Jan. 31, 2004:  PoliSat .Com's Political Satire/ Commentary*   Daily Update # 01·· ™©·2004·(Home
*Where the satire is always commentary, but the commentary isn't always satire (but you'll know the difference)·
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John Kerry invokes the "Don't attack my patriotism" ruse.·

    John Kerry's heroism in Vietnam earned him the gratitude and respect of Americans (including this one), but it doesn't entitle him to mischaracterize criticisms of his political views (especially those on foreign policy) as "attacks on his patriotism."  Such reactions would merely serve to reduce, rather than enlarge or maintain, his stature.  

    He doesn't shrink from harsh criticism of policies with which he strongly disagrees, so he ought not try to imply that harsh criticism of his policies are the equivalents to attacks on his patriotism.  He's also not entitled to expect that every criticism of him be prefaced with laudatory homage to his undisputed heroism as though a critic is somehow obligated to include such preface in order to prevent harsh criticism from being characterized as an attack on his patriotism.  

    Even today, he's speciously characterizing harsh criticism of Max Cleland by Saxby Chambliss in the 2000 mid-term elections as attacks on Cleland's "patriotism."  If criticisms of Kerry today (and of Cleland in 2000) were attacks on their "patriotism," what were Kerry's attacks in 1971 on those who supported the Vietnam War?  What was Kerry's recent, posthumous attack on Nixon by characterizing the war started by the Democrat Lyndon Johnson and ended by the Republican Richard Nixon as "Nixon's War"?  Does not an accusation implying that a President purposely prolonged a war (and thereby countenanced many casualties) merely for political gain constitute an attack on such President's "patriotism."  So why does he feel so entitled to holler "foul" when those against whom he has "dished it out" reply in kind? 

Even heroes can be wrong-- even guilty of seriously flawed judgment.·

    Max Cleland, another indisputable hero who likewise earned the gratitude and respect of Americans (including this one) lessened this writer's respect for his civilian-life judgment by implying that his opponent's harsh criticism of his position on legislation to establish the Department of Homeland Defense constituted an attack on his "patriotism."   In the election in which Saxby Chambliss won Cleland's seat as Senator from Georgia, political controversy swirled around the extent to which legislation to create the Department of Homeland Defense should import labor-law limitations on managerial decisions affecting government-employee union members to be transferred into the new Department.  

    Cleland was supporting legislative procedures to delay creation of Homeland Defense until, and unless, the legislation were to be amended to satisfy the demands of the government-employee unions.  Chambliss characterized Cleland's willingness to do so as having the effect of delaying implementation of governmental changes deemed by virtually the entire government as being essential to improving our ability to counter terrorist acts within the United States. To characterize such criticism as an attack on Cleland's "patriotism" rather than his judgment is to set the threshold so low as to render such phrase meaningless and ineffective for characterizing criticisms that actually do constitute attacks on one's "patriotism."

    Like every American, my gratitude to, and admiration of the courage of, John McCain is unbounded.  Nevertheless, that does not oblige me to refrain from harshly characterizing what I perceive to be the anti-liberty effects of positions he embraces such as campaign finance "reform" forcing Americans desiring to be politically active to hire a lawyer in order to be sure what they may say for whom and when and what they may contribute to whom and to when in order to avoid criminality.  It doesn't oblige me to refrain from harshly criticizing his anti-liberty position on "Big Tobacco" while he luxuriated in the lap of "Big Beer."  It doesn't oblige me to refrain from harshly criticizing him when he joins in the class-warfare rhetoric on taxes that's so popular among left-of-center Democrats.  Such criticisms are not attacks on his "patriotism" and do not in any way diminish his entitlement to respect for the sacrifices he made for our country.  To McCain's credit, he rarely, if ever, has tried to characterize harsh criticism of his positions as attacks on his "patriotism."  Kerry should strive to follow McCain's example.

    With respect to people who harshly criticize others and/or oppose actions their opponents deem vital to reducing the risks of terrorism, the phenomenon of their trying to characterize harsh criticism of their positions as attacks on their "patriotism" or attempts to "censor" them is a manifestation of the very form of demogogueary it purports to condemn.  To harsh critics of Bush, whose right to criticize him harshly I defend (without being obliged to respect criticism I deem unfair) but who so quickly cast themselves as being crucified on the altar of free speech when they become the objects of in-kind criticism, I say, "Grow up!"  

Ganders at Sauce for the Geese-- A Political Duet Between Kerry and Kennedy.·

Hey, Johnny, I cannot believe
attacks by the Bushies on me
impugning my motives
for claiming his motive
for war was profits to reap.

Hey, Teddy, I surely agree
they're doing the same thing to me
for merely implying
our soldiers are dying
to re-elect Bush 43.

So what if we call him despotic
for toppling Saddam the psychotic.
When Bushies design
responses in kind,
they're claiming we're not "patriotic."

To view the animated version of this limerick-set duet between John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, click the image above to activate it.-- Jim Wrenn, Editor@PoliSat.Com.

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