Jokers Wild

A few folks have linked to the Bush blog, which is running their "coalition of the wild-eyed" video which bemoans the "rage" shared by many non-Republicans, as well as lots of jingoistic posts blasting Kerry for "pessimism."

Who the hell are these people, anyway? They wouldn't possibly be in the same party that told us that the Clinton economic package would destroy the economy, that gay marriage will destroy Western civilization, and that Saddam Hussein was going to nuke Manhattan. Real optimists these folks are.

What this "pessimism" meme really represents is a straw-man ad hominem against Democrats who are telling it like it is. If we deign to say that Iraq is a mess and the economy is underperforming, we're not being realistic; we're pessimists. "Either you're with us, our you're a grumpy gus party-pooper," might be the slogan of the Bush/Cheney "smile or else" brigade.

That's a bit less obnoxious than the "why do you hate America?" bull these guys were spouting a couple years ago, but it is still troublesome rhetoric. Rather than letting the facts speak for themselves, and having an honest debate over Bush's record (and if it's half as good as they claim it is, Bush would be a shoo-in) -- rather than using facts and logic, they want to attack us personally. Par for the course for these hacks.