GOP Consistency: They Always Weaken America

If there is one thing you have to give to that bunch of corporate-humping-foreign-policy morons known as the Republican Party it's that they're consistent. No, not in what they say. That changes like their justification for starting a war in the Middle East. I'm talking about what they do when it comes to screwing up policy in that region.

Not to mention that fact that they will always use our place in the world in blatantly partisan attempts to try and gain power. This stuff about politics stopping at the water's edge--if you even hear any Republican you know utter that phrase, just burst out laughing. Because if politics stops at the water's edge for the GOP, then George Allen is the spokesman for the United Negro College Fund.

Let's not even waste time with all the stuff you already know. Well maybe a little time. The Reagan Administration supported supposed threat Saddam Hussein in the 80s, sending our briliantly capable current Secretary of Defense over to break bread with the man. That is because they saw Iraq as balancing out Iran. Whom they then promptly illegally sold weapons to so they could arm the Contras. But they did kick the crap out of Grenada. All in all great work weakening despots and terrorists.

Did George Bush Sr. at least put together a brilliant coalition in the Persian Gulf War and get others to pay the bill. Yes. Would that war have been necessary without myopic right-wing morons funding and backing Saddam for years? Now that's a helluva question.

But let's talk about the GOP in the 90s. You know the peaceful bipartisan souls who obviously understood the need to work with the president on anti-terrorism and stopping madmen a la Hussein. The same GOP who gutted Bill Clinton's anti-terror legislation in 1996 because Senate Banking Committee Chairman and all around ass Phil Gramm couldn't stand the thought of his financial backers being banned from doing business with foreign banks that laundered money for the likes of Al Qaeda. The same GOP who were by their own definition today, traitors, attacking our president while our bombardiers were flying over Kosovo:

The President said if we did nothing, there would be an instability in the region. There would be a flood of refugees, Kosovars would die, and the credibility of NATO would be undetermined. Well, Clinton's bombing campaign has caused all these problems to explode - Tom Delay, May 2, 1999

Trent Lott, Dick Lugar and a number of other Republican leaders can be found making similar statements. Although soon DeLay will be able to make them during his one hour of yard time.

And what of Somalia? Well Glenn Greenwald does a great job pointing out how the Bob Doles of the world were calling for us to withdraw the next day. Clinton did it over six months in as orderly a fashion as was possible while working with the UN.

So did intellectual ring-ding Chris Wallace get anything right the other day (nepotism is nice, ain't it Chris?)? Of course not. Condi Rice? Well, let's put it this way, do you trust someone who was shoe-shopping in New York while Katrina was unfolding to really understand anything? This woman might be the most incompetent imbecile ever to have served as NSA Director.

Bill Clinton took care of defending what he did to go after Osama the other day on Fox. What did Bush's people do? Here are the Cliff's Notes leading up to 9/11 (no pun, of course). They shifted their concentration and funding from terrorism to missile defense. Started thinking about ways to invade Iraq. Ignored Richard Clarke, as Condi refused to meet with him for months and only finally gave in a week before 9/11 (maybe Jimmy Choo's was having an extended sale). Thought "real hard" about stem cells after reading that "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside U.S."

Immediately after the attacks? Read My Pet Goat for seven minutes while looking more childish than the class he was sitting in. I don't even need to discuss yesterday's NIE showing Bush has created more terrorism by going into Iraq.

So vote Republican, if you want to ensure that irrational, inane and incompetent foreign policy continues, ensuring we are attacked again and again in the future.

Shameless Plug #1: Read my articles here and here about how Republican Senate partisanship will only get worse once Mitch McConnell takes the helm in January

Shameless Plug # 2: See me bitch-slapping a Republican talking-point machine on MSNBC