The Ruthless Party
Back to the Hate Speech PageFrom the February 7, 2005 issue: The media tolerate or even encourage Democratic rage. But the White House can't afford to.
by Fred Barnes, for the Editors
02/07/2005, Volume 010, Issue 20ON THE EVE of the election in Iraq, Democratic senator Edward Kennedy called President Bush's Iraq policy "a catastrophic failure." He demanded that American troops immediately begin to withdraw. "We have no choice," he declared, "but to make the best we can of the disaster we have created in Iraq." Kennedy said the retreat of American forces should be completed "as early as possible in 2006," and suggested that, in Iraq, American troops are a bigger problem than terrorists.
Though appalling, Kennedy's statement was not out of character for Democrats these days. "I don't like to impugn anyone's integrity," said Democratic senator Mark Dayton, before impugning the integrity of Condoleezza Rice. "But I really don't like being lied to, repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally. It is wrong, it is undemocratic, it is un-American, and it is dangerous." After Rice took exception to being called untruthful by Democratic senator Barbara Boxer, Boxer complained on TV: "She turned and attacked me."
This is madness, but there is method in it. The talk among congressional Democrats is about the tactics Newt Gingrich used as House minority whip in 1993 and 1994. As they remember it, Gingrich opposed, blocked, attacked, zinged, or at least criticized everything President Clinton and Democratic leaders proposed. It was a scorched-earth approach, Democrats believe. And it worked, crippling Clinton and resulting in the 1994 election that gave Republicans control--lasting control, it turned out--of the House and Senate. Now Democrats, after losing three straight elections, hope brutal tactics will work for them.
So they ganged up on Rice, accusing her of lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, though they had relied on the same faulty intelligence about WMD. They blamed Alberto Gonzales, as chief White House counsel, of fostering the torture of captured terrorists. All he had done, however, was render a legal opinion on the status of terrorists under the Geneva Convention. As most experts agree, terrorists aren't covered. Kennedy threw the word "quagmire" around like confetti. And so on. What was the initial response of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to the president's idea of reforming Social Security? Bush wants to "destroy" the system, Reid insisted.
Yet Democrats act as if they're taking the moral high ground. Listen to Howard Dean, who's favored to become the next Democratic national chairman. Asked in an un-aired interview with Fox News to list his supporters for chairman, Dean said: "It's not likely I'm gonna make an announcement like that on Fox . . . because Fox is the propaganda outlet of the Republican party . . . . I have to weigh the legitimacy that it gives you."
Dean is delusional. He and other Democrats cannot confer or deny legitimacy. Nor do they really understand the lessons of the Gingrich era. True, Newt used rough tactics to tear down Democratic proposals and challenge Democratic leaders. He was relentless. But he was also an idea factory of conservative concepts and initiatives. His goal was to attract conservative voters who weren't Republicans. And he succeeded.
The 1994 breakthrough "was the culmination of a long process in which voters' ideology finally got in line with their partisanship," columnist David Brooks explained recently in the New York Times. "The Democrats today . . . have all the liberals. What they lack is support from middle-class white families in fast-growing suburbs. But by copying the Gingrich tactics--or what they think of as Gingrich tactics--of hyperpartisanship and ruthless oppositionalism, they will only alienate those voters even more."
Brooks is correct. Democrats misunderstand their situation. Their view is that Republicans have been mean and bruising while they've been too nice and forgiving. That's right. They think former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, who was plainly obsessed with obstructing Bush at every turn, was too kindly. The lesson of the 2004 election for Democrats, then, is that they need to play rough. The real lesson, of course, is that blatant obstructionism is a failed strategy. It's what caused Daschle to lose his seat.
The media tolerate or even encourage Democratic rage. But the White House can't afford to. Senate Democrats have enough votes to block major Bush initiatives like Social Security reform and to reject Bush appointees, including Supreme Court nominees. They may be suicidal, but they could undermine the president's entire second term agenda. At his news conference last week, Bush reacted calmly to their vitriolic attacks, suggesting only a few Democrats are involved. Stronger countermeasures will be needed, including an unequivocal White House response to obstructionism, curbs on filibusters, and a clear delineation of what's permissible and what's out of bounds in dissent on Iraq. Too much is at stake to wait for another Democratic defeat in 2006.
--Fred Barnes, for the Editors
Reply 1 - Posted by: Savoy6, 1/29/2005 3:15:22 AM
It is all too apparent that the democratic party is no longer a loyal opposition party. They have become an obstructionist dispicable anti-American cabal. Kennedy the murderer, ok maybe it was only manslaughter, is the epitomy of a seditious thug, reid is a man without principle, this from first hand experience, pelosy is deranged and boxer is a stupid woman. All of whom garner adoring followers from the far left and a robotic socialist press. We are in for a tough two years, until we take more seats in the House and Senate. Our country and our way of life are still in grave danger and these people are obsessed with politics.
Reply 2 - Posted by: MALA22, 1/29/2005 3:34:15 AM
Hey! Obstruction is what they do.
We all know who and what they are.
A smart man once told me,let your defeated enemies howl at the wind.
