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| Home Front: Politix |
| Mournful Tom sez politix is mean. Who knew? |
| 2004-05-11 |
| MANHATTAN, Kan. - Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle decried Monday what he called the "startling meanness" of American politics. (At least he is not Sad!) The South Dakotan, who has been Senate Democratic leader for nine years and is seeking re-election in November, said campaigns were especially ugly in 2002 and that the ugliness continues. (Wonder who started that?) "Today, enormous new challenges confront each and every one of us," he said. "We will not meet those challenges or seize those opportunities if we indulge in the brutal politics of division, if we attempt to silence those who have other ideas." (Uh maybe his ideas?) Daschle spoke to about 500 people at Kansas State University as part of the Landon Lecture series. The series is named for former Kansas Gov. Alf Landon, who was the Republican presidential nominee in 1936, when Franklin D. Roosevelt won the second of his four terms. Daschle noted that Landon’s daughter, former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, while a proud Republican, worked with Democrats in 1996 to pass health insurance legislation. (And the returned the favor by ATTACKING the legislation!) "There are things that matter more than political parties," Daschle said. "There are lines we should not cross regardless of the advantage we think it may give our party at times." (He should know he crossed them all) He continued: "Demonizing those with whom we disagree politically does not serve the interests of democracy. It does not resolve differences." (In some cases it does! When it’s a matter of national security.) As examples of the meanness in politics, Daschle noted that two Democratic senators, South Dakota’s Tim Johnson and Georgia’s Max Cleland, were compared in television ads during the 2002 campaign to terrorist Osama bin Laden. Cleland, a decorated veteran who lost three of his limbs in Vietnam, was defeated in his bid for re-election. Daschle said the political left is responsible for some attacks, too. He cited a recent ad on the Web site Moveon.org that compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler. (Good twists of the fact on the first two!) "America has real enemies in the world," he said. "Creating false enemies among us to score political points does not make us safer, it makes us more vulnerable. And trying to bully and intimidate others into silence or compliance does not lead to progress. It leads to increased polarization and eventually paralysis." Tom Daschle is one of the starters of this political hate speech. He (as the minority leader) should have reigned in his crowd long before now. He is just trying to score points for the upcoming election by looking above the fray. Notice he hasn’t had any ‘sad’ speeches on the floor? Every event that happens, the sun rising and the weather changing, seem to up to scrutiny by the Dimocrats and their cabal (yes I know how to use that word correctly!). The fact is that the more they attempt to be the victim the less people like their message. Can anyone believe that John Kerry has some connection with the ‘common’ man? And he was the victim of big business? I hope he (and his gang) lose BIG in the next election. Goodbye sad Tom! |
| Posted by:Cyber Sarge |
| #10 I just added $25. I've been meaning to send something to Thune for a while and this thread finally got me around to it. Spent several years in SD as a child (courtesy of the USAF) and loved it, and it's always annoyed me that somebody like Dashole was "representing" the state. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2004-05-11 1:10:33 PM |
| #9 God bless ya, Bill! :) Heck even if it were $10, it's still $10 more than he had yesterday. If you are interested in this race check out Daschle v. Thune. Good reading for anyone, but I'll bet South Dakotans get even more out of it. Makes me wish I had a decoder ring for the really juicy bits. :) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-05-11 12:31:32 PM |
| #8 $25 from me. I'm a poor guy. |
| Posted by: Bill Nelson 2004-05-11 12:24:18 PM |
| #7 Let's hope that SD-GOP has enough observers to keep dead reservation Native Americans from helping Daschle like their vote helped Johnston in 2002. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-11 12:19:50 PM |
| #6 A second Mr. Davis's recommendation. I also sent Thune $50. Do I hear $100? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-05-11 12:18:03 PM |
| #5 Daschle only need look at members of his political stripe to figure out where all the hostility is coming from. Does the name Terry McAuliffe ring a bell? Ted Kennedy? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-05-11 12:03:02 PM |
| #4 To help remove meanness from political debate, you can contribute to the campaign of John Thune. |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-05-11 11:20:39 AM |
| #3 Being a South Dakota Expat, I cringe every time Tom opens his mouth, because something stupid usually falls out. Not only has he alienated himself to the citizens of the U.S., he has also taken it upon himself to make the U.S. as a nation look like a bunch of blithering, infighting idiots who can't even control their own internal affairs. (Thanks CNN International) During a dinner in Pisec, the Vice President of the Czech Republic asked me why this guy seems to enjoy slamming our Govt. even when he is a member of it; I really didn't know how to answer without slamming him. Being in the profession that I'm in, I'm not allowed to speak harshly of our elected officials, yet look and listen how our two parties treat each other. (Perhaps the whole lot of them should go back to kindergarten to learn the Golden Rule) |
| Posted by: Bodyguard 2004-05-11 11:11:01 AM |
| #2 Lefto-fruitbat line: "This deterioration of discourse is entirely the fault of the wicked Bushitler/Askkkroft/HELLiburton cabal and its immoral effort to appease its obese redneck trailer-trash constituency by committing atrocities and genocide against Iraq and Afghanistan. This must be true, you have my word for it." |
| Posted by: Anonymous4796 2004-05-11 11:01:27 AM |
| #1 Sarge : startling meanness Proves Daschle is getting lots of interesting E-Mails calling him lots of interesting names. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-11 10:51:51 AM |