“Republicans went through extensive training on how to run a caucus, deal with issues, be scrupulous in observance of the rules, and report results. Discipline has always been our strong suit.”
– The Crackpiper, 2/9/08 5:00 PM
CommentThread.IsOpen = true;
Republican party discipline – voting in lock-step with Bush.
Then hardly mentioning him during the current debates and upcoming general election – the republicans will say that they are independent and bush is not running this time. Reichert did this beautifully last election – but his record is catching up to him.
Ha ha ha ha!!! I heard first hand today that many of the county caucus leaders didn’t get rules and instructions until a day or two before the caucus. So much for being “organized”.
Meanwhile, Democrats were holding caucus training and providing instructional videos two weeks before that fateful day!
Just keep reminding folks that Senator McCain has said that we might be in Iraq for 100 years.
The more he opens his mouth, the better Hillary or Obama will do. He’s the Republican Biden.
It is easy to have discipline, when nobody attends your precinct caucus. Most of the Republican precincts didn’t even have to vote for precinct delegates — because the number of voters attending was less than or equal to the number of precinct delegate positions available!
King County Republicans had a total of 5,881 delegate positions available for their 2,548 precincts. However, only 4,195 precinct delegates were actually chosen. The other 1,686 precinct delegate positions went unfilled, due to a lack of sufficient voters attending to fill them.
While John McCain was the apparent “winner” in King County, with 1,321 precinct delegates chosen, this number pales in comparison to the 1,686 precinct delegate positions that weren’t even filled in the first place.
I’m wondering why no intrepid reporter has bothered to ask Mr. Esser what exactly they counted to determine McCain won. Perhaps someone could ask him to demonstrate what they counted by holding up a delegate sheet, which we all know now doesn’t have any place to identify candidate preference, and have him point to what they counted. It seems beyond the absurd that he can claim to have counted something that doesn’t exist. It’s kind of like asking voters to sign their name on the ballot, and then the party will decide who you voted for. Where did Mr. Esser get his voter training the USSR?
“Discipline has always been our strong suit.”
I thought it was the leather-latex bondage outfit… {scritch head}
“Where did Mr. Esser get his voter training, the USSR?”
Nope. Bellevue.
Well they did in my legislative district! And our results were tabulated and reported up in record time with the results as follows:
Preliminary totals of our 45th district precinct delegates shows the following Presidential preferences:
John McCain 141
Mike Huckabee 91
Mitt Romney 75
Ron Paul 60
Fred Thompson 9
Duncan Hunter 3
Newt Gingrich 1
Uncommitted 113
And CnR @1? Republicans appreciate that President Bush has been aggressive at keeping America safe from terrorist attacks since 9/11. Wouldn’t you rather be on the offensive hunting them down rather than be on the defensive sitting around and waiting for another one?
You’ll hear no apologies from this Piper!
The Piper
Piper Scott @ 8
Okay, the 45th LD Republicans chose 493 precinct delegates. But how many people actually attended your caucuses? I bet the number fell far short of 1,000 throughout your LD. And how many precinct delegate positions went unclaimed due to lack of attendance?
I bet the 45th LD Republicans had far more unclaimed precinct delegate positions, than did the 45th LD Democrats. Even though the 45th LD Democrats probably had far more precinct delegate positions to elect.
“Republicans appreciate that President Bush has been aggressive at keeping America safe from terrorist attacks since 9/11.”
Really? Then why has he let Osama bin Laden stay on the loose for eight years?
Are you really going to tell me Osama is more difficult to capture than Saddam Hussein was?
No, wait. You didn’t claim that Mr. Bush actually has given a damn about terrorism. Only that Republicans appreciate that he has.
Ah, well, I’ll have what they’re smoking, then.
@8
Gotta love that “Uncommitted” almost beat out your front runner.
Republicans have yet to learn that being a pragmatist and being a crook are different activities.
@8: Piper – I agree we should be hunting al qaeda down – but last I heard bush wasn’t even concerned about bin Laden and al qadea is rebuilding in Afghanistan/Pakistan and we can’t spare any troops there (because of the mess in Iraq) and the Europeans don’t trust us enough to send any help either.
As far as I am concerned – we are less safe after the unneccessary Iraq war – where there was never any al qaeda presence until after we went in.
PS at 8: Gee, even though only Huckabee and McCain are the only ones still in the race, you have a DELEGATE who proclaims that he will vote for GINRICH at the convention? And the total number of votes for ANYBODY but McCain, including “concommitted”, far outweights the number of votes for the presumptive nominee, McCain, but he is delared the winner?
And if nobody is bound by these “preferences”, then what happens if at the state convention, under the national “winner take all” system, the delegates rebel against McCain and vote for Gingrich, or Ron Paul, or just about anybody else? How does that square with Esser proclaiming McCain the winner?
@10…HO…
And how long did it take FDR to catch Hitler? Oh…wait…he never did.
What’s your brilliant strategy to go after ObL? How many Airborne troops are you willing to have killed to attempt to capture one man holed up in some remote cave in Pakistan?
And if he is captured, what then? Do we declare victory in the War on Terror? Or do we continue to go after the al-Quida cells that still function semi-autonomously all around the world?
Where again did you take your advanced training in military tactics and international diplomacy? The Romper Room School?
The Piper
I love it when an entire thread stems from something I say. Makes me know I’m effective at getting to many of you!
Sweet!
The Piper
“Republicans have yet to learn that being a pragmatist and being a crook are different activities.”
Not from their point of view. And it’s projection from that point on, baby.
Komrads,
Yes it IS confusiong to see so many Republicans behaving like Democrats.
But! After all this IS The Peoples Republic of Washington……..so what did you expect?
Besides, you’d be bitching no matter what the Repubs did (or didn’t)do.
confusing
(Just in case the spelling Nazis are nearby)
15: So, when you’re murdered tomorrow, if the police were to tell your widow, “Sorry, ma’am, it would just be too dangerous and too much of a bother to bring your husband’s murderer to justice.” — you’d be okay with that?
When it’s 3000 grieving families, you’re okay with that, too?
