Subtitled: There's a reason liberals hate Democrats.
More on the US/Chavez drama at the UN: Democrats warn Chavez: Don't bash Bush. Charles Rangle, a Democrat from New York, had a few choice words for the Venezuelan President:
You don't come into my country; you don't come into my congressional district and you don't condemn my president.
You know, good humanist, caring, intelligent things to say such as:
If there's any criticism of President Bush, it should be restricted to Americans, whether they voted for him or not.
and:
I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chavez or any other president: Don't come to the United States and think, because we have problems with our president, that any foreigner can come to our country and not think that Americans do not feel offended when you offend our chief of state.
Nancy Pelosi chimes in:
Hugo Chavez abused the privilege that he had speaking at the United Nations. In doing so, in the manner which he characterized the president, he demeaned himself and demeaned Venezuela.
And so the so-called Democrats follow Hillary's lead and wrap themselves in the flag. When in doubt, go patriotic. Heck, go jingo! Say things about "foreigners" and defend "our" Leader from all these mean things the foreigner is saying about him! How dare someone who is not us, i.e., one of them, how dare he question the legitimacy of Bush's elections, how dare he call the President an imperialist, a wannabe John Wayne cowboy who doesn't understand politics, a threat to the world, and a thug!
I mean, it's not like all those things are TRUE, or anything.
The Dems should have kept their patriotic outrage in check. I don't know why they even bothered. The right wing is trashing them anyway. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity et al have been blabbering all over right wing A.M. radio that what Chavez said is no different from what Pelosi, Reid, Dean and other Democrats say about Bush on a regular basis. So they are pouring cold water on their hot words. What is it that is bothering the suddenly thin skinned Dems? That Chavez said what he said or that he said it on US soil? He was at the UN as the leader of a sovereign nation. He can say what he likes. It may be uncouth but hardly violates any international law - - unlike invading a country under false pretext.
Having said that, like Matt, I too am tired of juvenile verbal jousting by world leaders. Hugo Chavez is one of the worst culprits in his pissing contest with Bush. He has vast oil wealth and a poor and backward nation. True, the US govt. tried to topple his government and had him put in jail. But he triumphed. Why doesn't he concentrate on educating, enriching and healing his own citizens and helping his poor neighbors? Instead, he romps around the world and makes provocative threats and hurls silly insults at Bush. (Leave that to us bloggers, Hugo.) The result is that the wooden and inarticulate Bush ends up looking dignified before Chavez's middle school level taunts. Which again proves my point that the UN General Assembly Session is more about posturing than about sincere efforts at bringing about peace, prosperity and co-operation. I fervently wish that we will some day see a gathering of statesmen instead of a bunch of ego-driven politicians. But that may be a pipe dream.
Posted by: Ruchira Paul | September 21, 2006 at 11:31 PM
I agree, I wish Chavez would find something better to do with his time.
But as far as American politics go, yeah, that was pretty stupid. I'm sure they were trying to posture patriotically to appeal to the middle or something, but excessive nationalism is nothing to support, and then to top it off they've actually given Rush et al a legitimate talking point for once. To my knowledge the only thing Chavez said that they don't say was the hyperbole about Bush being the devil and charring the podium or whatever it was, and that (1) probably shouldn't be taken seriously, and (2) if taken seriously should be rejected as a stand-alone point. Don't say "hey you're foreign only *I* get to say those things about Bush and boy do I hate him now shut up!"
I wouldn't be surprised if they've managed to hurt themselves with both liberals and conservatives in this typical show of Dem-competence.
Posted by: Joe | September 22, 2006 at 12:39 AM
Chavez could boost his credibility by condemning Iran's leader instead of cozying up to him to the extent that he does. His selective amnesia when it comes to criticizing repression is telling. The democrats however, as this post indicates, are beyond redemption. They have zero intellectual grounding.
"Leave that to us bloggers, Hugo"
This is pretty much how I feel. Bush insults are quite fun but it's all about context. When Chavez crosses himself at the UN and acts cute and then sides with thugs like Ahmadinejad, he just torpedos his own position. Ideally, both domestic and international leaders would be stepping in to fill the credibility-vacuum that Bush has created on the world stage. Instead we're getting a mob of reactionary fools. Grr.
M(att)
Posted by: m | September 22, 2006 at 06:41 AM
What surprised me about the Democrats' fake outrage is the participation of Charlie Rangel. Unlike, Ms Goody Two Shoes Pelosi, I did not expect that Rangel was given to such pandering. But then who expects intellectual honesty from politicians? Iraq is in flames and we are hearing nothing about that because of all this drama surrounding Chavez and Ahmadinejad's overheated rhetoric at the UN and about Bush striking an anti-torture deal with "renegade" Republicans. No wonder the stupid Dems wanted to get into the limelight with their patriotic, nationalistic defense of Bush's honor. What a bunch of creeps! Now let's count the days until November when the lily livered Democrats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory -- once again.
Posted by: Ruchira Paul | September 22, 2006 at 10:34 AM
Is this the same Matt formerly of Cerulean Blue? Or a different one?
Posted by: Joe | September 22, 2006 at 10:51 AM
As far as I can tell, it is the same Matt - our friend from Cerulean Blue. But I will let him confirm his identity.
Posted by: Ruchira Paul | September 22, 2006 at 11:27 AM
M and Matt are the same. All on this site are good people so I don't mind dispelling the confusery.
Posted by: m | September 22, 2006 at 12:11 PM
Glad to see you're still around!
Posted by: Joe | September 22, 2006 at 09:28 PM
Thanks Joe! The blog this account links to, dead sparrows,is just therapy stuff, so it's repetetive and self-absorbed. My plan is to just read and comment here to get my political fix.
Posted by: m | September 23, 2006 at 03:22 AM