Man Bites Blog

Andrew Sullivan posts the following from a reader.

I have a hard time listening to Republicans say that the Democrats cannot transcend their anger. They use stupid catch phrases like “Bush Derangement Syndrome” to discredit people (not just Democrats, according to most pundits, you too suffer from BDS, Andrew). There is a special amount of irony in the party that spent over 200 congressional hours investigating Clinton’s Christmas card list and less than 10 investigating how we got into the Iraq war accusing the opposition of being driven by blind hatred.

I now live in a country where the president and vice president have the power to detain an American citizen off of the street, send him to a secret prison, torture him, and detain him indefinitely without him ever hearing the charges against them. We have been lied into a war that was executed with criminal incompetence, our economy has been devastated because of lax oversight of banks giving out bad loans, we have lost a major city and the list goes on and on.

My anger isn’t driven by irrational hatred. In 2000, I considered myself a Republican. But now that party stands as an affront to everything that America stands for. I have every right to be angry.

Emphasis added.

Now, I am not saying that anger at Bush isn’t justified.  However, I think this letter is a good microcosm of why we shouldn’t toss the keys over to people who are acting out of anger.  Almost every rant labelled “I hate X; here’s why,” would be better titled, “I hate X, which is why I blame X for the following.”

First, “our economy has been devastated because of lax oversight of banks giving out bad loans.”  Now, even if you accept the premise that the subprime crisis has “devastated” the economy, which I don’t, it seems to me that the banks who made the loans and the lenders who took them out would have to get a large helping of blame for it before we moved on to Bush and the Republicans’ plates. 

As for Katrina, I too was quite angry at the federal response.  But that was the humanitarian crisis in the immediate afermath.  When a Category 5 hurricane hits a large city that is below sea level, it’s going to cause a lot of damage, regardless of who is president.  Maybe there should have been better levees in place, but again I think the line of blame for that extends for some time before you get to Republicans and the president.

Again, I’m not saying that people don’t have a right to be angry at how Bush won and has conducted his presidency.  But I also think critics are right that following the counsel of those consumed by anger isn’t wise, either.  And when someone makes such off-target accusations in the course of making a case that Bush hatred is rational, well, let’s just say I’m unconvinced.

Via K-Lo at The Corner, Massacussetts social conservative groups endorse Sam Brownback over their governot Mitt Romney:

In order to preserve traditional values and actually win back ground in the ongoing fight for our culture, we need a leader who can articulate and fight for our values with compassion, optimism, and consistency. We know consistent leadership when we see it.

Amen.

There’s been a lot of debate in the last several years over whether Bush has used his office to advance the pro-life cause. The respones is typically a list like this And it is nice that Pres. Bush has used the power of his office to advance the cause of the unborn.

But the unborn deserve more. Why should I have to dig to find out what Bush has done for the unborn? Are the unborn better off than they were seven years ago? I’m not sure.

We need a leader who will help move the country to a greater respect for all life, not someone who will temporarily strengthen our position. Bush isn’t it.

And so far, Mitt Romney isn’t it, either.

Random thoughts on some things going on in the blogosphere.

The Althouse-Goldberg-Liberty Fund Conference brouhaha

You can follow the links from this post to catch up. And depite Adler saying those were the “last words,” I’ll chime in (I doubt anyone will notice).

a.) Regardless about who’s right on this, I think Althouse’s reputation suffers from her involvement in this debate. My impression of her is someone who is accustomed to accusations of racism ending debates in favor of the person launching the accusation, and doesn’t know how to handle it when it doesn’t.

b.) Jonah Goldberg detacts a double standard that isn’t quite apt for reasons Matthew Yglesias outlines here.

But it’s also true that the civil rights movement and the abolitionist movement were largely fueled by religious conviction. Shouldn’t the many commentators warning about the dangers of fusing faith and politics have to account more seriously for the possibility that what they are proposing would have robbed these movements of their fuel? But I guess it’s different because they were right and today’s “Christianists” and “theocons” are wrong.

c.) If I’m basing a new ship’s design on the design of the Titanic, I damn well better account for how my ship will avoid the same fate. If I’m proposing that we start using zeppelins again, I better be prepared to answer questions about the Hindenburg

And yes, if I’m going to say how great states’ rights are, I better account for segregation and slavery.

Whether the Liberty Fund conference is a forum where this needs to take place is less clear.

Not a Bush Not A Nixon Not A Ford Not A Lincoln
Bruce Reed writes that Bush should emulate Ford in serving the remainder of his term in humility.

The thing is I don’t think Bush is disposed to do that. And I don’t think a President Kerry would have been either.

Ford is unique among presidents in that he never was elected or sought the office of vice president or president. Thus, this type of shot was in his bag.

But I think the type of person who would do everything it takes to launch a successful presidential run is not the type of person who is going to serve with humility. I also think it’s human nature not to do that after all that work. I travelled all over the country, alienated my family, lived out of a suitcase for a solid year so I could stay out of the way? No, thank you.

In my opinion, the critical flaw of this administration is that it has aimed to maximize the power he has to do what Bush wants rather than doing the hard work of leading the country and the world community to support it. Maybe a different president would have a different style. But, “if elected, I will lead by building consensus!” doesn’t exactly get people reaching for their checkbooks.

Football predictions

• Chiefs over Colts — Larry Johnson runs over the Colts; Dungy gets fired.
• Cowboys over Seahawks — I really think the Cowboys are better than their loss to the Lions.
• Patriots over Jets — Looks like the easiest call on the board, which gives me pause.
• Eagles over Giants — Both New York teams in playoff action against their closest geographical division rivals. Should be a fun week!