And some folks wonder why Republicans are regarded as inherently immoral these days.
@8 It would have done a lot more good if President Bush would have been more vigilant in protecting us from an attack in the first place. In the Spring of 2001 Dick Cheney was apointed by Bush to head up a task force to propose plans for dealing witht the potential of a terrorist attack. To date that task force has NEVER been convened. Since GW Bush took office 7 years ago terrorism incidents have increased around the world. I’m not saying he doesn’t take terrorism seriously, but he’s certainly been ineffective in combatting it.
I love it when an entire thread stems from something I say. Makes me know I’m effective at getting to many of you!
Sweet!
Shorter Crackpiper:
I’m smiling through the tears.
PiperScott @ 16
Yes, you are right. Devoting an entire thread on HA just because of something you said — it totally exaggerates your importance.
16:
Hubris is your only strong suit. You are not “getting” to anyone. We are MOCKING you. You have become a joke. Someone to make fun of and ridicule. You are engaged for entertainment purposes only.
It is like hearing Carly Simon sing “You’re so vain….” and thinking the song is a tribute to you. Piper, you are not stupid. You are foolish. And that is sin.
Shame on you!
Osama bin Laden has to be the bogeyman to keep all the war gravy flowing. That’s where the confluence of crookedness and pragmatism seems to confound the average Republican.
I know that Piper and his ilk crave discipline.
Unfortunately, my floggers and boots are a little hard to get to right now. Not that I would want to play with Pooper anyway…he doesn’t sound like he would be very much fun.
They should dress someone up in a Groucho Marx costume and have the actor deliver completely absurd threats. You can be sure that 30% of the poulace would take the threats seriously.
That 30% is the Republican ‘base’. You are exploiting retards.
@20…HO…
Tell you what…I’ll have my pal Karl Rove fix it so that you’re specially deputized as a U.S. Marshall so that you can go in and grab the guy.
Right now, elements of the 173rd Airborne are manning posts in eastern Afghanistan up against the Pakistani border. It would take several THOUSAND of them to execute any sort of effective effort to apprehend one man. And the casualty figures would be pretty steep. Care to explain to all the widows and surviving family members of that effort that those deaths were because of a vanity-driven effort to get one particular scalp?
My oldest, the staff sergeant, was there last summer on assignment for Stars & Stripes, and what he saw and experienced you couldn’t handle in a million years!
Currently locked in a cell down at Gitmo and soon to be on trial before a military tribunal at a location close to schools and shopping is the master-mind behind 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Together with five other miscreants, they will soon meet their maker and be disavowed of their delusional aspiration for 72-virgins.
But wait! How many of the HA Happy Hooligans will jump to their defense by denouncing military tribunals as inconsistent with American values, yada, yada, yada??? That they should be tried in civilian courts with all Constitutional rights and yada, yada, yada.
So don’t whine for me, Argentina, the truth is you really don’t give a rip…about ObL. All you really care about is sticking a thumb in the eye of any effort of the Bush administration on anything!
Again…your brilliant, success-guaranteed plan to catch the guy is…??? Let’s hear it…I could use a good laugh.
The Piper
And how long did it take FDR to catch Hitler? Oh…wait…he never did.
Straw man again! Hitler didn’t survive the European war, whereas OBL seems to still be alive. Can you even imagine FDR saying something about Hitler like Bush said about OBL:
No, you fucking can’t. So don’t even go there!
I wonder why it doesn’t seem to bother Pooper that the GOP caucus rules seem to be inherently undemocratic on their face.
@28 Piper, if you have any direct knowledge of the position, movement and activities of a military unit in a combat zone, divulging such information is a crime unless specifically approved for release by the DoD. So for your sake I hope you’re just blowing wind. Otherwise your SSgt son may be visiting you in prison.
@28: sorry Piper, it ain’t vanity driven to go after bin Laden. He is regrouping and is an avowed enemy of the US.
Care to explain to the widows of 9/11 how bin laden is not important but Iraq is?
If we can clear the streets of Baghdad, we can go after bin Laden – it has NOT BEEN A PRIORIY of bush and republicans. We let him go once already in Tora bora – because we were pulling more troops into Iraq.
Oh – and why has it taken over 6 years to put these prisoners on trial – and why is it in a military tribunal?
Could it be because in a real trial – all the evidence would be thrown out due to illegal torture?
Is this the inaugural comment of the new edition of Crackpiper Chronicles?
@23…RP…
Tell me again how important you are to voters across King County or the State of Washington who repeatedly turn thumbs down on you?
Remember the good old days when you were a partisan Republican denouncing the evils of liberal Democrats? And demanding that President Bush investigate and fire U.S. Attorney Mike McKay for not supporting Jeannette Burrage?
Here’s the letter you wrote back in 2001 – the letter that reveals the TRUE Richard Pope: http://www.reaganwing.com/modu.....age_id=750
How’s that party switch workin’ out for ya? When do you plan on trying to run for Dem PCO only to have the King County Democratic Central Committee give you the same level of endorsement they did this last fall in your race for KC Council?
Well, at least you can count on the support of the HA Happy Hooligans since most only care about party affiliation as a qualification for office. If Charles Manson ran for something as a Dem, he’d get their unqualified support.
What’s your next run for office???
The Piper
@31…ewp…
Ooooohhhhh!!!!! Like I’m frightened! Since he reported on and wrote for publication several stories about what’s going on where he was, I’m fairly sure I’m safe.
Here’s one of his stories: http://www.stripes.com/article.....chive=true
And here’s another: http://www.stripes.com/article.....chive=true
If you would read this kind of stuff instead of the drivel on DailyKus/MoveOn.org/MSNothingButCrap, you might learn something.
The Piper
@33…RR…
Jealous?
You pratter on day and night getting no where fast, whereas I get entire threads about me. Maybe you should switch sides like Pope; you could get some notoriety then!
The Piper
@35 Your obvious imaturity, and willingness to make statements without regard to any potential harm it may do to others as long as it sustains your ego exposes you as a blowhard not worthy of attention. As a combat veteran myself I applaud your son’s willingness to go in harms way to report for Stars & Stripes (assuming you have a son, and that what you’ve said is at all factual). However, as for you I can only hold you in the deepest contempt for your willingness to use the sacrifice of others to boost your own self esteem. That sir is the definition of a coward.
