Sunday, February 02, 2003

 
Hypocrisy: A Proud GOP Tradition

The other day, I cited a classic piece of GOP hypocrisy:

"The United Nations resolution did not put the burden of proof on the United States or the U.N. to prove that Iraq has these weapons," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said last week. "The U.N. resolution put the burden directly on Iraq to prove that it is disarming and that it does not have these weapons."

"In other words, Iraq must prove a negative, and is refusing to do so. Almost a year to the day before Rumsfeld's remark, Fleischer was asked why the administration would not release details about meetings with energy companies such as Enron Corp. to prove that nothing untoward occurred. Fleischer replied: "You're asking us to prove a negative, and that's a road that we're not traveling."

In fact, Republicans and hypocrisy have become synonymous so I thought it would be a good idea to present just a few of my favorite examples of the GOP in action. This way, If you’re ever talking to a conservative and they usher up the gall to accuse Democrats of being hypocrites then you can throw these back in their faces. Rest assured, however, that they probably will not see the hypocrisy in these examples. Indeed the GOP power of rationalization is mind-bending. Nevertheless, here they are in no special order:

1) John Ashcroft once conducted an interview with Confederate loving Southern Partisan magazine. The article was titled "John Ashcroft: Champion of States' Rights and Traditional Southern Values." States Rights aside, he then urged the FBI to crush California state law and shut down "cannabis clubs" which aided terminally ill patients. He then targeted Oregon, where he urged the FBI to crack down on doctors who perform assisted suicides. The voters of Oregon approved the assisted suicide law in 2001.

It seems that the "Champion of States' Rights" should more accurately be dubbed the "Champion of States' Rights That He Agrees With”. So let that confederate flag fly and stamp the Ten Commandments on every public school wall, but don't ever give comfort and/or relief to the terminally ill. Got it?

2) It was revealed that Bob Barr has filed suit against Bill Clinton, Larry Flynt and James Carville for - wait for it - "loss of reputation and emotional distress" during the impeachment debacle of 1998. Unbelievable but true. Barr is claiming "injury in his person and property," alleging that Clinton, Flynt and Carville conspired to "hinder [the plaintiff] in the lawful discharge of his duties." Now poor Barr wants $30 million to soothe his hurt feelings. Of course Barr filed the suit almost immediately after pushing for legislation to end frivolous lawsuits and limit damages to $250K. Unbelievable, but typical.

3) It is well known that Barr and Dan Burton cheated on their wives. Burton even has an illegitimate child. Nevertheless, both were leaders in the campaign against Clinton’s own infidelity.

4) Back in August of 2001, Jeb Bush was at a luncheon honoring the 30th anniversary of the Center for Drug Free Living, and was trying to explain why Florida judges should not be forced to grant treatment or rehabilitation to non-violent first or second-time drug offenders.

"To suggest there should be no penalties for continued drug use is to stick our heads in the sand. Prevention is the key to reducing drug abuse in our state."

and...

"Preventing the illegal use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco among our young people now will save us a myriad of costs later - social, economic and, of course, human."

Then, his daughter, Noelle, was arrested for illegally attempting to obtain the prescription drug Xanax. Now, according to Leon County State Attorney William Meggs, fraudulently obtaining a prescription is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. But Meggs went on to say, "The most likely course in this case is probation or drug court," And apparently, if she goes to drug court, "she most likely would be placed in a rehabilitation program or in counseling with drug testing."

Note, that this is the complete opposite of what her Dad has been advocating. Seems Jeb just wants to put other people's kids in prison for non-violent drug offences.

5) Despite the fact that Jeb's daughter Noelle was sentenced to treatment rather than jail, he is still fighting a proposition that would require that first and second-time nonviolent drug offenders be given treatment, as opposed to jail time. The proposal includes consequences - in some cases more severe than the current drug court penalties - if an offender fails the treatment program. (Note that Noelle was found with crack cocaine while still in her treatment program) However, Jeb says, "This amendment would destroy the best drug court system in the country,"

6) The Bush Administration announced that the elections were marked by "numerous and profound irregularities," that the president may "claim victory but not democratic legitimacy," and that the outcome did not reflect the will of the people. Of course they were referring to recent elections in Zimbabwe, not the Coup of 2000.

7) Bush lambasted congressional Democrats, saying they want to "increase taxes" because they brazenly suggested that tax cuts be put on hold until we get our economy under control. Not surprisingly, however, he hasn't been slamming his own brother or three other Republican governors for doing exactly the same thing. It seems that Jeb's tax cut has created a state deficit much like the one brother George created both in Texas as Governor and Nationwide as current squatter in the White House. When Florida's books didn't balance, Jeb did what he had to do. USA Today says Jeb "signed a bill depriving Floridians of $128 million in tax relief promised through mid-2003."

8) Despite G.W. Bush’s "Three-Strikes" program (Instituted as Governor, which made jail time mandatory for anyone convicted 3 times for any reason) and his new policy of denying college funding to any person who has been convicted of a drug-related crime, (including possession), Bush is very soft on his own drug use. Remember back in the campaign when Bush dodged questions about allegations of cocaine use? Obviously not wishing to buy into the idea that drug use is some youthful right of passage, one of Bush's answers was:

"When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible."

Under the laws that he enacted as Governor of Texas, Bush would have served some time in jail and been denied government student loans, not that he would have needed them

9) The Bush administration spent $3.5 million on anti-drug commercials during the 2002 Super Bowl. The commercials, which preached that American drug users are funding terrorists, were designed solely to further demonize drugs among non-drug users. "It's so important for Americans to know that the traffic in drugs finances the work of terror, sustaining terrorists, that terrorists use drug profits to fund their cells to commit acts of murder. If you quit drugs, you join the fight against terror in America," said Bush.

More importantly, while we're on the subject of where terrorists get their money and weapons, let's not forget that it was Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush who supplied advanced weaponry to the Taliban while they were selling weapons to Iran (a member of the "axis of evil") in order to fund right-wing terrorists in Central America. Who's the terrorist here? Oh yeah, and let's not forget that oil is the true source of funds for terrorism. We buy oil from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia funds terrorists. Terrorists kill Americans. See how it works. So forget the whole drugs-funding-terror nonsense. Instead, get rid of the SUV, or better yet, put a true president in the White house, one that has a vision of energy independence, one that will invest in alternative energy sources.

10) In a dramatic departure from the unacceptable practices of the prior administration, VP Cheney has banned fundraisers at the VP's Mansion. Instead, the VP will throw "thank you" parties in the VP's mansion for people who've previously made contributions to Bush/Cheney!

For dozens more examples of GOP Hypocrisy, go to Hypocrisy (1) and Hypocrisy (2).

posted by Thomas Ball 1:38 AM