GeorgeSPatton

GeorgeSPatton https://www.dailykos.com/news/GeorgeSPatton News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Sun, 26 Jan 2020 12:15:33 +0000 Sun, 26 Jan 2020 12:15:33 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) What Democrats can learn from the movie "Patton" https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/3/24/1287069/-What-Democrats-can-learn-from-General-George-S-Patton <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9b5g1avyCSA" frameborder="0" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The 1970 movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066206/">"Patton"</a> is best remembered for its opening speech by George C. Scott as General George S. Patton, standing in front of a giant American flag (see audio above). The speech, primarily written/edited by Francis Ford Coppola and based largely on <a href="http://www.taphilo.com/history/Patton-speech.shtml">snippets</a> by Patton himself, could serve as an inspiration to Democrats for the upcoming 2014 election: <blockquote>I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.</blockquote> This is classic <a href="http://messagingmatters.com/2011/02/08/messaging-maxim-1-go-on-offense/">Messaging Maxim #1: Go on Offense</a>. Democrats can't unilaterally disarm, whether on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-blue-slips-the-senates-other-undemocratic-tradition/2014/02/24/2de4cd7c-9da8-11e3-9ba6-800d1192d08b_story.html">judicial nominations</a> or otherwise. Nor can Democrats win by being offended at all the things Republicans say and do. Democrats must take the fight to Republicans, so that it is the Republicans who are objecting to things Democrats are saying and doing. <blockquote>Men, all this stuff you've heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.... Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser... because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.</blockquote> Replace "Americans" with "Democrats." Remember that the Republicans are waging war against you every day, on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lstA7j5fmio">cultural</a>, financial, rhetorical and many other battlefields. Democrats, get yourselves on a war footing and engage your opponents, or prepare to lose the war. <blockquote>An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team.</blockquote> This shows the importance of unity for Democrats, especially in the face of the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/ground-zero-gop-civil-war-094500634--politics.html?.tsrc=rtlde%2F">civil war</a> taking place inside the Republican Party. <blockquote>We're not just going to shoot the bastards. We're going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun bastards by the bushel.... The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them. Spill their blood. Shoot them in the belly.</blockquote> Replace "bastards," "Hun bastards" and "Nazis" with "Republicans." This is the type of attitude it takes to win political battles. (Of course, this is just rhetorical. Democrats, <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/austin-ruse-liberal-professors-taken-out-shot">unlike some Republicans and conservatives</a>, do not and should not advocate <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/rush-limbaugh-you-know-how-to-stop-abortion-require-that-each-one-occur-with-a-gun/267279/">real violence</a> against their political opponents.) <blockquote>I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding onto anything -- except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose, and we're going to kick him in the ass. We're going to kick the hell out of him all the time, and we're going to go through him like crap though a goose!</blockquote> Again, it's Messaging Maxim #1: Go on Offense, as well as <a href="http://messagingmatters.com/2011/03/09/messaging-maxim-2-rinse-and-repeat/">Messaging Maxim #2: Rinse and Repeat</a>. Democrats won't win simply by trying to hold back the Republicans' offensive maneuvers, whether on the Affordable Care Act, voter suppression or other issues. One example where Democrats are doing a good job on this is in pressing for <a href="http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2014/03/18/news/01top_03-18-14.txt#.UzB-z8efE7B">marriage equality</a> around the United States. <blockquote>Now, there's one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home, and you may thank God for it. Thirty years from now, when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, 'What did you do in the great World War II?' -- you won't have to say, 'Well, I shoveled shit in Louisiana.'</blockquote> That sounds a lot like <a href="http://messagingmatters.com/2013/07/23/messaging-maxim-5-make-it-personal/">Messaging Maxim #5: Make it Personal</a>. General George Patton won great battles and helped America win World War II. Of course, Patton was a controversial man, and this is not intended to endorse all his views or actions, including his slapping of American soldiers. But if Democrats want to win in 2014 and beyond, they would do well to heed some of the rhetorical lessons from this "Patton" movie speech. [Originally posted at <a href="http://messagingmatters.com/">Messaging Matters</a>. Copyright 2014 -- All rights reserved] rss@dailykos.com (MessagingMatters) 2014 Affordable Care Act AffordableCareAct Democrats Elections GeorgeSPatton Health Care HealthCare Marriage Equality MarriageEquality Republicans _1287069 Mon, 24 Mar 2014 18:57:52 +0000 Generally Disturbing, or... Caption THIS! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/1/924675/-Generally-Disturbing-or-Caption-THIS Even though <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/30/924250/-WOW!!-I-Made-National-Headlines!-(UPDATEDx2)">I Made National Headlines</a> yesterday, I'm not one to rest on my laurels.  I spent a few hours today putting this together for your amusement. <a target="_blank" href="http://s431.photobucket.com/albums/qq36/NoelsLight/?action=view&current=Stooges.jpg"><img width="600" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq36/NoelsLight/Stooges.jpg" border /></a> <blockquote> "Speaker Boehner is our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower">Dwight Eisenhower</a> in the battle against the Obama Administration. Majority Leader Cantor is our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Bradley">Omar Bradley</a>. I want to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton">George Patton</a> -- put anything in my scope and I will shoot it." --<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20101130/pl_yblog_theticket/joe-barton-likens-self-to-george-patton-in-war-on-white-house">Representative Joe Barton (R-TX)</a> </blockquote> There are no words.... rss@dailykos.com (PvtJarHead) DwightDEisenhower EricCantor GeorgeSPatton JoeBarton JohnBoehner OmarBradley PoliticalCartoon _924675 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:26:25 +0000 Another "Georgie" Slapping Our Soldiers https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/24/402054/-Another-Georgie-Slapping-Our-Soldiers This is the second in a series of excerpts from my book (work in progress) on PTSD.  Thanks to all who have offered their insights and comments.  I appreciate any feedback or suggestions to make the writing better or more relevant. rss@dailykos.com (goldkeyrealty) Afghanistan Chickenhawks Dick Cheney DickCheney DonaldRumsfeld George W. Bush GeorgeSPatton GeorgeWBush Iraq Neocons posttraumaticstressdisorder PTSD Terror Terrorist Vietnam War _402054 Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:36:27 +0000 "Shared National Sacrifice" and 'The War' Tonight on PBS https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/23/389186/--Shared-National-Sacrifice-and-The-War-Tonight-on-PBS <img width="230" src="http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z205/JekyllnHyde_photos/main_photo_0.jpg" /> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/thewar/">Ken Burns' PBS Series About World War II, 'The War' Begins Tonight, 8:00pm, EDT </a> If you've ever visited London or had the opportunity to live there for an extended period of time, you'd know which war Londoners refer to when they mention "The War."  Not so in the United States, where you'd get a quizzical look in return should you mention that term to most people.  Since World War II, the United States has been involved in so many wars that an average person can perhaps be excused for his or her ignorance. Unlike <a href="http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/">'The Civil War,'</a> Burns' 'The War' is quite different as it looks at World War II not from the perspective of politicians, generals, or scholars but from the ground up. It chronicles the experiences of veterans from four towns in four different regions of the country.   It will also, I am fairly certain, spark a debate around the country about the reasons as to how and why we fight wars. rss@dailykos.com (JekyllnHyde) AlfredTennyson CivilWar CrimeanWar Discrimination France GeorgeSPatton Germany Iraq War IraqWar KenBurns PaulFussell PBS Segregation World War I World War ii _389186 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:53:48 +0000