Piper,
Seems your panties are in a bunch now. Attacking Richard Pope. By the way, on assignment for Stars and Stripes, while a military position, does not a soldier make. We are proud that he is there, reporting and writing, but he is not a fighting soldier. He is not a front line player, Piper. You can be angry with me over that view but the fact is he is not FIGHTING. He is not in the TRENCHES.
And before you go off on me remember, I come from a military background and family. Three generations of Rangers. Real soldiers, real danger, real risk, real life and death. We lived it, we did not write about it (letters home excluded).
I say again, shame on you.
Piper Scott @ 34
Back in 2000, Rodney Tom, Fred Jarrett and Darcy Burner were all Republicans. They all took Republican ballots in the February 29, 2008 presidential primary.
And you choose to attack me, presumably because you see me as the easy target in a “target-rich” Democratic environment. (“Target-rich” being an euphemism for being outnumbered heavily by the opposing side.)
In any event, the only way Republicans can win in King County is when Democrats sell out or sell short. This was proven in both the Prosecuting Attorney and King County Council races. Had the Democrats really united and wanted to win either of these offices, we would have done so. Probably with candidates other than Bill Sherman or myself (and also with someone other than either of our primary opponents, for that matter), but a truly united Democratic party would have easily won.
And the most effective campaign tactic by a Republican in King County is to get the public to believe that (1) the Republican candidate is really a Democrat at heart and (2) the Democratic candidate is really a Republican at heart.
@15, “And how long did it take FDR to catch Hitler? Oh…wait…he never did.”
Oh my god, if that isn’t a reach I don’t know what is.
FDR died 2 weeks before Hitler. That by itself calls your stupid analogy into question, not to mention the fact that Hitler killed himself because his capture by Allied/Russian forces was imminent. This is somehow an excuse for Bush not catching bin Laden? Last I checked neither bin Laden nor Bush are dead. Or maybe you think Hitler is still alive somewhere? Like Elvis?
Your characterization of bin Laden as “holed up in some remote cave” is so laughably old. Why don’t you read some even remotely recent news stories on the subject.
“What’s your brilliant strategy to go after ObL?”
Pakistan is in a better position to do so. They are ignoring him, for the most part, meanwhile we coddle them. Afghanistan could help too, but we all know how that little experiement is turning out.
This is all ignoring the fact that Bush/Rumsfeld screwed the pooch at Tora Borah and didn’t catch any flak for it, especially not from the kool-aid drinkers such as yourself.
“And if he is captured, what then? Do we declare victory in the War on Terror?”
No.
“do we continue to go after the al-Quida cells that still function semi-autonomously all around the world?”
Maybe you could list all of the places that “we” are “going after” al Qaeda cells (other than the ones we facilitated by invading Iraq, of course).
@28, “they will soon meet their maker and be disavowed of their delusional aspiration for 72-virgins”
Is their idea of 72 virgins in heaven any more delusional than your idea that they will go to hell? (The answer is, of course, no. Thanks for playing, though.)
BaggedPiper: “With Democrats, sounds like a lot of anarchy rained, which isn’t surprising.”
Rained?
Also note that democrats are ‘anarchists’, unless of course, they are actively aiding and abetting coercive state power and rounding up all those Horatio Algers in order to quash ‘wealth building’.
Apologies from Piper? Does anyone ask psychotics for an apology? I generally don’t bother.
The crackpiper wrote: ““…one nation under God.” Republicans have their values straight in this regard.”
Yeah crackpiper-tell us who would Jesus torture? Whose children would Jesus kill?
The lack of self-awareness of you republican wackos is amazing.
Today we’ll see the Democrats help the Republicans help the Bushies and the telecoms avoid acouuntability for their violations of millions of Americans fourth amendment rights. Yeah Piper. You republicans have great values. they used to be called treason.
And the democrats? I didn’t attend a caucas and I won’t vote in the primary. The spineless bastards don’t deserve the support of this veteran.
Piper let me help you with post 42:
Rained is your word. The word you may have wanted is reigned (not reined, either). However I submit that you used rained because you are ALL WET.
But, then, we all knew that before you posted.
The reason the Republicans are having so much trouble getting definitive results from their caucus is the party has no experience with honest participation in an election.
Scott,
Perhaps you should consider the possibility that you have overstayed your time here at HA. You might find the morons over at (un)SP more accepting of your thoughts and positions. Over there, the fearless leader will not even permit comments on him posts any longer (I suspect that in this time of the big blue wave he finds the comments overrun by views that don’t match his own and, like you, his ego won’t allow that he just might be wrong).
ML @ 38: Actually, Al Gore was serving in the military as a journalist in Saigon during the war. A few Republicans tried taking pot shots at him, saying he wasn’t “a real soldier”. But then Bush’s TANG (Texas Air National Guard) record started to come out, and suddenly it was unpatriotic to question anybody’s service record.
Too bad my favorite Stars & Stripes correspondent, Bill Mauldin, isn’t around anymore.
http://www.stripes.com/02/nov02/mauldin/
Supreme Republican Scalia defends the use of torture and the death penalty on the BBC. No wonder the world has so much contempt for us.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7239748.stm
re 34: As you have been fond of saying of yourself: “Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.”
Pooper – the violence is down!
Baghdad:
#1: Two civilians were killed and eight others wounded in a mortar attack in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said. Two mortar rounds landed before noon on houses in the Kafa’at neighborhood in Doura district, damaging several houses, killing two people and wounding eight others,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
#2: Earlier, three roadside bombs targeting Iraqi police and U.S. patrols rocked the Iraqi capital, injuring a policeman, the source said. But he didn’t know whether the U.S. patrols suffered any casualties, as the U.S. troops immediately cordoned off the scenes.
A roadside bomb damaged a police vehicle and wounded a policeman aboard near a commercial compound in Baghdad’s central district of Karrada, Xinhua reported.
