He or his audience?
Was Al Gore always crazy? Or did the 2000 presidential election drive him around the bend? Or is he “crazy like a fox,” waging a calculated campaign as a rabble-rouser, in order to motivate a certain demographic to defeat George W. Bush in the upcoming election? It’s hard to know, but I hope it’s the latter. Otherwise, the thought that he missed becoming president by inches is too frightening to contemplate.
Oppose the war in Iraq? Fine. Believe that there was no connection between Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq? Fine. Argue it, take action (legal), protest peacefully. (Many will make fun of you but should not hinder you. It’s your right to protest, just as it is my right to ridicule you.)
Make reasonable statements that support your belief and, hopefully those of us on the other side will politely take issue or even come around in the face of irrefutable fact. Say ridiculous things to support your assertion, however, and more fun will be made of you.
And, when a man who almost became POTUS says things that are not only ridiculous, but reprehensible, get down on your knees and thank God that this man is not president right now. Even if you don’t believe in Him, it’s good to be on the safe side.
In an hour-long address punctuated by polite laughter and applause, Gore also accused the Bush administration of working closely "with a network of 'rapid response' digital Brown Shirts who work to pressure reporters and their editors for 'undermining support for our troops."'I realize that Former Vice President Al Gore went to an Ivy League school and I went to an LA area community college, so, perhaps someone who has more formal education than I do can help me out here. How are people who write letters to the editors of newspapers on the same moral plane as the Sturmabteilung (SA)—the strong arm wing of the Gestapo--of the Third Reich? Perhaps I need to crack open my copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich again.
Implicit in Vice President Gore’s statement is the assertion that no one could possible make a reasoned moral choice to be for the Iraq War unless he/she has some vested (read: monetary) interest in doing so. It goes like this: the Bush Administration and/or the RNC sends out its faxes and emails to give conservatives their talking points. We little automatons then regurgitate these talking points to the “professionals” or on our own blogs; all for tangible gain, of course.
Well, I haven’t received my check yet. Dean? Commissar? How about you? And if you have received yours, tell the VRWC comptroller that I am owed back pay.
And the only faxed talking points I’ve seen were issued by Leftists, received by one of my Leftist, Bush-hating friends.
One of the most astonishing facts of life in America is this: few have a concept of what a “brown-shirt” really is. One of my relatives actually called my conservative ideas “Gestapo-like.” After mastering my temper, I asked her if she knew anything about the actions of Nazi Germany’s Gestapo. She didn’t. So I gave her a quick rundown of the function of Die Geheime Staatspolizei and to her credit, she apologized. But, from the rampant way in which Godwin’s Law is violated, I’d say that my relative isn’t the only one with this conspicuous gap in her knowledge.
(After reading Wikipedia’s record of the Gestapo, one might argue that our detainment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay has many similarities to some of its actions. But that’s a dust-up for another post.)
Most assuredly, Albert Gore, Jr. knows the difference between exercising free speech and burning books. He knows the difference between ridiculing someone like Maureen Dowd (registration required) and advocating that she be exterminated for her public views contrary to “the state’s interests.” But he also knows that hurling insulting epithets at one’s opposition appeals to the red-meat set and to the ignorant. Never mind that calling one’s ideological adversary a “Nazi,” devalues the suffering of real victims of real Nazis. Can’t be helped. It is collateral damage in the service of the greater good, doncha know.
Okay, I’ve come to a conclusion: Al Gore knows exactly what he’s doing.
(Thanks to LGF)
