Extraordinary Rendition: Revisited While vacuuming the shop, I had this thought regarding the lack of protest to the US program of rendition. While everyone will surely conceed that no one on the political right will go out of their way to bring criticism toward the war or intelligence efforts, is the reason the (generally boisterous) political left pays so little attention to the abuses associated with rendition due to the fact that the program is not directly attributal to G.W. Bush? and if it is, what does that say about how genuine the left is regarding US violations at Abu Grahib and the alleged violations at Guantanomo Bay?
I'm really looking for someone to argue that the left is motivated by some set of principles other than "Bush=Hitler" and has some other political agenda besides Bush-NO, Social Security Reform-NO, Tax Reform-NO, Judicial Confirmation Votes- NO, and Abortion- YES. (that means you CharlesPierce, I'm throwing down the proverbial gauntlet)
I'm really looking for someone to argue that the left is motivated by some set of principles other than "Bush=Hitler" and has some other political agenda besides Bush-NO, Social Security Reform-NO, Tax Reform-NO, Judicial Confirmation Votes- NO, and Abortion- YES. (that means you CharlesPierce, I'm throwing down the proverbial gauntlet)
posted by Justin at 5:34 PM 
3 Comments:
Well, jackscolon, if you've been paying attention to my posts and comments on my and other blogs, you know I'm not too happy with the left right now. Aragorn described them well in ROTK:
"They believe in nothing. They answer to no one."
It does seem like all they've done lately is filibuster Bush's judicial nominees (which I also disagreed with) and torpedo Bush's social security plan (which I'm sort of glad about, because no one on any side was giving us the truth about that.)
I'm not sure why they haven't brought more attention to the extraordinary rendition issue. The funny thing that everyone forgets is that they all voted overwhelmingly to support everything Bush has done militarily--and then a few of them go and complain about it. Big deal. When you're a senator you're 1 vote of 100, and your vote counts way more than your empty rhetoric.
So, I can't really give you the left's plan right now--with only 44 senators they're not going to be able to ram any legislation through anytime soon. Isn't there something to be said for checking other people's power? I think nearly everything Bush has done has been terrible, though I don't toe the party line when it comes to the left. I'm a progressive, and so Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton and the comfortable corporacrats don't speak for me.
Well said.. as for checking other people's power- I believe there is a difference between standing up against things you don't agree with and just standing up against anything the current administration is trying to do. That said... I'm interested in what exactly a progressive democrat wants out of any administration, lest I continue to lump you in with the "corporacrats".
I want things I can't get--for example, I want existing tax codes enforced so that tax rates on upper middle class and middle class people can be lowered; I want an end to giant government subsidies to corporations and factory farms; I want comprehensive, job-training focused programs for blacks in inner cities so that pathetic "issues" like welfare and affirmative action become irrelevant; I want to stop fighting unjust wars; I want Osama Bin Laden burnt or dead; I want the UN to take control of the Sudan situation.
You wrote: "I believe there is a difference between standing up against things you don't agree with and just standing up against anything the current administration is trying to do."
Sure--but don't pretend that I'm in Washington right now raising hell just for the sake of raising hell. I evaluate everything on a case-by-case basis, and in some circumstances, I've been with the corporacrats. I'll give you two examples.
I thought the lead-up and execution of the Iraq war were straight out of 1984, so I was crushed when every single politician in Washington jumped on the warwagon. Every Democratic senator or congressman who complains now about torture or quagmires or anything is a spineless weasel hypocrite. They disgust me. The only thing worse than being a spineless weasel hypocrite corporacrat is being a bloodthirsty, warmongering minister of propaganda like Rove/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz, so take your pick: SWHC or BWMP. It's not a pretty picture.
The filibustering saga was stupid. While I didn't think the Democrats had gone "beyond the pale" or "crossed the line" or "over the top," they should have just let the nominees step up to the plate and then gotten rid of them the man's way: BY VOTING THEM DOWN. Pansies!
That's all I have to say right now.
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