Reply 3 - Posted by: PLPointer67, 1/29/2005 3:37:05 AM
From the end of the article: "Stronger countermeasures will be needed, including an unequivocal White House response to obstructionism, curbs on filibusters, and a clear delineation of what's permissible and what's out of bounds in dissent on Iraq. Too much is at stake to wait for another Democratic defeat in 2006."
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! And, by the way, YES!
Reply 4 - Posted by: SpinMaster, 1/29/2005 3:40:37 AM
While I have only recently become a Republican, I have voted more Republican than dem for the last 5 years.
Barbara Boxer is one of the main reasons why I switched.
I believe the dems to be more the Toothless Party than the Ruthless Party. After all their bark is much worse than their bite.
Reply 5 - Posted by: stealthy, 1/29/2005 3:48:51 AM
So the plan seems to be to get America to fail so that everyone will see democrat kooks as being right all along.
Think about it, if we succeed, where does that leave them? They now have a vested interest in our defeat! Consequences be damned if it benefits them!
Where are the voices to expose this? MSM, no excuses, do your job. Once.
Reply 6 - Posted by: Ida Lil, 1/29/2005 3:55:46 AM
Those who the Gods would destroy and all that------ the dems are certainly in the stranglehold of madness.
Reply 7 - Posted by: PLPointer67, 1/29/2005 5:14:02 AM
Addendum to what #6 said:
"Madness is to have an erroneous perception
and to reason correctly from it."
Voltaire
Reply 8 - Posted by: saryden, 1/29/2005 5:15:40 AM
It has been fun to watch the meltdown of the Democrat Party.. their rage, their adolescent behavior, their unsuccessful search for decent candidates..
because I learned to hate them during the Clinton Impeachment and the discovery that they have become the Democratic Socialists of America. Their International Socialist Manifesto is oppositional to the U S Constitution.
Ted Kennedy is giving encouragement to the Terrorists with his maniacal statements.
Massachusetts needs to recall her two traitorous senators.
Reply 9 - Posted by: arikari, 1/29/2005 5:19:37 AM
Unless the Democratic leadership denounces Kennedy, they have proven they are a party that simply cannot be trusted with power. No one concerned about national security can possibly vote for them.
Reply 10 - Posted by: mws50, 1/29/2005 5:29:50 AM
Kennedy's State will never recall him.
It is time to try him for aiding and giving comfort to our enemy in a time of war. He is a traitor. He should be tried, convicted, and executed for his traitorous statements.
Reply 11 - Posted by: berserker, 1/29/2005 5:36:07 AM
The "Open Society Progressive Democrats", are viewing their gains for the past 40 years about to go down the drain of political hell. With GWB's ability to appoint conservative judges, their agenda advancing machine is being dismantled. For what they cannot pass thru legislation, their comrades in the courts push over the top and onto the backs of Americans. Desperate, in the death clasp from outsiders about to snatch their political stage from beneath their feet, their most precious companion POWER, may soon flee.
Reply 12 - Posted by: William of Westchester, 1/29/2005 6:07:40 AM
Post deleted. Use of initials, abbreviations, symbols, and/or coded references in order to circumvent language filter is not permitted.
Reply 13 - Posted by: ZurichMike, 1/29/2005 6:51:35 AM
#4, welcome to Big Tent GOP! I became a Republican because of George Bush back in the summer of 2000. Never looked back at my hideous leftist past (instilled in great part by my academic studies, where leftist professors were almost successful in convincing me that my values, my religion, and my family were just too "old fashioned" and out of place in the modern world.
Glad I woke up! And welcome again!
Reply 14 - Posted by: Fledrmaus, 1/29/2005 7:07:13 AM
What a party! Looks like it isn't just the Baathists who are dead-enders. Their other misunderstanding of the Newt Gingrich era is that Newt had the wind at his back in 1992 - the Republicans were WINNERS, and could claim to be leading the charge for the American people who had just elected them. The Democrats in 2005 are losers on every front; they can't claim to be the voice of the people because the people have just chosen the other guys to speak for them.
Reply 15 - Posted by: Halfgenius, 1/29/2005 7:13:00 AM
But we need people like the cut-and-run Oldsmobile pilot. We need him to keep reminding folks why they shoudn't vote Democrat. We need him to use as a reference point, as a counter point to show the goodness of the Republican party as compared to the evilness of the 'Rats. He's the perfect example of why it's not safe to allow Democrats into places of power, or trust them with national security.
Reply 16 - Posted by: lionesse, 1/29/2005 7:19:45 AM
2 observations:
In the past month, Captain Oldsmobile has asked Condi Rice about WATER TORTURE,what about prisoners thinking they are going to drown (Mary Jo Kopechne must have been spinning in his grave)
and now,
He talks about a phased withdrawal from Iraq...which is a Vietnam style quagmire.....his brother, JFK, BEING THE ONE most responsible for our buildup & quagmire status there. (I can hear JFK going SHUT UP Teddy, don't remind them).
IS HE SENILE OR STUPID?