#3: The source added that another roadside bomb struck a US patrol in the al-Qanat Street near eastern neighborhood of Baghdad al-Jadida.
#4: A third roadside bomb detonated near another US patrol in the Baladiyat neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, he noted.
#5: Policemen found the body of an Iraqi journalist two days after he disappeared in central Baghdad, the chief of the young journalists league said on Tuesday.”The body of journalist Hisham Majout Hamdan was removed to a morgue on Tuesday morning after being found by Iraqi policemen in the area of Bab al-Sheikh, central Baghdad,” Haider Hassoun told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq
#6: Police found 3 unidentified dead bodies in Baghdad: Two were found in Risafa bank; one was found in Binouk neighborhood and one was found in Zayuna .While the third one was found in Yarmouk neighborhood in Karkh bank.
Diyala Prv:
gunmen opened fire on a school bus in the volatile Diyala province, killing two girls and a boy and wounding the driver and two other pupils, police said. The attack happened as the bus traveled between the predominantly Sunni town of Kanaan and the mainly Shiite town of Balad Ruz.
Baquba:
#1: Police forces found seven unidentified bodies during a search campaign launched, today at dawn, in some villages near Baaquba,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).The source added that the bodies had gunshot wounds to different parts of the body.
Speaking of “ForgotItstan”
Afghanistan:
#1: A suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of NATO forces in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, wounding a NATO soldier, officials said. The attacker detonated his explosives-filled vehicle near the convoy in the Delaram district of western Farah province, provincial governor Ghulam Muahidin Baluch told AFP. “One ISAF soldier was wounded. It was a suicide car bomb attack,” an ISAF spokesman told AFP. The police spokesman for western Afghanistan, Abdul Raof Ahmadi, said the attack took place on the main highway from the southern city of Kandahar to the main western city of Herat.
Casualties too:
Spc. Rory Dunn lay in Bed 32, Ward 58, on the fifth floor of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, recovering after a roadside bomb in Iraq exploded and crushed his forehead from ear to ear. he lay in the neuroscience unit, struggling to recover from one of the worst traumatic brain injuries doctors had seen. ” Dude, you look good,” said Dr. Stephen Rouse, who restored Dunn’s skull using a plastic insert designed by a 3-D computer program. He wears an eye patch to cover the socket that was left empty when one of his eyes was blown out. He has a hearing aid in one ear and is profoundly deaf in the other. He has no sense of smell. He still has pieces of shrapnel in his brain.
Jamie Cooper, 19, was hit by two mortar bombs in Basra which “blew out” his stomach and paralysed one leg. But despite changes to compensation rules this month, the Royal Green Jackets private will get only a £57,587 lump sum plus £9,000 a year.
Staff Sgt. Charley Bucklin was injured Sept. 20, 2005, while in the Kirkuk province in north-central Iraq. As a mechanic with Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment, Bucklin had spent the two previous days scouring the hillsides to assist infantry. He said he was in his housing unit when a mortar shell exploded nearby. Bucklin walked outside with his flack jacket and vest open and went behind the unit. After rounding the corner, another shell exploded 10 to 15 meters from him. As a result of the explosion, Bucklin has shrapnel lodged in his nose, neck and chest and lost 94 percent of the hearing in his left ear.
Caleb Martin, 22, was injured last Friday after an underground explosive went off and hit his Army vehicle. Caleb suffered a spinal injury
Does all this mean “we’re winning”?
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.c.....-2008.html
47:
I know that his son serves in the military and I meant him no disrespect. What bothers me is his father’s ego getting a boost from his service. EWP in a post above called it correctly. Piper is trying to gain adulation and thanks through the actions of others. That is the definition of a coward.
@32…CnR…
Why not in a military tribunal? War crimes are tried in military or specially constituted tribunals; ask Tojo. And remember that FDR had German sabotuers caught, tried before a military tribunal, and executed all within about eight-weeks.
U.S. armed forces personnel are subject to the UCMJ, which provides for trials before military tribunals. Why should thugs and assasins get access to civilian courts when Pfc. Doakes can’t for going AWOL?
Nobody said ObL isn’t important. But he’s not the only big fish to fry. Wherever al-Quida is, there is a threat to the U.S. But progress is being made. al-Quida in Iraq is having a rough go of it right now according to captured internal al-Quida documents. Read about them at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t.....346386.ece
I’m reminded of how JFK drew a line in the sand during the Cuban Missile Crisis:
“The 1930’s taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. This nation is opposed to war. We are also true to our word. Our unswerving objective, therefore, must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country, and to secure their withdrawal or elimination from the Western Hemisphere.”
*******************
“It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.”
But then he didn’t have to contend with the HA Happy Hooligans who are all in sympathy with the terrorists.
The Piper
YLB @ 50:
Piper is going to say that this within the “acceptable rate of casualty and asset loses”. Wonder if he would feel the same if this was his son? I highly doubt that he would rush to shake Bush’s hand and thank him for “keep America free of the “evil forces that seek to destroy us”.
Poor Piper, I bet he sleeps with his eyes wide open.
Piper
Leave all the BS alone and try to ask objectively whether the Bush strategy is paying off in regard to el QAEDA:
1. The strength of our alliances. We traded Poland, Bulgaria, and Costa Rica for Europe and China. … not smart.
2. During his regime the Iranians have successfully created the ability to be a nuclear power.
3. Our force structure is badly distressed.
4. Our economy is less competitive.
5. World op;inion has shifted markedly against us.
6. Our critical Middle East allies, starting with SA, are in very deep trouble, No progress has been amde toward stabilizing them.
Not even his father approves of this. The current WH is conspicuously cleansed of Bush II supporters. Other the mysterious Mr. Chaney virtually the entire crew are Bush I loyalists.
Please note .. I have >NOT
ctd to Piper …
Please note .. I have >NOT
Today the Democrats in the Senate along with the republican “minority” voted to take away your constitutional rights:
“Beyond the immunity provision, the Senate measure would also widen the executive branch’s surveillance powers by allowing the National Security Agency and intelligence agencies to use broad orders — without getting court orders in advance — to eavesdrop on groups of overseas targets, rather than using individualized warrants.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02.....ref=slogin
@52…Carl…
Actually, I have two sons in the military: the staff sergeant and the lance corporal, both of whom fill me with tremendous pride.
