The ingoing Conservative quest to justify limitless lies, cynicism, and anti-democratic fascism from the Bush administration involves invoking so-called broader, universal themes. Bush is remaking the country and the world in a more democratic image, blah, and talking about that is especially convenient whenever it becomes clear, blah blah, that incessant deception is the modus operandi, blah blah blah, for this President. Blah blah blah blah.
Andrew Sullivan is at the forefront of this movement. And today, he takes it to a new level.
"By committing the U.S. simultaneously to a bigger welfare state (now coopted by the G.O.P.) and a policy of aggressive democratization abroad, president Bush is re-casting Cold War liberalism for the next century and calling it Republicanism. We have no idea at his point in history how this will or will not work out."
That's right, Andrew. The Medicare and Energy Bills are the logical continuation of the New Deal, the Civil Rights Act, and the Great Society. Right on. You go, girl.
(Sidenote: I have a good new GOP talking point. Giving money to the rich further incentivizes being rich (ie being rich means being richer). So the poor will have a greater reason to work hard and make money like George W. Bush did.)
Oh, and 'we have no idea at this point in history how this will or will not work out?' Yes we do. The world is going to shit. Congratulations George W. Bush. You've made us poorer and weaker, you've sacrificed hundreds of servicemen for no reason at all, and no one in their right mind trusts the word of the President of the United States.
'Aggressive democratization abroad?' Oh, that must be why (according to Sy Hersh's wonderful new article) we're funding and empowering the former Baathist security apparatus, why we're on track for premature withdrawal from Iraq while simultaneously arming local militias.
"Perhaps it takes a relatively modest man who never planned on being president to take such huge gambles on the future. But there is also something deeply American about it - in its perhaps excessive optimism and sheer determination."
Excessive optimism? Sheer determination? Pffff. Try excessive lying and sheer contempt for democracy. This whole obscenity about Bush the Great American Hero would be funny if it weren't so blatant a political ploy. And a modest man? Sullivan, you're a joke.
"It's that time of year. Most of you have heard the pledge drive spiel before but it's actually very simple. This website is reader-supported. 95 percent of all our income comes from you. We don't have an advertizing staff or marketing team or a big corporate sponsor. But the flip-side of this wonderful independence is that we depend on you to keep us afloat. Every year we make a pitch for the next year's funding - an appeal that last year managed to pay all our debts and provide a modest way to support me, our Letters Page editor, and all the expenses of a blog that now has the traffic (and also the costly bandwidth) of many well-funded political magazines online. It takes an enormous amount of work - around the clock, day in, day out - to keep this site full of content and links; and you're our only means of support."
I'm laughing my ass off right now.