Reply 17 - Posted by: Daisymay, 1/29/2005 7:27:32 AM
The more the Democrats put Leaders like Kennedy, Clinton and Boxer front and center, the better it is for Republicans. The CONTRAST between the two parties is glaring! Compare Kennedy to President Bush...no contest as to who is the more Moral, Kind, compassionate and Patriotic person. Compare Hillary to Laura Bush..no contest as to who is the Shrill, Lying and Manipulative Fraud and who is the Classy, soft spoken, husband loving and great example for women everywhere! Compare Barbara Boxer to Condi Rice...no contest! I would like to see Boxer's credentials so we can compare them to Condi's credentials. I'm guessing Boxer is greatly lacking in comparison, yet she went in front of the world and attacked Condi. The world noticed the difference!
Reply 18 - Posted by: ldroshine, 1/29/2005 7:28:41 AM
Doofus old swimmer Kennnedy is both stupid and senile - and how did he get that way you ask?
Well, the whiskey soaked old sow wanted to be POTUS - and he probably could have - but, then he drowned that poor girl Mary Jo. He thought us common folk should have demanded (drafted) him into the White House. We didn't (because he's guilty of murder) and he's hated us ever since. His hatred of our beautiful country knows no bounds - he intends to destroy us at any cost. However, we have our fabulous President George Bush - ahhh --- we're okay now.
Reply 19 - Posted by: G2BME, 1/29/2005 7:34:41 AM
#16...BOTH! And don't forget an alcoholic.
Reply 20 - Posted by: Jaybird, 1/29/2005 7:43:23 AM
Further into the abyss....
Reply 21 - Posted by: afraidfortherepublic, 1/29/2005 7:57:38 AM
#16 Is he senile or stupid? Well, he got kicked out of harvard for cheating -- I think it was paying someone to take his Spanish test. Only daddy's clout got him forgiven.
Reply 22 - Posted by: NorthernDog, 1/29/2005 7:59:06 AM
Welcome #4. Different viewpoints are allowed - you just have to defend them. Kennedy sees his life drawing to a close and has no legacy to speak of...except Chappaquiddick.
Reply 23 - Posted by: trotter, 1/29/2005 7:59:42 AM
Barnes hit it on the head in this article. Where Gingrich and the Pubbies had ideas and policy initiatives to offer, the dumbocrats have none. Led by Sen. Splash, they have become a party motivated by hatred and driven by a thirst for power for power's sake.
Reply 24 - Posted by: BonnieBlueFlag, 1/29/2005 8:00:02 AM
Senator Kennedy was sent out to make that 'major policy speech' by both Clintons and Kerry et al.
That speech was reminiscent of all that Kerry told the Congress and the American public, while we were still at war in Vietnam. (#16 is so right about Jack Kennedy.)
Only Kennedy, who will not be running for president in 2008, could chance coming out and pandering to their leftist base. Leaving the 2008 potential candidates free to see how the wind blows, before they disavow Kennedy or take credit for the clear vision of the Democratic party.
They have no real interest in the welfare of our country, they are only concerned about regaining their power individually and as a whole.
#4 and #13 Welcome. Most of us have made the same transition at various stages in our own lives, and it is never easy to do.
Reply 25 - Posted by: chatham, 1/29/2005 8:02:56 AM
Ted Kennedy is a Nasty Arrogant Self Indulgent,Murdering Drunk and it is absolutely Criminal that the people of Massachusetts continue to keep this Sop in Office.
He brings disrespect on the Country and on the office he holds.
Reply 26 - Posted by: Tulsa, 1/29/2005 8:03:43 AM
The Primary Legit function of the Fed. gov. is Defense. Every dime that goes for Defense is a dime the left can't spend on socialism. the left loathes the military.
the left is anti war and pro socialism. kerry/old media/the left is why we cut and run in VN. the left believes if they can turn the people against the battle in Iraq like they did in VN, that the Country will return to socialism and the Feds as mommie gov and give the left power again. The left wants Americans to believe we'll be just fine here at home and wants us to elect whichever socialist candidate they offer for potus. You see? no war...no problem. no war...more money for socialism and the decline of America.
the left is quite mad and quite dangerous.
Reply 27 - Posted by: fingerpicker, 1/29/2005 8:06:36 AM
It warms my heart to read posts of converts. Ronnie Reagan changed my life more than any person I've actually met.
I cannot imagine there are many adult converts on the other side. We get the ZurichMikes of the world, thankfully.
Reply 28 - Posted by: Tulsa, 1/29/2005 8:24:27 AM
yes, good 24, exactly.
teddy is, indeed speaking for the dnc. for the entire party. he has nothing to lose.
Reply 29 - Posted by: FunnyGirl, 1/29/2005 8:32:57 AM
He has end stage liver disease. The toxins build up in the blood because the liver can no longer filter them and it leads to confusion and dementia. Sounds like he's had it for the last 30 years.
Reply 30 - Posted by: mjsp, 1/29/2005 8:50:38 AM
kennedy (swimmer), clinton (deviate), kerry (botoxboy) should all be tried for treason. Our justice system needs fixed.