I have three other children and two grandchildren, and they do the same.
Do I live vicariously throught achievements of my children? Name me a parent who doesn’t. When they were growing up, I sat in the stands, watched the plays and concerts (old theater guy that I am, I even did the stage makeup for the high school drama department), and cheered them on in their other exploits.
That makes me a coward?
I’m not looking for anyone’s accolades or plaudits. Were that the case, do you think I’d hang around the HA Happy HooliHouseofHorrors? I post here because someone has to toss the occassional bucket of cold water of truth in your faces and confront you with realities you wish were otherwise.
That I cause such high levels of consternation and angst causing some of you to go positively apoplexic tells me I’m making some points.
Nasty work, but someone has to do it!
The Piper
Yes Piper, I know, if you don’t have anything to hide you shouldn’t mind being spied on by your government. hell, you shouldn’t even mind being tortured, right Piper?
oops .. something is wrong, third trie at ctd msg,
Piper
I have NOT said anything to this point about how Bush’s FU should affect anyone’s votes. he is not up fopr election. The R party deserves some credit for the elegant way they have placed his regime into a kind of Regency.
At the risk of being thrown into cherem by the HA crew, I suggest that Condie Rice, albeit belatedly, seems ot have learned her job, the current secs of treasury and defence are impressive people and the new AG is abviously a lot brighter than the last one. All this does is prove the incompetence is not necessarily a property of Repubs. I would much rather discuss what we should do about an issue than discuss whether this is good or bad for the R or D parties.
I am going to argue that a ptriotic conservative must choose between Obama and Clinton
My personal belief is that we can not get out of Iraq in any reasonable short time. As bad a mess as this is, we need to take a strategic POV and get the best out of this that we can. This means doing things likely to offend both the R and the D orthodoxies.
In considering how that affects the upcoming election, one thing seems very clear. If he were to be elcted, John McCain could not govern. Even in a minority, the radical republicans will remain obsessed with the flase issues raised by Rove. While JM might be a good man(and he is a hero of mine), I suspect that any effort to replace Justice Ginsberg with a rational, middle of the roader would elicit human sacrifices by the extreme religious right. That would be ebad enough, but if it were to compromise tyhe President’s ability to work with Congress on other key issues .. such as aggressive actions vs. Iran, McCain would be a navy pilot with no fuel in his plane.
It seems to me that any person more loyal to the US than to the Republican party needs to vote D this year and probably should choose the D more likely to be able to work the fiscally conservative, militarily conservative wings of the Republican party .. if you will which candidate is most like Scoop Jackson?
That is not an easy task. In my opinion, if your strip away the layers of grime from the mud matches of the 90s, Hillary is probably the more moderate of the Dems. She also, as a woman, may feel a need to prove the value of her gonads. Finally, although her campaign has pandered to the left on the mortgage issue, I suspect HRC is more likely to take a conservative fiscal stance than is BHO.
OTOH, HRC is an “old” labor Dem. She is not likely to stand up to the unions on issues of protectionism and income redistribution. She is also more than bit doctrinaire on school reform and affirmative action.
BHO’s strengths as a conservative are worth your while looking at. His healthcare plan ahs received plaudits form conservative economists. His schools policies are rather what Bush;s should have been .. evaluation with rewards! BUT the most important concervat9ve trait may be BHO’s impressive devotion to Christianity and public service.
Isn’t that a key conservative POV?
I am especially interested in his comments about universal national service. I am not sure he means it but if he does, this seems to me to be something the R and the L should be enthusiastic over.
HRC has conservative creds as well. Do yo know that she and Sam Brownback are friends and allies??? Murdock’s commitment to her ought not to be taken lightly either.
Just trying to help.
@42…PTBAA…
Actually, Geov pointed out my use of the incorrect “reigned” a couple days ago for which I publicly thanked him. He’s a very decent sort, I consider him a friend, we’ve broken bread together, and we respect each other.
But his mind is substantially larger than most of the HA Happy Hooligans even though he and I disagree on most everything. But isn’t that what makes a horse race?
Still…consider…I’m willing to come here and lay it down with no apologies for who I am or what I believe, and I don’t hide behind a series of fake monikers or snarky, double-entendre pseudonyms. Nor do spoof anyone, call anyone dirty names (though I do punch hard in my own way), or play dirty tricks on anyone.
This is wrong because…???
Because I happen to have opinions and values that you and your comrades (I use the word in its Marxist sense) deride and demean, which again proves that old central thesis of mine: Liberals thing conservatives are inferior beings, while conservatives think liberals are merely wrong.
I am who I am, and I make no bones about it!
The Piper
#16 Piper Scott says:
Kudos to the puppet master. It’s quite entertaining watching you make Lee and his happy hooligan buddies jump through hoops like trained french poodles.
52:
In the Kennedy missile crisis, we were, literally, moments from war. Real war. The kind where millions of people are pitted against a force so evil that there is no mistaking it. There in no misreading… not for the rest of the reasonable people of the world and not for us. It was not a made-up-imagined-built-on-lies-war that has left us ALONE in the world in fighting this “evil” that only Bush sees.
For you to attempt bring that as a viable argument is just another example of your intellectual bankruptcy. The entire worlds future hung in the balance those days. A Democrat, let us not forget that, a young Democrat, faced the fear and stared them down. He well knew the risk. He well knew the potential cost. He knew we were in imminent danger and he knew he was charged with protecting our country and our way of life. He was noble, he was concerned not scared. Bush is the polar opposite of all those values. He revels in being the president. He is not executing a presidency. He is a fraud to the office.
Todays evil only possesses the ability to instill fear. They do not possess the ability to assert world domination. They only have the means to frighten and control through fear. You have chosen to give in and cower in fear and to point fingers. I have chosen to go about my business. Unafraid. That is how I fight back. Enjoy the blanket of cowardice that you cloak yourself in. I refuse.
