirist, Stephen Colbert, and his recent contretemps with John Mellencamp. For those who missed the bout, the play by play is available for your enjoyment. The KO is shown here. Suffice to say, Mellencamp nailed Colbert better than any guest since Cokie Roberts got a clean shot off early in his career.
Shortly after I posted this devastating attack, Viacom yanked the file! Smell the fear!?!?!?!
But this isn't about Colbert. He's just a funhouse mirror mocking the warped virtues of the Chickenhawk Nation. No, this is about hunting real-world chickenhawks who need to be publicly challenged to put up or shut up. Mellencamp's nailing Colbert is noteworthy because he shows how to effectively strike at the very foundation of the neocon chickenhawk propaganda machine. Viacom's rapid response shows this tactic terrifies them.
One thing is clear: Right, Left, Center, political junky or apathetic and apolitical-- everyone agrees Hypocrisy and Cowardice are the new Republican calling cards. To assist in this, I am suggesting we compile a public list of these cowards. This is a continuation of a piece I called The Children's Crusade which demonstrated how desperate the apologists for this war have become. The increasing reliance on young, fresh faced kids who could only go to war if they used Vitter's diaper service shows these guys have hit the bottom of the barrel.
How did they get to this sorry state? Here's a quick review of Republicans Bush has lost:
George Will has publicly questioned Bush's ability to fulfill his oath of office.
William F. Buckley has publicly impugned Bush and Cheney's veracity.
Pat Buchanan has impugned their patriotism and love of country.
John Ashcroft, Bruce Fein and John Dean all question their fealty to the rule of law.
Paul O'Neil has questioned their commitment to American values.
Rand Beers has questioned their commitment to defending America.
Richard Viguerie has declared himself a Conservative, not a Republican.
CIA operatives have raised the prospect of treason.
Republican-appointed judges are expressing contempt for their interference.
Over a dozen generals have publicly questioned their ability to lead.
Soldiers in the field are donating overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates.
Things have gotten so grim, Bush doesn't do appearances in front of troops anymore. Think about that. This is the guy who once pranced across the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln dressed up like a real flyboy proclaiming victory to cheering throngs of service men and women. Now they can't get enough troops to sign loyalty oaths for the prescreened events. This is a Commander-in-Chief who was publicly snubbed by troops at Fort Bragg. Scotty tried to spin it, but the fact remains: it was a scheduled 40 minute speech and Bush ran through it in 28 minutes. Why? No breaks for applause.
This evaporation of support is no surprise. We know the troops are spending their money to support Democratic candidates at a much higher rate than republicans. We know that every Iraq War veteran who ran in the recent mid-term elections ran as a Democratic candidate. Hell, even Garden variety Republicans are lamenting the failure of Democrats to impeach. Military families are calling for impeachment. This is unprecedented -- at least since the Civil War.
The Bottom Line: The serious adults have long since departed. The sober strategists have thrown in the towel. The seasoned commanders have faded away. Weary troops have grown wary. All they have now is a Barrel of Monkeys, and they're scraping the bottom of that barrel. I guess this is what happens when you sell a war with the apologists you have rather than the apologists you would like to have...
Before we declare open season on the newest crop of chickenhawks, I think we should identify them clearly so we can keep this focused on appropriate targets. We don't need to follow Cheney's example and simply shoot at anything that moves.
The requirements to get on this list are simple: Support the war, but refuse to fight even though you are perfectly able to enlist.
I am particularly focused on the new crop. Old chickenhawks like Cheney, Kristol, Limbaugh, Coulter, Malkin, Schlussel, Hannity, Delay, Perle, Adelman, Feith, Bennett, Kagan, Kagan, and Kagan have had their day. When it comes to policy pronouncements, they have as much credibility as a medical diagnosis by Bill Frist, a legal opinion from Alberto Gonzales, or an economic projection by Ken Lay. They are tapped out, so here my starting list of chickenhawks we should make sure get plenty of exposure before they breed. Feel free to add any names I missed:
Glenn Beck
Matthew Continetti
Ben Ferguson
Jonah Goldberg
Rich Lowry
Jason Mattera
Dan Senor
Ben Shapiro
Chris Vucovich
Feel free to add to the list.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Looney Toons already in progress.....