Reply 31 - Posted by: congar, 1/29/2005 9:05:17 AM
The Democrats have scarcely had a new idea in the past 30 years, and the ones that have been implemented have been disastrous failures for the most part. The only thing they have left is to rant, obstruct, and hope America fails. Their most destructive leftward loons compose the leadership of the party these days. Clowns like Michael Moore and Jimmie Carter sit aside one another in places of honor at their National Convention, symbolizing how far down the drain they have gone.
Reply 32 - Posted by: Anner40, 1/29/2005 9:11:58 AM
Should be a test for dementia for all DemRats. First Byrd and Fat Teddy to get them started.
Reply 33 - Posted by: DonQuijote, 1/29/2005 9:24:29 AM
Like ZMike, I left the D party in 2000 because of W and because I had suffered enough of the Dem's big "Lie to History." I teach at a university, and you cannot imagine how difficult they made things for me once another faculty member "outed" me as an R. We have got to let the rest of America see just what teh Dems have wrought. Keep the Zell Millers and the Joe Liebermans talking -- we need a two party system -- and they appeal to the reasoned members of their party.
What the left and the MSM is doing to America must be brought out. I do my best in my classes, but I am really crying in the wilderness. We need to keep fighting the good fight, for this is the most important battle of this century.
Reply 34 - Posted by: Douglas DC, 1/29/2005 9:24:44 AM
Zell Miller was a wakeup call to thinkng
Dems.However they seem to be in short supply.
The survival of Western Civilization is at hand.The Dems are the party of Nero,purposely
setting Rome on fire to remake it in their Image,not caring that they are contributing
to the Decline and Fall.....Traitors.
Reply 35 - Posted by: wes mouch, 1/29/2005 9:26:17 AM
#12, Kennedy's current rants are reminding people who he really is. I am now recalling things he's said and done that I'd pretty much forgotten, and I too want to learn more. But I say, turn up his mike; let everyone hear the dim abominations from the soul of the dim party.
Reply 36 - Posted by: pewman2, 1/29/2005 9:26:30 AM
teddy has exposed his intrinsic hatred for this country once more. this spoiled brat is guilty of at least manslaughter on mary jo, but now he is guilty of treason.
when will voters in mass. wake up. maybe when the next 9=11 hits Boston.
my dad always said, 'when your enemy is shooting himself in the foot, give him ammo and lots of room'
Reply 37 - Posted by: chief, 1/29/2005 9:30:53 AM
I must admit I read the previous posts kind of fast and maybe I missed it but I do not believe I saw one post lamenting the good old demo party that never existed.Now that is progress folks.We all need to realiize that the biggest socialist of them all was FDR and the demo party has been going down hill since then. SAT CONG
Reply 38 - Posted by: railfan, 1/29/2005 9:42:10 AM
The only member of the Kennedy family with any integrity was dear, departed Rosemary, Ted's sister. She was the one who tried to go her own way until her father (Papa Joe Kennedy) had her lobotomized. The Kennedys are high class trash, all of them.
Reply 39 - Posted by: scipiotexicanus, 1/29/2005 9:46:12 AM
There is no doubt that the words of Kennedy and his ilk have cost Americans and Iraqis their lives. The only question now is what are we going to do about it?
Reply 40 - Posted by: Brown Bear, 1/29/2005 9:53:36 AM
The leaders of the Democrat party behave as if the only way Democrats can succeed is to see America fail. So they're doing everything they can to encourage failure. Their puppets in Legacy Media do everything they can to create perceptions of failure.
Where is the line between helping America's enemy and becoming America's enemy?
Reply 41 - Posted by: cannonfodder, 1/29/2005 9:55:35 AM
The swimmer came to a crossroads early in life. He made the wrong decision, took the wrong turn and has continued to go the wrong direction for his entire adult life.
Clearly there are only two options. Either he is devoid of all commen sense and doesn't know the difference between right and wrong or he made a deal with the devil those many years ago and his path has been intentional and lead by another.
Reply 42 - Posted by: Sooner, 1/29/2005 9:57:34 AM
When we contrast our two political dynasties, the Kennedys and Bushes, we see a microcosm of the two parties. John and Bobby Kennedy didn't live long enough for a realistic assessment of their politcal life though we do know their morals. Teddy is known for a drowning and now for anti-Americanism. No Kennedy stands for a historic contribution to the Country. Father Bush was a kind, gentle man who did no harm but was too pragmatic to leave a mark. His son rose to the challenge of 9-11 and is a visionary who may well change the world.
Reply 43 - Posted by: distorted, 1/29/2005 10:01:40 AM
When I was a prosecutor I did not consider it a win unless the perps' family ran screaming from the courtroom when the verdict was read. Ted's outburst is a screaming win for us.
Reply 44 - Posted by: dblenicklebob, 1/29/2005 10:07:04 AM
"and a clear delineation of what's permissible and what's out of bounds in dissent on Iraq."
What's Fred actually proposing here anyway ?
Reply 45 - Posted by: Dixie, 1/29/2005 10:14:08 AM
Ted Kennedy behaved sort of like the Dixie Chicks.
He had a perfect right to say what he did. However, his choice of time and place made the action very questionable.
Better that he should have waited a couple weeks, and then made his remarks in a private interview.