Once again, Piper, shame on you!!
W7ngedman: “That by itself calls your stupid analogy into question, not to mention the fact that Hitler killed himself because his capture by Allied/Russian forces was imminent.”
So here’s the difference. Hitler could not escape. Osama was allowed to escape by the Northern Alliance. If there was afull pincer movement on Osama he’d kill himself.
#32 correctnotright says:
Michael moore assured us there is no terrorist threat.
I am who I am and I make no bones about it says CrackPiper.
Hmmmmm, still does not mean you are not full of shit.
@65…Carl…
Just to let you know I don’t regard your ill temper and even more ill mannered behavior a reason not to keep your health and its improvement a matter of genuine concern and prayer.
The Piper
@57 So Piper since you bring up your sons in the military onbce again to lnend some staus to your political arguments, I ask you once again Piper, if your sons were captured by the enemy and subjected to the same type of interrogation techniques the Bushies are using, would you then admit the techniques are torture? Piper you are the worst kind of windbag. You are the opposite of what you claim to be. A conservative supports the constitution and obeys the law yet you support bush’s attacks on the constitution and his violations of so many laws it is difficult to count them all. It was recently repored widely 935 documented lies the Bushies told to lead us into an illegal invasion and occupation of a country that posed no threat to us. Yet Piper you considerer yourself a patriot when in fact you are a very real threat to this democracy. Your lack of self-awareness is astounding.
66:
Please point out my ill temper. Your words are simply entertainment to me. I give them no more import than the script from “Two And A Half Men”.
Would need example of my ill mannered behavior too. I used one swear word, sue me. I could have used the word crap or poo poo, but somehow that did not make the point as well. Kind of like when Cheney uses the word “fuck”.
But as usual you have failed to refute any of my wrecking of your “arguments”, particularly of your invocation of the Cuban missile crisis, which was an actual crisis.
Reading this thread is what makes me not want to vote! We need to get rid of the “political” parties and become one working towards the same goals! Our country has gone to shame! And well before GWB! The 9/11 attacks had been planned even in Clinton days but no one accepts that his office ignored calls. Why do we all have to attack one another? We are AMERICANS! UNITED WE STAND! Quick bickering and find a president that has the ability to get Congress and the Senate to also stand united.
We are at war! We will continue to be at war with these radicals as long as they see how screwed up and divided our country really is! We are giving them a breeding ground of hate!
Ha ha ha! “Michael Moore is fat!” Is that all you’ve got? Goldy, if your righty fanbois get any more lame, they won’t be able to get out of their recliners to boot their ‘puters! And I will have to go elsewhere for my entertainment. Shit, I haven’t laughed in ages like I have today! Comedy fucking GOLD. Again I say to you WA state GoOpers: it must really really suck to be you!
SeattleJew said: “During his regime the Iranians have successfully created the ability to be a nuclear power.”
Really? I remember the Europeans took the lead here and told us it was their problem because they couldn’t support a nuclear Iran.
@62…Carl…
During both the Cuban Missile Crisis and the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saber rattling thugs bluffed. In one case, Kruschev had the good sense to blink and back down, while Saddam didn’t.
Your 20-20 hindsight is convenient, but events such as these need to be viewed with the perspective of what was known at the time. It’s easy to sit back after the fact and judge, but it’s another thing altogether to have to make the decision at the moment.
American interests aren’t merely territorial in nature. We have international alliances, regional priorities, and balance of power issues that all come into play. That I regard the invasion of Iraq is the right thing to do is pretty obvious. I did then, and I do now.
During WW II, the US fought a multi-front war against fascism and won. No Germans flew against us at Pearl Harbor, and no Japanese were on board the U-Boat that sunk the Reuban James, but defeating both countries, not to mention Italy and other hangers-on, was imperative; half-measures weren’t sufficient.
While the analogy isn’t perfect, I have no doubt that the same inter-connection exists today: in order to win in Afghanistan, we must win in Iraq and visa versa.
So many of the HA Happy Hooligans simply dismiss these issues as if they were nothing. Covered with some really lame “we support the troops” rhetoric without any substance or hard evidence in reality, you would be content with defeat because it suits your political agendas.
YippyLil’Boy @50 is a classic example. He’ll hoot and holler that the surge is a failure so long as there’s a jaywalker left in Baghdad. But I hear nothing from him as to an alternative to crushing the power of al-Quida other than some tripe about “sitting down and talking” that he spouted the other day. Would that bring peace in our time?
Neville Chamberlain, phone home!
Unpleasent realities are realities nonetheless.
Continue to call me names all you wish, hold any contrary opinion as you wish; it is still a free country. Just remember that yours isn’t the only POV out there, and you just might be wrong!
The Piper
The Garbage eater@70: Who said Michael Mooron is fat except you.
He did say there was no terrorist threat. Puddy placed it here first long ago.
some tripe about “sitting down and talking”
url? cite? I said no such thing.
You’re a liar – you’re always stuffing words into people’s mouths.
One word describes the action in Iraq – stupid. It has only fanned the flames of terrorism and bankrupted the country.
Like Obama said, the bad scary man with the mustache had nothing to do with 9/11 and would have fallen on his own accord.
Clueless Idiot is right about something? Only if he copies it from a site.
Not an original thought in that small useless mind. You know in a thread he claimed to have a boy and a girl. I bet he’s a home boy living under his mother’s skirt!
Mirror gazing suggested.
In the old days of honor, long since lost, you and I would be dueling. I would expect to lose as you would undoubtedly turn at eight paces and not ten.
Seventy five percent of America supported Bush when the “war” began. After years of no progress, and the exposure of his lies, seventy five percent of America now believes we should get out and get out now. You go ahead with your POV. I have been a member of both sides of that seventy five percent. I have learned. You have grown more blindly faithful and stubborn.
#70 Tlazolteotl says:
How intolerant you are of others, making fun of michael moore for being fat.
@67…Headlice/Brainless Lucy…
Against my better judgment…
Your moral equivalency arguments are foolish, but then again so are you.
