Lies, Damn Lies and Right-Wing Commentary
Thanks to Bob Geiger at the Yellow Dog Blog, I just got notice about this depressingly predictable screed, written for an obscure right-wing fear- and falsehood-spreading site called Move America Forward by local KSFO talk-radio commentator and Ann Coulter-wannabe Melanie Morgan. It is currently making the rounds of the right-wing loonosphere, swift-boating its way across email systems all over the country calling any and all Americans who dare to question the wisdom of the current policy in the Iraq war "traitors" (and isn't that meme getting just a bit tired by now?). It contains much of the usual wingnut cant, of course -- castigating Cindy Sheehan, calling Rep. John Murtha a coward, accusing Bill Clinton of "emboldening" Osama bin Laden (typical Republican misdirection -- when in doubt, blame Clinton for something!), etc. etc., ad nauseum. The number of people who are guilty of her accusations would seem to be about two-thirds of the country these days, but that inconvenient little statistic is easily glossed over or ignored by the mendacious purveyors of hate on the Republican end of the political spectrum. Bob's point in addressing this attack head-on -- and it's one that I heartily agree with -- is that we need to stand our ground and fight fire with fire when it comes to these disgusting and distorting smear campaigns. We need to address the lies directly, to challenge those who would impugn our patriotism and distort our positions for partisan gain.
He makes a number of salient points in his post about this evil little essay, which I've excerpted below:
"The anti-war leadership will sink to any level to advance their twisted and sick extremist political views, and they must be held accountable," said Morgan in her e-mail, directing people to her latest spewing, The liars of the anti-war movement. "In the coming weeks, we at Move America Forward will hold them accountable. This column is the opening salvo."
We need to consider the "opening salvo" received and be prepared to jump right up in Morgan's overly made-up face.
...
Morgan and her ilk are quite the ugly minority indeed.
Half the country says we should have stayed out of Iraq entirely and 64 percent say the result of the Iraq war isn’t worth the costs (CBS News) while 65 percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of Iraq (Newsweek). Given that these – and every other major poll taken in 2005 -- show that most of the country is now in opposition to the Iraq war, Morgan's screed amounts to a declaration of war against the majority of the country.
Meanwhile, a Zogby poll taken in six Middle Eastern countries, reveals that 81 percent of Arab respondents think the war has brought less peace to the Middle East, while 77 percent said they believe the people of Iraq are worse off now than before the war.
And, as a Veteran, I take particular offense at Morgan's group picking up right where Jean Schmidt left off on the House of Representatives floor in attacking John Murtha (D-PA) and questioning his courage and patriotism because he called for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
"There stood an anguished Congressman Murtha under the hot klieg lights, with tears in his eyes, pretending he had come to some newfound opposition to the Iraq war," wrote Morgan yesterday. "Lies, lies and more lies and cowardice in the face of America's enemies to boot."
...
Morgan ends her crap-filled column by urging her readers to challenge the patriotism of the majority of Americans, who are against the Iraq war.
"The next time someone on the Left attacks you, or your neighbor, or a friend for questioning their patriotism – calmly look them in the eye and answer back. Yes, we certainly do question your patriotism."
This is a challenge that we should not back down from. This is a fight we can and should win. We need to give the smackdown, hard and repeatedly, to McCarthyist hate-mongers like Melanie Morgan and her colleagues. Join me in raising the righteous fist of truth and indignation against this despicable purveyor of lies and misinformation and all who would follow in her footsteps, won't you?
He makes a number of salient points in his post about this evil little essay, which I've excerpted below:
"The anti-war leadership will sink to any level to advance their twisted and sick extremist political views, and they must be held accountable," said Morgan in her e-mail, directing people to her latest spewing, The liars of the anti-war movement. "In the coming weeks, we at Move America Forward will hold them accountable. This column is the opening salvo."
We need to consider the "opening salvo" received and be prepared to jump right up in Morgan's overly made-up face.
...
Morgan and her ilk are quite the ugly minority indeed.
Half the country says we should have stayed out of Iraq entirely and 64 percent say the result of the Iraq war isn’t worth the costs (CBS News) while 65 percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of Iraq (Newsweek). Given that these – and every other major poll taken in 2005 -- show that most of the country is now in opposition to the Iraq war, Morgan's screed amounts to a declaration of war against the majority of the country.
Meanwhile, a Zogby poll taken in six Middle Eastern countries, reveals that 81 percent of Arab respondents think the war has brought less peace to the Middle East, while 77 percent said they believe the people of Iraq are worse off now than before the war.
And, as a Veteran, I take particular offense at Morgan's group picking up right where Jean Schmidt left off on the House of Representatives floor in attacking John Murtha (D-PA) and questioning his courage and patriotism because he called for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
"There stood an anguished Congressman Murtha under the hot klieg lights, with tears in his eyes, pretending he had come to some newfound opposition to the Iraq war," wrote Morgan yesterday. "Lies, lies and more lies and cowardice in the face of America's enemies to boot."
...
Morgan ends her crap-filled column by urging her readers to challenge the patriotism of the majority of Americans, who are against the Iraq war.
"The next time someone on the Left attacks you, or your neighbor, or a friend for questioning their patriotism – calmly look them in the eye and answer back. Yes, we certainly do question your patriotism."
This is a challenge that we should not back down from. This is a fight we can and should win. We need to give the smackdown, hard and repeatedly, to McCarthyist hate-mongers like Melanie Morgan and her colleagues. Join me in raising the righteous fist of truth and indignation against this despicable purveyor of lies and misinformation and all who would follow in her footsteps, won't you?
posted by Generik at 3:17 PM
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