Reply 46 - Posted by: TheMotherCO, 1/29/2005 10:17:53 AM
Just once, I would love to see the dems' "victim" in a hearing, tell them off and suggest that no one lied under oath like the liar and the hag did, over and over. If they had been concerned about lying, they certainly would have voted for impeachment. Even more, I would like for Condi or whoever to stand up and walk out until they are civilly treated. Those hearings are nothing but TV op time for the nasty dems and some pubbies. As for fat ted, the moron deluxe, at the sound of his voice yapping about "water torture", I would have said, you mean like Mary Jo Kopeckne felt? Watch those old buzzards curl up and fry in their own fat.
Reply 47 - Posted by: TunnelRat, 1/29/2005 10:18:51 AM
Sweet Victory:
'To crush your enemies beneath your feet;
to drive them before you;
to hear the lamentation of their women'...
Reply 48 - Posted by: GeneSmith, 1/29/2005 10:24:56 AM
''But they'd STILL vote for him in the Bay State''. That may change ever-so-slightly. The blue-haired 'Q-tips' who vote for him out of sympsthy for 'all the tragedy his family's been through' are dying off. The aging hippies who went to schools in Mass. and stayed still vote for him as do all the 'Rat base folks with their hands in our wallets. Everyone else is rapidly leaving Taxachusetts. When there's nobody left in Mass. to steal from to pay the bills, those on the dole will move on to greener pastures. 'Course by then, hopefully, Gasbag Teddy will only be a memory and a cheesey epitaph...
Reply 49 - Posted by: Talk2, 1/29/2005 10:25:33 AM
"If it's bad for the country, it's good for the democrats" and don't you forget it!!!!
Teddy is just doing what comes naturally to democrats - trying to destroy the country so democrats can regain their glory days.
Reply 50 - Posted by: nevernaught, 1/29/2005 10:27:50 AM
When you hear demented statements from people like Kerry, Boxer and Kennedy remember they are from blue states. The Republicans must mock them and then proceed to eliminate the filibuster in the Senate. Judges who understand the Constitution are a must, and especially those who do not try to legislate from the bench. Since the nuts over there are employing crash and burn tactics, additional whining from the Dims about filibustering will suffer from the 'crying wolf' factor.
Reply 51 - Posted by: CaptainE, 1/29/2005 10:30:26 AM
Condi's dream answer:
I find it interesting that the Senator from Massachusetts wants to talk about drowning. Would you also like to discuss gettting caught cheating in College?
Reply 52 - Posted by: tomwright, 1/29/2005 10:34:51 AM
I read an early report from the recovery divers that Miss Kopechne's head was in a waterles void in the back seat/rear window are of the car as it was positioned nose down in the water, he felt that if they, the divers had been summoned much sooner that Miss Kopochne would have survived, she was creamate, possible to cover up the fact that she DID NOT drown but suffocated, a terrible way to die.
EDWARD M. Kennedy, jr. senator, MA should have been tried for second degree murder.
Reply 53 - Posted by: inpajamas, 1/29/2005 10:44:35 AM
"..near treason" ????
That's being very very nice.
Reply 54 - Posted by: Bedford, 1/29/2005 10:45:29 AM
Politics aside, I cannot ever erase horror of what it must have been like to wake up in pitch black, to try to comprehend what happened to you, the terror of the realization that you are somewhere underwater, and gasp for your last breath in the darkness. The only person who knows, who can help, who can save you, is in a motel room conferring with his lawyers on damage control as your lungs fill. Then, from what has become your grave, you are recovered, cremated, your family paid off. The conscienceless psychopath who left you to a horrible death is still a Massachusetts icon. Evil! Monstrous evil! And this souless golem stands and addresses the nation as an 'Honorable' man. The voters in Massachusetts in general and the Blue States overall are as contemptible as he. Any godless mutt that will provide them their porridge and petting is fine with them. Only Massachusetts could have found a John Kerry to place alongside a Teddy Kennedy. Treason or not, alcoholic or not, the man is a hulking shell of evil with no spirit of good left in him.
Reply 55 - Posted by: walcb, 1/29/2005 10:45:52 AM
Democrat tactic of obstructionism will not work because they are on the wrong side of popular beliefs. Newt was successful because he had proposals for change when he obstructed the Democrat plan, Democrats of today have no plan.
Reply 56 - Posted by: rocket scientist, 1/29/2005 10:47:57 AM
I talked to someone who has been to Chappaquiddic and who has actually seen the bridge that Teddy The Swimmer drove off of. She said it is almost a stretch to call it a bridge, it is just a tiny little overpass over a small creek, not anything like a bridge over a river. I used to think maybe it was a good-sized bridge over a river but it is actually very small. She said you would have to really force yourself to drive off the bridge because it is so short, or you would have to be so bombed out of your mind that you couldn't see straight or else do it on purpose. Let's ask Teddy what happened.
Reply 57 - Posted by: rectifier, 1/29/2005 10:53:42 AM
Posters have suggested Kennedy, Hillary and Kerry may be accelerating the decline of the Democrat Party pointing out that their motivation is based more on their personal needs to recapture the reins of power and privilege than to further the goals of security and individual liberty that our founding fathers envisioned over 200 years ago and restated by President Bush.