Should any American be captured by al-Quida forces, ransom or withdrawal demands followed by beheading is what should be expected; ask Daniel Pearl’s widow.
You put terrorists on the same moral footing as American soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen, and Coasties. Tells me a lot about your patriotism.
You and your “documented lies” are so much garbanzo beans! You’ll bang that drum until you’re dead, but all you get is a sore arm and bore the public.
There are a lot of the HA Happy Hooligans with whom I have no difficulty debating: Geov, Steve (Seattle Jew), Proud Leftist, CnR, even Carl, grumpy though he is today. But all you have to offer is a shrill denunciation of any and everthing that doesn’t go your way, which is a hallmark of the emotional and intellectual development of a two-year old.
Borderline Personality Disorder is an awful thing to have, isn’t it?
Your paranoid allegations and accusations never seem to be supported by actual data or case histories. But then again, evidence and reality doesn’t score real high with you, do they?
BTW…Antonin Scalia is my favorite SCOTUS justice, and the BBC article you linked represents mainstream American thought. Enquiring minds will be fascinated to know that you don’t support the death penalty against guys like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed…or do you?
It is a simple yes or no question…do you or don’t you?
The Piper
#68 My Left Foot says:
You mean compared to this made-up threat of islamic terrorism that bush talks about?
Puddybud, A Prognosticator… says:
W7ngedman: “That by itself calls your stupid analogy into question, not to mention the fact that Hitler killed himself because his capture by Allied/Russian forces was imminent.”
So here’s the difference. Hitler could not escape. Osama was allowed to escape by the Northern Alliance. If there was afull pincer movement on Osama he’d kill himself.
02/12/2008 at 2:18 pm”
This is exactly why Republicans should not be in charge or America’s national security and why no patriotic American will vote Republican this year.
Let me reiterate Puddy’s truth: Osama was allowed to escape by the Northern Alliance.
Why was the Northern Alliance in charge of our WAR?
Why was the most notorious man of our lifetime allowed to be hunted by the Northern Alliance? Because Bush and Rumsfeld didn’t get it. They were already focused on invading Iraq before 9/11. Bush had his eyes on Iraq before he was sworn as Commander-in-Chief.
Bush failed to act in our national security interest less than a week on the job.
Failed to act on his August 6th 2001 PDB.
Failed to recognize that the Northern Alliance were not America’s finest willing to fight and die to get the most wanted Terrorist of our time.
Fail, failing, failed. The three words that accurately describe the governance of the Republican Party.
@76…Carl…
Duelling? Not hardly! Besides, I play by whatever rules are called for; 10 paces is 10 paces, not nine, not 11.
I’ve never said things in Iraq have gone smoothly or that all the decisions were the best, but what I do know is that you’re either in to win, or you lose.
Lincoln went through how many generals and lost how many battles until he found U.S. Grant?
Stubborn? You bet!
I’m also stubborn about keeping your health in my prayers and respecting your right to your POV. That you hold your opinions with passion and vehemence is something I respect. Frankly, Carl, guys like us have more in common with each other than we do those in the mushy middle. And I don’t take it personally.
The Piper
#76 My Left Foot says:
Am I missing something? If Piper took 8 steps, turned around and fired you would be shot dead in the back. Unless there wasn’t a government program in place to count for you at which point you would shoot yourself in the foot, the left one no doubt.
Hey I got an idea? Let’s bail on Iraq and ignore Al Queda and just deal with it when it blows up in our face. I think GWB should pull out of Iraq and Afganistan as per the demands of democrats and the American majority! So let him do that and when all hell breaks lose and another 9/11 happens we can blame GWB for NOT following thru and we can also blame the democrats for pushing a withdrawal (back out)
Then where will we be???? Same place as we are now…blame blame blame, this terrorism crap has been going on for centuries in the Middle East and finally hit American soil with the ’93 WTC bombing and the USS Cole bombing (ummmm all on democrats running the admin)
Since the war in Iraq have we had any further American attacks?
Once again, let’s pull out (run away) and play the wait and see game! I pray myself or my family and friends are now where near a possible terrorist target!!!
@71 When the Iranians use ther weapon to dominate SA or destroy Israel, I could care less whether Europe was to blame.
My bottom line is that GWB has truly hurt this country and trying to parse that won’t make it better.
NOW, is a time for patriotism. If you want to campaign for huckabee and some other extremist wants to campaign for Gravel, then I am disgusted with you both.
A Patriot of EITHER party today should be concerned with choosing the best person she or he can to fix up this mess.
Personally, my dream ticket would be McCain Obama, but thiat can not happen. So I ask myself, of the the three plates on the table which has the best promise of feeding our needs as a nation?
Unfortunately, your party is now itself in peril. Before the Republicans can govern again thay need to rationalize their coalition. The fantasy roven since Reagan has come apart and simply can not govern.
Does this mean I advocate not voting for good R’s at the local level/ Not at all. If I were a Californian I would vote for S’negger. If Reichert showed some signs of leadership and intellect I would support him. I had some sympathy for Rossi until this Clark County Nazi business. How can I vote for anyone who would allow that person to remain in the party?
My bottom line, despite having contributed substantial funds over the years to John N=McCain and despite suspecting that his policies on Iraq are the most rational, is that this guy can not govern. Even with a rational successor (my faves are Whitman or Rice) who is JMcC going to work with in Congress?
To get elected JMcC needs pander to the Dobsons and the terror mongers. OK, Hillary wins a pander bear as well. BUT, in office Hillary presumably will have enough moderate support that she could (if she had the skills) govern as the leader of the moderate dems plus the residual moderate reps. I do not see how JmcC could do that. Here ares ome examples
1. Immigration. The REALITY is that the only feasible solutions include some sort of amnesty. Personally I think this can be done BUT would rule out citizenship and make emplyment very difficult, The silly wall should go away. I do not see the majority of the Reps agreeing to a rational policy like this.
2. Taxes. Bushanomics are a long term disaster and the storm is agathering. The fixes are complex .. certainly rejiggering the progressive tax is part of it, changes in Medicare and SSC are needed too. But the radical right is not likley to accept such a proposal.
