If there was any doubt in anyone’s mind whether George W. Bush, in his speech on Sep 11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, was referring to right-wing extremists, when he compared domestic extremists to 9/11 terrorists and called them “children of the same foul spirit” or whether he meant to include BLM protesters and “antifa” as well in the statement -
And we have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within.
There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them.
trump laid these doubts to rest today, when he lamely lashed out at Bush in a statement distributed by Save America PAC.
trump (or one of his minions) wrote -
So interesting to watch former President Bush, who is responsible for getting us into the quicksand of the Middle East (and then not winning!), as he lectures us that terrorists on the ‘right’ are a bigger problem than those from foreign countries that hate America, and that are pouring into our Country right now.
If that is so, why was he willing to spend trillions of dollars and be responsible for the death of perhaps millions of people? He shouldn’t be lecturing us about anything. The World Trade Center came down during his watch. Bush led a failed and uninspiring presidency. He shouldn’t be lecturing anybody!
trump even used the words “terrorists on the ’right’”, which Bush didn’t, stupidly implying that right-wing terrorists are indeed a problem but not as big as the ones from foreign countries.
Let’s keep in mind that trump’s statements are always targeted at his illiterate, low-information, fearful and angry base, who will now feel so much better and who will now focus their vitriol at Bush, so what if their own boss called them right-wing terrorists. Maybe, they will re-brand themselves as MAGA terrorists, or MAGATs ;)
Is it odd that trump and many others before him in the right-wing echo chamber assumed that Bush was referring to right-wing terrorists? Not really, there was no doubt that he was referring to right-wing terrorists, not to BLM or any of the more-or-less peaceful protesters on the left. Most pundits correctly assumed that Bush was referring to Jan 6 insurrectionists and other right-wing violent extremists that have been ravaging the country since trump entered the White House.
Here are some keywords from the speech, all of which point the finger at today’s violent trump supporters -
There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them.
A malign force seems at work in our common life that turns every disagreement into an argument, and every argument into a clash of cultures. So much of our politics has become a naked appeal to anger, fear, and resentment. That leaves us worried about our nation and our future together.
religious bigotry ...
nativism ...
some viewed the rising generation as individualistic and decadent ...
There was even some debate in the earlier diary on why Democrats did not use this theme on 9/11. It was felt that Democratic leaders would be more cautious about telling this inconvenient truth on 9/11; it would inevitably have attracted a lot of accusations from republicans and the media of politicizing 9/11 for partisan gain and it would have detracted from the main message on that solemn day of unity and healing. It was commendable that Bush did it. We can and should pick up the theme in the weeks and months to come.
Which worked out fine since trump and his flying monkeys are now attacking George W. Bush instead of Biden.
As I said in the previous diary “George Bush compares Jan 6 insurrectionists to 9/11 hijackers, as "children of the same foul spirit"”, there is no love lost here for Bush, who bears much of the responsibility for the sordid state of our national politics and the waste of thousands of lives and trillions of tax dollars. But we need to look forward; we have to beat back the monstrous republican party in 2022 and 2024 and we will take any help we can get. Bush is not in the same league as the current band of destructive and nihilistic republicans and his words can be influential among many republican voters. Hopefully, his words and the knee-jerk reaction from the right will further divide the republican base and turn some republican and independent voters away from the party of trump.