But there's a bigger point. None of the bombastic vituperation of these demagogues of the Left would have any currency at all were it not for their principal sponsors, the mainstream media.
The MSM provides access and a platform for the voices of those they choose to be heard, while denying similar access to those with countervailing opinions. The MSM’s own goals, unfairness, and immunity from accountability are rarely challenged from within their own community.
If they succeed in having voters restore power to their chosen political servants, they will have even more effectively empowered themselves.
The fall of Eastern European countries to Communism after WWII was accomplished from within by the Communists' infiltration and takeover of the various ministries of information.
In 2004 Bush was not running against Kerry and the Democrat Party; he was running against the mainstream media.
Reply 58 - Posted by: herownself, 1/29/2005 11:02:07 AM
I don't like giving good advice to the Dems, but I suggest they study Rehoboam's tactics and see how well they worked.
Reply 59 - Posted by: udanja99, 1/29/2005 11:02:16 AM
#52, it's also been said that she was cremated to cover up the fact that she was pregnant with swimmer's kid.
Reply 60 - Posted by: Jerseycitysteve, 1/29/2005 11:06:46 AM
Did Fred Barnes use the word 'treason?' Did he say Senator Kennedy's words were close to treason?
No, Mr. Barnes did not. Fred Barnes is too sharp a writer to ruin his fine article with such a silly charge.
Reply 61 - Posted by: petie3, 1/29/2005 11:09:40 AM
#21 yes he paid his roommate to take his Spanish test and got caught. The roommate? Somewhat famous (because of his name) former one-term Senator John Tunney.
Reply 62 - Posted by: Bark4life, 1/29/2005 11:21:01 AM
It's shows how far the Dem party has slipped when DiFi sounds like the voice of reason.
Reply 63 - Posted by: tofu, 1/29/2005 11:28:15 AM
Good #2. I take solace when I remember the Dixie Chicks. Perhaps this Senator will become the 4th Dixie Chick. Nobody's listening, nobody's buying their CD's and nobody's going to their concerts.
Reply 64 - Posted by: micktexan, 1/29/2005 11:29:44 AM
As hard as it is, and I detest Kennedy for his traitorist ramblings, it is good for this country to see just how totally pathetic this man and his party are!
I just fear the Dims will come up with someone that fools the American public, once again, ala Clinton...
From what I have been observing, the majority of the American public has the Dims number and will not be favoring this bunch of Socialist Loosers any time soon.
Now it remains to be seen if the Senate Republicans will find a backbone and change the rules so these mainiacs don't have an opportunity to block President Bush' agenda and judicial appointments.
Reply 65 - Posted by: saucy, 1/29/2005 11:38:02 AM
Boxer and Kennedy are the parenthesis (according to Tom Wolfe). They are irrelevent, idiotic and has-beens, yet they represent so many of us that are truly disgusted by them.
I feel helpless and frustrated with the inabliity to get rid of them.
What to do?
Reply 66 - Posted by: arkie, 1/29/2005 11:39:49 AM
From Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution of the United States,
'' Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.''
Adhering to our enemies is treason, pure and simple. And unfortunately, some people think our Constitution is ''ridiculous''.
Reply 67 - Posted by: mrduc, 1/29/2005 11:46:46 AM
The Swimmer should be hanged for treason. But, rope they'd have to use would have to be the size of the docking lines they use for the Queen Mary 2.
Reply 68 - Posted by: pinger, 1/29/2005 11:48:44 AM
Two points....what Gingrich "did" to the Dems in the early 90's "worked" becuase he was speaking truth about a corrupt adiminstration and in the end, people accept the truth as what it is. Lies won't work for the Dems. Keep trying, but it won't work.
As for Kennedy, good people die every day. It's a shame that this poor excuse for a human being can't hit the "trifecta."
Reply 69 - Posted by: Chance, 1/29/2005 11:56:50 AM
Ted Kennedy was cloned. They were experimentig on donkeys at the time and made a mistake and gave Kennedy the Jackasses brain.
Reply 70 - Posted by: BubbaEuler, 1/29/2005 12:19:04 PM
I just received my newest book, ''The Federalist Papers in Modern Language Indexed for Today's Political Issues'', Edited by Mary E. Webster.
I can not put it down!
El Cheapo book, excellent read for non-jurists and/or lawyers.
Reply 71 - Posted by: donna quixote, 1/29/2005 12:24:08 PM
Sometimes I wish the Republicans would switch from the *highroad* of citing free speech etc. to the low road of calling the dems what they really are...traitorous lice. Most of the dems speaking out would not be able to do so in any other country. Old Joe Kennedy would probably died in some IRA gunfight and, without the money, the Kennedys would have been zilch.
Reply 72 - Posted by: Christie, 1/29/2005 12:33:35 PM
As King Lear would say: "Blow wind, crack your cheeks and blow!!!"
Teddy is just a stale bag of hot air and is barely tolerated by his fellow wing nuts.
Fred did a great job here but I'd add a T to ruthless.
Reply 73 - Posted by: mimsy, 1/29/2005 12:39:15 PM
The bilious and bloated TK is already drowning in bombast. I'm going to get that new edition of The Federalist Papers.