3. Obama has proposed universal service. I supect McC would back that. BUT, is there a chance in hell that the Radical Right would support this intiative from McCain?
4. The Supremes. Justices like Thomas and Scalia are anything BUT strict constructionists. They are as bad on the right as some of their predecessors have been on the left. BUT … a McCain nomination of say a Suter or Kennedy look alike would bring out the holy crusades from Boulder Spring’s version of the Vatican. McCain, lected with the suport of these extremists, would not be able to nominate rationlists as judges. The resulting reaction from the Dems would doom his presidency.
My bottom line is simple. I am a patriot. Now is the time to bring us all together to address real problems. The R is so broken it can nto do the job.
You pick .. Clinton or Obama.
@83 Lets Get Out since the war in Iraq we have become a much weaker nation. No responsible person thinks Bush made the right decisions. Now we need to do our best in a bad situation.
BTW, I too ma curious why el Qaeda has not staged an event here. Some thoughts:
1. they are winning by not bombing us.
2. they lack the infrastructure here to stage anything impressive.
I find it hard to see how or why Iraq would affect the second of these. El Qaeda was NOT a significant presence in Iraq until we exterminated their major enemy .. the Baathists.
Let’s get out wrote:
Then where will we be???? Same place as we are now…blame blame blame, this terrorism crap has been going on for centuries in the Middle East and finally hit American soil with the ‘93 WTC bombing and the USS Cole bombing (ummmm all on democrats running the admin)
Fact check time:
’93 WTC bombing:
Terrorists captured, prosecuted, convicted and sitting in jail never to commit acts of terrorism against the US or our allies forever.
Damages and costs were less than one in Iraq.
USS Cole:
President Clinton put the White House and the Pentagon on a war footing. Started negotiations with the countries of Uzbekistan for basing rights. Prudently waited for confirmation from our intelligence agencies before using military assets against a foreign nation and committing the blood and treasure of our nation.
6 days after George W. Bush was sworn into office that confirmation came to the White House. George W. Bush did the same thing he did on August 6th 2001 when he read his Presidential Daily Briefing: Bin Laden Determined to strike within the United States. . . using commercial aircraft.
Grow up. Punk.
@63, “So here’s the difference. Hitler could not escape. Osama was allowed to escape by the Northern Alliance. If there was afull pincer movement on Osama he’d kill himself.”
I don’t know exactly what you’re doing here, other than furthering my original argument that it was a horrible analogy.
Kudos to 80 also.
@83, “Since the war in Iraq have we had any further American attacks?”
Therefore, the Iraq war deterred American attacks?
I wish you kool-aid drinkers would learn a thing or two about basic logic so that they don’t bother the rest of us with their fallacious bullshit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.....ropter_hoc
#83, I know you Rethuglicans as a rule are not very bright but do you even think about what you type? Why would terrorists need to attack inside the US when they are bankrupting the country by having us fight there? And did you forget about the anthrax attacks? I know it was one of your ilk who carried that out but it was terrorism nonetheless.
81:
I concur.
Piper,
Borderline Personality Disorder is an awful thing to have, isn’t it?
What was that you just said about liberals thinking that they’re better than conservatives while conservatives simply think that liberals are wrong?
Damn, but you could at least try to be consistent.
By the way, you can choose to believe that the surge is responsible for any changes that have occurred in Iraq over the past few months, but that would be tantamount to believing that the sky is green and the grass is blue. Al Qaeda in Iraq wasn’t weakened by new attacks bolstered by increased troop levels. We simply started providing their foot soldiers with better pay and more benefits.
It might be a stretch to expect you to understand the concept, but correlation is not causation.
re 78: I’d love to chat with you about it, but I didn’t write the comment you are referencing.
Ooh. Puttybutt is smart enough to know how to use teh google! Oh noes!!111!!!!eleventy-one!!!!11!
er, you guys have let an idiot draw you off the trail into irrelevant side arguments again. i believe we were talking about the WSRP caucus. and the question of just what the hell it was that esser was “counting” for two days is still standing there all cold and naked and alone. the republican apologists have already gone to their desperation deck of red herrings and name calling and “anything but the subject at hand” while railing against fools that think their “caucus” results should reflect their voters preferences — which it didn’t. so somebody please answer the fucking question. if delegates weren’t chosen according to candidate preference, and there was no place on the form to indicate that, and their own corrupt rules state that this is the case, WHAT THE HELL WAS HE COUNTING? and what was the basis for his declaration of a “hard-fought victory” for McCain?
After the 2004 governor election this whole Republican Primary mess makes me laugh. Hey Luke, maybe the mess was the result of dead people or felons voting, or maybe it is all the fault of Dean Logan.
@93 Unless you’re a Republican, why do you care? Doesn’t seem to me that any laws were broken. If the folks that attended were satisfied, shouldn’t that be all that matters? That the MSM and people like you were all ready to jump at a proverbial pig in a poke just points out how slick an operator this Esser proved himself to be. He completely disrupted the news cycle, and diverted attention from the Dim race. Anyway, just askin’…
@95 why do i care? i’m an american, so that comes back to “it’s a democracy thing – you wouldn’t understand.”
“the folks that attended were satisfied”??? depends on which “folks” you’re talking about i suppose. according to esser’s spurious accounting that would probably be about 26% of those that attended, but as those numbers are “meaningless” we really can’t be sure.
either way, thanks for racking up yet another posted response that fails to answer the question that was posed. so after your “hard fought victory” here stating how a corrupt party boss “proved himself”, luke and HIS party might have a job for you — give him a call.
@96 In other words, it’s fun to feel righteous indignation and all the better when it can be directed at a Republican. That way you can affirm your moral and intellectual superiority by denigrating your ideological opponents for being too stupid to follow the light.
Sound about right?
@97 nope youre missin the point again. is that why you guys keep changing the subject? the point is a fair and transparent democratic process for all, and you dont get to say to any voter of any party that “its not their business” if yours is corrupt. well, actually, i guess you guys DO get to say that because youve been saying it ALOT. but it looks like not many are buying it, no matter their party.