Turn And Face The Stranger
Shrubya's latest new on-the-stump attack line against Kerry is a quote of Kerry's, delivered for maximum emotional charge. He claims "Kerry says that 9-11 didn't change him!" and on cue the audience boos. NPR already pointed out that this quote is out of context, but even if it weren't, you'd still have to ask ARE YOU EFFIN' KIDDING ME?
9-11 didn't change ShrubCo at all. If you look back over the agenda from the 2000 campaign, from all aspects of policy, the goals haven't changed, and much of it is implemented. On the domestic front they wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, favor business interest over the environment, give gifts to corporate donors, and further blur the line between church and state. All of these aspects of policy have remained invariant, have been implemented, and we'll get more of it (he promises!) if there's a second term.
As we never get tired of pointing out, the foreign policy is utterly consistent too. There has never been a "War On Terror", the administration has not, and will not ever have an interest in making the country safer. If they were, they might have paid a little more attention to Richard Clarke. What they have been interested in is the boondogle known as missle defense, and an invasion, occupation and Friedmanization of Iraq. 9-11 did what they needed: it scared all hell out of the American people. This gave them the cover they needed to implement a long standing policy aim. The little boys playing real-life Risk knew what they wanted, and when 9-11 happened, they knew they could get it.
As for Kerry, I imagine he wasn't changed by 9-11, because he'd been in government and foreign policy circles long enough to know that a 9-11, if not THE 9-11, was inevitable. He was likely ahead of the curve, as any thinking person who lived through the Reagan years would have been. I have to agree with McCain on this - Radical Islam WAS going to war with us, even if we weren't going to war with them, and I'm sure Kerry was aware of the potential for a 9-11 style attack. So maybe he didn't HAVE to be changed after 9-11.
I'm still left wondering what was supposed to change for Kerry, if nothing changed for ShrubCo.
9-11 didn't change ShrubCo at all. If you look back over the agenda from the 2000 campaign, from all aspects of policy, the goals haven't changed, and much of it is implemented. On the domestic front they wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, favor business interest over the environment, give gifts to corporate donors, and further blur the line between church and state. All of these aspects of policy have remained invariant, have been implemented, and we'll get more of it (he promises!) if there's a second term.
As we never get tired of pointing out, the foreign policy is utterly consistent too. There has never been a "War On Terror", the administration has not, and will not ever have an interest in making the country safer. If they were, they might have paid a little more attention to Richard Clarke. What they have been interested in is the boondogle known as missle defense, and an invasion, occupation and Friedmanization of Iraq. 9-11 did what they needed: it scared all hell out of the American people. This gave them the cover they needed to implement a long standing policy aim. The little boys playing real-life Risk knew what they wanted, and when 9-11 happened, they knew they could get it.
As for Kerry, I imagine he wasn't changed by 9-11, because he'd been in government and foreign policy circles long enough to know that a 9-11, if not THE 9-11, was inevitable. He was likely ahead of the curve, as any thinking person who lived through the Reagan years would have been. I have to agree with McCain on this - Radical Islam WAS going to war with us, even if we weren't going to war with them, and I'm sure Kerry was aware of the potential for a 9-11 style attack. So maybe he didn't HAVE to be changed after 9-11.
I'm still left wondering what was supposed to change for Kerry, if nothing changed for ShrubCo.
posted by jayinbmore at 12:07 PM
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