Reply 74 - Posted by: Goldengriz, 1/29/2005 12:42:41 PM
After hearing TK's tirades and hot air the last few months, I wonder if he has gone over the edge into mental insanity. Should someone test him for alzheimers or something
Reply 75 - Posted by: Mother of AL, 1/29/2005 12:43:58 PM
Holy cow, #54, why don't you tell us what you really think???:-))!!! But, having said that, I have never read a better description of Ted Kennedy.
Reply 76 - Posted by: guy, 1/29/2005 12:46:46 PM
Chappaquidick Charlie doesn't write this stuff. Remember, he paid someone to take exams for him when he was enrolled in college. Some staffer is pulling the strings..
Reply 77 - Posted by: Judge, 1/29/2005 12:50:50 PM
have another drink, swimmer. You are truly pathetic
Reply 78 - Posted by: tootsweet, 1/29/2005 12:52:35 PM
Old Joe Kennedy was raising gun funds for the IRA, who promised him further exclusive Irish Wiskey distribution licenses in the US, to suppliment his Scotch rights he received while Ambassador to England.
The fact that he was double-crossing the British means little, he was already a Hitler supporter and found in his dear Catholic Ireland the same Hitlerist support, ne: against the British.
Reply 79 - Posted by: yeahsuredad, 1/29/2005 1:00:25 PM
What more can be said that hasn't over several hundred threads about this porcine pustule?
But #5 gave me more to think about than all the other comments combined. At least for me, a revelation. Go back and read it again.
Reply 80 - Posted by: GreatPlains, 1/29/2005 1:12:15 PM
" Near " treason ??
Ted Kennedy sounds like he is Al Zarqari's PR flack. They talk from the same page.
I bet many L Dotters don't know that Kennedy was expelled from Harvard for cheating.
The younger L Dotters should read up on what happened at Chappaquiddick.
There is an excellent web site , with pages and pages of photos ,interviews and timelines.
Do a Google on Chappaquiddick and it should be the first one up.
Teddy after drinking heavily and driving with an expired license, drove into a pond and left a woman to drown in his car.
After abandoning the car and Mary Jo,
he got himself miles away from the scene, showered and put on dry clothes,
called his lawyers and political advisors to set the cover up in motion,
chit chatted with locals as if it were just another sunny summer day ,
and never reported the accident.
The car was discovered 8 hours later by fishermen and in the beginning, Kennedy denied knowledge of the situation and never mentioned Mary Jo.
This is the same man who calls our soldiers more horrible than Hussein, because some Iraqis had panties on their heads.
And the MSM lets him get away with it.
Reply 81 - Posted by: mimsy, 1/29/2005 1:14:35 PM
You are right.....and that makes all of them traitors to our country. THey have a vested interest in our failure. Apparently, they are too stupid to see that abject failure leads to the abyss for all--not just conservatives.
Reply 82 - Posted by: lelande, 1/29/2005 1:22:07 PM
The success of America in Afghanistan and Iraq and later in Iran is a great Republican victory. The democrats will not be at the peace table ever. Their decline hastens and the sooner the better. Billboards in L.A. thank the communist left in Hollywood for helping elect George W. One states, "Four More Years," and the other says something like, "We Won, You lefties lost. Get used to it." I love it. they will stay up during the Oscars for all of Hollywood and the worlds to see.
Reply 83 - Posted by: browneyes, 1/29/2005 1:24:49 PM
I just received a reminder from the RNC to renew my 2005 membership. Well, perhaps a few thousand letters to the RNC suggesting the Senate leadership get cracking on the issues of the oaths of office they take, a reading of words uttered "in the record" by Biden, Boxer, Kennedy, et, al and holding news conferences describing their efforts to "assure the American people" of the determination of our Government to stay the course as outlined by the American President, GWBush.
Reply 84 - Posted by: dot66, 1/29/2005 1:33:03 PM
A link for DonQuijote: I do the best I can in my classes too--but not much is appropriate. One thing I do though is give them this as a handout for discussion: http://ssl.shu.ac.uk/dissertation/?sec=700&que=3 Scroll to the bottom and look at the right-hand column of the table. Most succinct version I've seen--perfect description of everything we hear out of Democrats--including Legacy Media. Every propaganda trick there is....
Reply 85 - Posted by: RunRow, 1/29/2005 1:52:19 PM
The besotted Splashs' rantings are giving aid and comfort to the terrorists. Treason!
Reply 86 - Posted by: mimsy, 1/29/2005 1:59:51 PM
Thanks, dot. I bookmarked it, too.
Reply 87 - Posted by: Clipper, 1/29/2005 2:04:14 PM
I heard Biden thought Kennedy's remarks were ill timed. Does he have the cojones to get up on the Senate floor and chastise one of his own? No!
Ole Kennedy needs to made an example of by his peers. He needs to be censured by the full US Senate. President Bush can make oblique references to the behavior in time of war but Senators Frist, McConnell and Santorum the leadership need to take to the floor and excoriate him and draw up censure papers. I guess the NY Times and Wapo and other left leaning papers will say he is being picked on.
