“What’s in it for me?”
Peter David has a depressing and yet at the same time completely logical and well thought out line of reasoning as to the outcome and the steps in the Great Iraqi Occupation Kabuki Dance.
Why Bush won't compromise The essence of compromise boils down to five words: "What's in it for me?"So with Bush facing a congressional war-funding bill with deadlines attached--benchmarks that he himself mentioned earlier this year, and is now being asked to hew to--congress is hoping that he will compromise on withdrawal dates rather than veto the entire bill.
What's in it for him to do so?
Nothing.
Really, I think that hits the nail on the head. There is nothing in this for him other than to run the clock out and hope that the GOP takes the WH and Congress back in ’08.
So what it comes down to is this: Bush won't compromise, and I doubt the Democrats will be able to muster the votes to override a veto. Which means that the Pentagon will have to fight the war as best they can. There is a GOP upside, though: Every casualty that occurs from that point on will be painted as being the Dem's fault--avoidable if only the Democrats had been willing to let Bush fight his war as he sees fit rather than undercutting and refusing to support our troops. If the GOP can spin it right--and I believe they can--then by 2008 they'll have convinced the majority of the public that the Iraq war is the fault of the Democrats and thus retain the White House, maybe even win back the legislative branch. Seem unlikely? They managed to convince the majority of the public that Saddam was behind 9/11, didn't they?
And we already see this coming from the GOP Propaganda Organs like Drudge and picked up by the RWCM (Right wing controlled media) where they picked up on the talking point and have allowed everything to be framed by this premise. Peter David also manages to pull the curtain back and say that the new boss is exactly like the old boss.
The GOP strategy has to be painting the Dems as being soft on terror (an upgrade from the classic "soft on crime" gambit that has worked for so long.) If Bush caves on the deadlines, then he removes that tool from the GOP tool box, because then he (and by extension the GOP) becomes soft on terror as well.
Which is sadly true. A large segment of the U.S. wants a "Daddy"….to the point that you have Pundits talking about the freaking idiot Fred Thompson as “Fatherly” and being like a “Dad”. They want to be taken care of, to not have to think or choose but to be kept safe….which is not what Freedom or Liberty is about, that is what Totalitarianism is about.
A bit of a local observation about the whole stupid “Tough on Crime” thing. Back in like ’80 Colorado passed a lotto Initiative where the money from the sales would go to things like Parks and Rec and preserving Open Space. ToughOnCrime, ToughOnCrime! Many laws were passed increasing jail time and taking away of Judicial Prerogative in sentencing of criminals with Minimum Sentencing laws.
Also, at the same time we had the very silly TABOR law passed handcuffing the Lege on what they could do budgetarily, so the GOP controlled Lege passed laws saying that the Lotto funds would be spent on more prisons. The people struck back saying no…we want Parks and Rec and Open space with another Initiative making it a part of the state Constitution. The GOP Fretted….they needed more money from Prisons…so the decided to rob the Education budget and giving half of the budget to the Prisons. Again the People said no, and passed another Initiative setting K-12 education spending guidelines and increases as a part of the state Constitution.
Now of course the Prison budget is in dire trouble….and all because the idiot population bought into the whole “Tough on Crime” mantra while not thinking of what the costs would be…and dismissing those as crazy when they tried to point out that it was not only silly but fiscally irresponsible to do go down this path.
So, Peter David is right.
The WRCM will keep catapulting the GOP propaganda using their mighty Wurlitzer’s.
Those that point out this propaganda for what it is will be dubbed “Dirty Freaking Hippies”, “Fringe” and the “Left wing of the Democrat Party (sic)”.
And so it goes….