| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Randy" |
| Date: |
06 Jun 2007 01:51:23 PM |
| Object: |
Live Free or Die: The Republican Debates |
June 6, 2007
Live Free or Die: The Republican Debates
By John Pagoda
The first of the presidential primary debates are becoming a part of the
forgettable past. I watched some of the Democratic debates but the one last
night in New Hampshire spoke volumes about the king makers in the media who
focused on Clinton, Obama, and Edwards while the rest including a few who
really had the courage of their convictions e.g. Dennis Kucinich holding
someone in this administration accountable for this unjust, immoral, and
illegal war of aggression in Iraq for the most part were marginalized by the
media.
Yet dissecting what is presented as "the Democratic debates" passing for one
of their core values "equality" and the exposure of that sham as an
opposition party is for another day because what intrigues me at the moment
is the upcoming Republican debate to be held tonight in New Hamsphire.
Indeed I've been following the Republican debates more closely. Perhaps to
satiate some psychological need to face hypocrisy and be sufficiently
repelled by it to claim the emperor isn't wearing any clothes.
Or perhaps my curiosity is peaked by a political ideology based on
maintaining the status quo by whatever means necessary that is removing
itself further from reality by denying the simplest of truths i.e. life
itself is in a perpetual state of change. Hypocrisy is no stranger to
Democrats but Republicans excel at shameless rank hypocrisy.
My interest was initially generated by the first of the Republican debates
conducted in the Reagan library. Reagan was for Republicans what FDR and
Kennedy were for Democrats and the media was sensationalizing the event to
increase viewership by framing the debate between several candidates each
trying to more closely resemble the traits of the great communicator himself
while the politicians on the stage were willing participants playing their
role by citing someone they could never be.
Perhaps no one was more transparent as a demagogue than the so-called front
runner Rudi Giuliani. I'm referring here to a specific comment by the
leading Republican Presidential candidate during the first Republican debate
which reflected the degree to which he was removed from reality and the
manifestation of that mindset in the most recent Republican debate.
Giuliani's comment in the first Republican debate that really exposed the
vast expanse between his perception of reality and reality itself occurred
when he stated that Iran "looked in Ronald Reagan's eyes and in two minutes
they released the hostages". Indeed it was Giuliani who was offering an
absurd explanation of the Iranian hostage crises that was both extraordinary
and reckless by mistaking the make believe of television for reality.
Chris Matthews mentioned "the October Surprise" in his post debate analysis
but failed to provide any substantive relationship as if assuming everyone
knew that members of the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign met with
representatives of Ayatollah Khomeini's government i.e. the terrorists who
were holding 52 Americans hostage thereby committing a federal offense at
the very least by engaging in foreign policy offering to trade weapons via
Israel to an Iran at war with Iraq in return for releasing the hostages when
Reagan was inaugurated. In essence Iran got a better deal looking into
Reagan's eyes than talking to Carter.
During the second Republican debate Giuliani set himself apart from the pack
when Rep Ron Paul (perhaps the only "real" Republican on the stage i.e.
against big government, for fiscal responsibility and defense of the country
by not involving ourselves in the affairs of other sovereign nations)
mentioned that 9/11 "here" was in response to and a result of our presence
"there".
It was not the "absurd explanation" Giuliani claimed it to be for the
factual history is that Osama Bin-Laden did indeed claim that acts of
terrorism against the United States were based on U.S. troops on the sacred
soil of Saudi Arabia, U.S. support of Israel's persecution of Palestinians,
and the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqis most of whom were women and children
from the first Gulf War conducted by the U.S.
In response Giuliani said: "That's really an extraordinary statement, as
someone who lived through the attack of 9/11, that we invited the attack
because we were attacking Iraq. I don't think I ever heard that before, and
I have heard some pretty absurd explanations for Sept. 11" and added that
Rep Paul withdraw the comment and say he didn't really mean it.
Rudi Giuliani's remarks provided an open window into the same small mind of
our current demagogue that divides people rather than brings them together
for the common good and that same delusional mind which is so divorced from
reality that in a display of utter disrespect for his opponent he openly
mocked the truth and the truth teller as well.
The venom of Giuliani's words was greeted with a thunderous applause from an
obviously uniformed blissful audience as if by loudly applauding ignorance
they would make reality disappear the more they clapped.
In response to Giuliani's display of unmitigated gall when asking the truth
teller to deny the truth Rep Paul sent Giuliani a list of foreign policy
books giving him an opportunity to educate himself but Giuliani's campaign
stated Rep. Paul's claims were extraordinary and reckless. In essence a Rudi
Giuliani America will have little tolerance for the facts that support an
uncomfortable truth and Rep Paul should have offered the same book list to
Joe Klein and the other watchdogs of democracy that shape public opinion.
Meanwhile saner minds prevailed when the Fox News tally showed Rep Paul
winning the debate while Giuliani was third none of which prevented the
media establishment sycophant Joe Klein from claiming in Time Magazine that
Rudi won the debate and reduced Paul to history".
Once again the "lie" triumphs over the truth, once again the press exercises
its freedom by obeying its master and covering it up by barking on command
but at the end of the day there will be consequences for the truth of our
deeds and not the lies on the lips of our current delusional demagogue and
his true believers.
How ironic that the next Republican debate takes place in the "live free or
die" state of New Hampshire. If the truth shall indeed set us free what then
are we as a people when we deny the truth and applaud our own ignorance? If
the truth teller is marginalized as a fringe candidate whose presence on the
stage is questioned and the demagogue who really isn't fit to lead this
country is crowned the leading contender then our future can be found in
Kafka's observation that "there is hope, but not for us".
Authors Website: http://wintersoldier.org
Authors Bio: The author is the Contributing Editor of Rabble Rouser On-Line
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