Lying your way into war? Apparently not a scandal.
December 30, 2009 12:38 pm ET by Jamison Foser
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder wants to know what people think is "the best (or worst) Republican political scandal of the decade?" Ambinder offers four choices:
Not mentioned? The Bush administration lying its way into a war of choice, listening in on the phone conversations of Americans, torture, Abu Ghraib, putting an unqualified crony in charge of FEMA, the US Attorneys firing, outing a CIA operative to get back at her husband, etc.
I don't think Ambinder is unique in his view of what constitutes a major political scandal, not by any stretch of the imagination. But when the political/media elite come to view the possibility that Larry Craig tried to pick up a guy in an airport as more scandalous than Abu Ghraib, warrantless wiretapping of Americans, or the dishonest march to war against a country that didn't attack us, we're in pretty bad shape.
I think even without partisanship, you and I together could come up with a dozen scandals that are more damaging to the Republicans than a few affairs and a Senator tap dancing in a men's room stall.
How would you explain them?
If you've got a competing explanation (although I'm pretty sure you mean "definition" of scandal), by all means, offer it.
I dont see those as scandals just the usual - like sex with interns and making a political crony homeland security boss
If it wasn't for Jon Stewart, we wouldn't have any "serious" news at all.
I have come to believe that the electorate gets the news it demands. And why I watch BBC.
Thank goodness for MMFA. And Happy New Year to all.
- Steve Lebowitz, Annapolis
Only because the Dems were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt because they're decent guys and because the nation was attacked on 9/11 and because the Dems wanted to support the troops, that's the only reasons why it didn't become an impeachable offense.
The boots on the ground were the UN Weapons Inspectors who not only visited ALL of the most likely places for Iraq to have stored or manufactured WMD's, and found nothing, but they also talked to many, many scientists, soldiers and politicians who would have known about WMD munitions, and they were told that Iraq hadn't had any WMD's for a decade, and had no ability to make any.
So, he had real factual information, and he had debunked intelligence ("intelligence" = educated guesses), and he went with the debunked intelligence instead of the factual information. That's what makes the invasion 100% wrong and unjustifiable.
Planting a gay stripper in the Press room as a "reporter"
and
Releasing three Gitmo detainees who recently conspired to blow up airplanes
1 - Bush ignoring terrorism warnings prior to 9/11 attacks, concentrating instead on tax cuts for his wealthy friends.
2 - Valerie Plame being outed as a CIA agent.
3 - Bush Misadministration's handling of Hurricane Katrina aftermath.
4 - Over 4,000 of our finest young men and women and countless Iraqis dying because of Bush's WMD lies.
1 - Bush ignoring terrorism warnings prior to 9/11 attacks, concentrating instead on tax cuts for his wealthy friends.
4 - Over 4,000 of our finest young men and women and countless Iraqis dying because of Bush's WMD lies.
3 - Bush Misadministration's handling of Hurricane Katrina aftermath.
2 - Valerie Plame being outed as a CIA agent.
1,Afganistan,It was the right thing to do after 9/11,but the BUSHIES botched it.They tried to do it on the cheap by using CIA and AFGAN tribes instead of regular troops.When the American Commander on the ground requested 800 army rangers to block 3 mountain passes leading from Afganistan into Pakistan, his request was refused further up the chain of command, allowing Bin Laden and his people the opportunity to escape.
2, Terry Schivo, the administration and the Political RIGHT used this families tradgity for political gain.For a Party that decrys GOVT intervention in personal matters they sure were quick to intervene to stop her feeding tube from being disconected. they wouldn't listen to the doctors on the ground and brought in their own "experts" to push their line that she had a chance. After the dust settled and an autopsey was performed on her it was discovered that her brain had shrunk to less than half it's size supporting what her Doctors had said origionally, that she was in a permanent vegitative state. But the administration and its RIGHT WING LACKIES wouldn't believe that because it didn't suit their position.They caused this family an untold amount of grief and sorrow and should be horsewhipped for it.
She wanted to be able to control her own body, just like women who want to have an abortion want to control their own bodies, rather than the unborn fetuses or some other busybody!
And how does the Republican Party resolve their stated purpose to not interfere with personal choices with interfering with Terry Schiavo's choices?
Her parents wanted to worship a body that no longer housed the 'person' that Terry Schiavo had been. The tissue and bone and hair aren't the 'person'. The intelligence, the personality, the memories - that's what the 'person' is, and that was gone WRT Terry Schiavo. Someone needed to tell them that.
They call them scandals??? LOL! Man they need to do more research into the GOP. How about the weapons trades with Iran to release hostages? How about invade a country under false pretense, about weapons we gave them in the 1980's?
Now those are some scandals!
Don't ask what...just think, muse for a minute. What is the elephant in the room? The freakin' giant, unsustainable, recovery defeating DEFICIT.
Now, before you get your panties in a wad, I, a life-long Democrat, am not laying the problem at any parties' feet. I am looking forward. It's for the Republicans, Democrats, Independents, 3rd party, any party to shoulder the responsibility for. The scandal is that our government hasn't.
Shouldn't Media Matters be about cutting through partisan garbage and getting at the truth ?
By the way, I'm not a Republican, I'm a Libertarian and I'm not excusing the Republicans for their corruption, either/
I love how this little bit of "misinformation" is still being quietly pushed forward to smear the Bush Admin.
What? You didn't get the memo either Jamie?
Why The Unprecedented Barry has EXPANDED the Warrantless Wiretap provisions. They even set a higher legal bar to sue!
Go ahead and include it Jamie, but remember, full disclosure!
As a retired teacher, I was always required to address my students by their preferred names and to avoid addressing them by any other moniker. This is a lesson you still have to learn regarding President Obama. I know you use it as a sign of disrespect and/or to delegitimize him, but it has the opposite effect: you come across as someone not deserving of respect, and someone who is petty, vindictive, delusional, and not really interested in America's well-being, only your own.
I told the girl that the 'rules' have changed, and she gets to decide what she's called. No longer is it the right of others to determine if someone is black just because they have 1/16th african-american blood in them, or whatever that silly rule was! That rule, in retrospect, makes the people who made the rule and supported its existence, look petty, vindictive, delusional and not really interested in America's well-being, and only interested in their own well-being.