Where is Joe Lieberman on this one? This would be a great opening for Hillary to speak out against him for her own political reasons. That's the way the clintoons operate.
Reply 88 - Posted by: mama meatballs, 1/29/2005 2:20:25 PM
The Dems are taking a serious toll on certain Americans. Not all of us read multiple news sources. Many of us are 'sound biters'. And the sound bites from the Democrats, amplified by the MSM, guides the opinions of unthinking Americans. The letters to the editor in my town are utterly absurd and reflect the end result of minds
exposed to news ala Jennings, Rather, et. al.
It troubles me.
Reply 89 - Posted by: browneyes, 1/29/2005 2:27:54 PM
# 87, Biden was in the ME just after Christmas & said Bush is not doing a good job, etc. The Dems. in the Senate will continue to cite their 1st amendment rights, even Kennedy's. What the Rebubs. need to do is get out in front of the media and keep suggesting the behavior of a few Dems is bordering on sedition.
Reply 90 - Posted by: Clipper, 1/29/2005 2:38:39 PM
#62 mentioned Difi as "the voice of reason. It was a case of good cop/badcop.
With Boxer taking the low road because she has 6 more years and Difi up for re-election and being near Stanford "obviously" she should have introduced her.
The Republicans need to find the best female in CA to run against that Lib whose hubby is making millions with govt contracts for the war effort.
Kennedy was out front doing Kerry's Viet Nam anti war speech only Kerry was to cowardly this time thinking about 2008 "Soreloserman" Kerrsy has Kennedy doing his dirty work. Kennedy certainly needn't worry about the swifites only the DT's.
I think Kennedy didn't consult with the clintoons as Kerry hates the clintoons.
Reply 91 - Posted by: LadyVet, 1/29/2005 2:59:14 PM
That mention of Biden being in the ME just after Christmas reminds me of the story of the soliders who had been up for 24 hours and had collapsed in exhaustion as they waited for a plane to take them back to the States after their tour of duty. Their plane was co-opted by ''some politicians'' and they had to wait for another plane. But back in the U.S., the pilot of their plan announced that they were aboard and that they would be allowed to de-plane first. All the other Southwest passengers gave the soldiers a round of applause.
Wonder if this was Biden or Kerry? (Do you know who I am??)
Reply 92 - Posted by: Medieval One, 1/29/2005 3:05:57 PM
I lived in the Bay Area near San Francisco in the late '60s when Bobby Kennedy was running for President. It was a day before the Democratic Primary vote, which he won, and I went out to see him. When he got off the helicopter he looked pale, exhausted, shorter than on t.v. and when I shook his hand I felt his energy was depleted. After the election results came in and he had won, Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed him. He would have been the next President with the Kennedy name and Teddy would have had to wait his turn. If not for Mary Jo the Kennedy worshipers would have voted him in. God works in mysterious ways.
Reply 93 - Posted by: Hard Nard, 1/29/2005 3:10:46 PM
In the days od WWII people like Teddy, Boxer, and Byrd would have been removed in handcuffs for the things they have said. Bring back the good old days!
Reply 94 - Posted by: Bark4life, 1/29/2005 3:11:54 PM
#90, believe me, I live out here & know what DiFi is capable of. If only the Ca Pubbies could come up with a quality canidate to run against either her or Babs then maybe I'll start supporting them again. Tom McClintock, or Condi herself might be good choices...
Reply 95 - Posted by: diehard, 1/29/2005 3:19:29 PM
No matter how much they all show their behinds, we can thank them. Check out http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=6451
Reply 96 - Posted by: victorfree, 1/29/2005 3:23:43 PM
Excellent, #54! I wish to add my little bit by quoting God. "unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." A review of the history of the foundation of this Nation and the results of the last general election show that He is the builder of this house. He is also our Protector and Defender. This ship of state is abroad on stormy seas and the storms will get worse and more violent. But, the One Who calms the seas merely by raising His hand is the Captain of this Ship and He will prevail. Even now, God is arising and His enemies are being scattered. Keep believing, keep praying, keep engaging in the process, NEVER give up.
Reply 97 - Posted by: cannonfodder, 1/29/2005 3:24:33 PM
Research the Kennedy family history sometime.
The Kennedy men have been proven to be nothing more than criminals, racists, murderers. rapists, adulterers, etc, etc. And to think the swimmer has compared Bush to a Nazi more than once. Seems he's just describing himself and his family.
Reply 98 - Posted by: Reality, 1/29/2005 3:37:52 PM
I agree with # 76. The Bolviator did not write this speech, even though it was treasonous and provided aid and comfort to the terrorists, it was much too coherent to be written by him. Also note the delivery, even though he missed pronounced several words, there was an absence of his characteristic ah-ah -ah.
He is becoming just a mouthpiece for the radical left in the Anti American Party.
Reply 99 - Posted by: alltheway, 1/29/2005 3:43:53 PM
How can they do their job when they are part of the overall conspiracy to overthrow America!!
Reply 100 - Posted by: jt33, 1/29/2005 3:59:40 PM
YTedK.Com has details and timeline of the murder of Mary Jo Kopechne.
