The American Spectator

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Blaming Democrats First

12.24.02 @ 12:01AM

PROBLEM SOLVED
Re: Enemy Central's Patty Cake:

Senator Murray's praise of Bin Ladin, though stupid, is not isolated. Blaming America for radical Islamic attacks on our citizens and admiration for the "great works" of Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda is a theme that runs deep and wide in the Democratic Party professional political class. Most are too smart to say out loud what Murray said, but a great majority of politically active Democrats do believe America is the problem, not our sworn enemies.
-- Bob Hinkley
Edina, MN

AMERICAN BOLSHIES:
Re: Lawrence Henry's 1968:

The Henry piece is excellent revisionist history. I believe it was the late Phillip Abbott Luce who told the story of SDS this way: the original 2,500 members (people like Clark Kissinger who I used to talk politics with at the laundromat in Hyde Park) were essentially "pure" as far as Stalinist or Maoist connections were concerned -- very nice, innocent democratic socialist utopians for the most part.

But the CPUSA, following a prolonged barrage of pro-SDS publicity from a liberal establishment press alarmed at the rise of YAF and the Young Republicans (YAF with membership exceeding 50,000 or so at times), ordered its youth wing, the W.E.B Dubois Clubs (about 7,000 Stalinist diaper babies) to join SDS. The Progressive Labor Party (with about 13,000 Maoist youth) then did the same thing and suddenly SDS was another thing altogether -- a somewhat disciplined (lots of internal fighting) leftist army which was the fighting force we all saw in Chicago and later in the McGovern campaign. And is now the professoriat on many campuses.

If this has appeared in a book-length history of SDS (Kirkpatrick Sale's? It has been too long since I read that, and my copy is not at hand), I must have missed it.
-- Jameson Campaigne

What's all this nonsense about Southern racists voting for "Tricky Dick" in 1968. George Wallace (an unreconstructed segregationist, maybe the last of his breed to say so publicly) ran and took the angry white racist vote that year. Humphrey and TD got about 45% each. In 1972 the Democrats ran McGovern on a downright socialist platform (remember the negative income tax proposal). The Republicans didn't have to kowtow to the racists to get their vote. They had nowhere else to go. As for all the goody two shoes liberals that year, well TD took the vast majority of states including NY and CA. Racist strategy, my foot.
-- Ed Callahan
La Habra, CA

HOUSE HUNTING:
Re: The Washington Prowler's Strong-Armed:

Sounds like Hastert and DeLay are angry at the prospect of having to work with Frist. The implication is that Lott worked well with the House. But did he? When the House Managers presented Lott with the evidence the Senate needed to try Clinton after the House impeached him, his reaction was, "You're not going to dump this garbage on us." When the Senate split appeared to be 50-50 and the Republicans had a de facto majority, with Cheney the tie breaker, Lott insisted on engineering a "sharing of power" with Tom Daschle. It's difficult to believe Daschle would have been so magnanimous. Those elements of the GWB agenda that did well in the House did not seem to fare so well in the Senate, where Lott was responsible for seeing them through. Indeed, Lott, in addition to not being terribly smart, seemed to be a weak leader. I should think Hastert and DeLay would welcome his replacement by Frist, an attractive man with great humanitarian instincts.
-- John G. Hubbell
Minneapolis, MN

There are two years, and that's only if all goes well, to show the country what Republicans can do once they have control of House, Senate, and White House all at once. Perhaps a once-in-our-lifetimes opportunity nearly lost until Lott stepped down. If W. had to "interferingly" prod in order help to accomplish that, so be it: he was merely being smart and uncomplacent. He has helped keep Republicans from shooting themselves in the foot again. He has a real war to prosecute, and needs a cooperative Congress. He as much as anybody is aware of what can happen in particular to foreign policy achievements left to the mercies of a subsequent irresponsible Democrat president. He doubtless wants to get as much done in an irreversible way as possible. But, because of the turf issues raised by his apparent involvement in Lott's stepping down, The American Prowler article "Strong-Armed" suggests, if not in so many words, that infighting and gridlock among Republicans in the various branches of government are a possibility. I don't think that would be W's fault and, if you let that happen, you will have thrown away what this great opportunity. Don't be turf-wise and history-foolish. Republicans actual and potential are watching you.
-- Benjamin Udell

For crying out loud. Isn't this the same House that did nothing but complain about Trent Lott slowing down their bills when he was Majority Leader previously? The same Senate that Lott "shared power" with the Democrats in 2000 and again halted all bills coming from the House? The same Senate that became the pawn of the radical left when Jim Jeffords (Moron-VT) "switched" and basically declared anything Messrs. Hastert and DeLay passed as DOA?

So now they are complaining about the executive branch meddling in their workings? This is funny coming from a legislative branch that has, for decades, watered down or taken away powers from the executive branch. Speaker Hastert is just worried about his pork spending and DeLay should be ecstatic that they'll finally have a Senate that might actually move forward on House initiatives....
-- Greg Barnard
Franklin, TN

JOIE DE VIVRE GOES MISSING
Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.'s Darkest France:

As a French and Jewish person, I must say I am deeply amused by your article.

Not only does it show your complete ignorance of the French culture and history, but it also demonstrates what a sad person you are, incapable of understanding that some nation have grown reluctant to war and violence.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Foreign Policy, Islam, Books, Law, NATO, Oil