The Daily Sandwich

"We have to learn the lesson that intellectual honesty is fundamental for everything we cherish." -Sir Karl Popper

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Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

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Friday, June 16, 2006

Iraq= WWII= 9/11

This has been one of the most vomit-inducing weeks in a long time as far as politics go. After the GOP spent yesterday pushing for amnesty for Iraqi insurgents, seeing how many times they could say "September 11th" in each floor speech, and equating criticism of the war's conduct with treason, it continued today.

Rep. Gohmert (R-TX): Let me close by saying some have not had nice things to say about our colleague Mr. Murtha, and others wanting to pull out of Iraq quickly. I understand the faithful visitation that he does routinely. So I say thank god for his big heart. I say thank god for his compassion. Thank god for his visits to the wounded. Thank god for his ministering to grieving families. But thank god he was not here and prevailed after the bloodbaths at Normandy and in the Pacific or we would be here speaking Japanese or German. Thank you.

There's a whole lot of slime packed into that paragraph.

First, Murtha was a career Marine, serving for 37 years. As an Army captain (I don't think he saw active duty), Gohmert shouldn't be among the hordes of Republicans eager to portray decorated veterans as cowards and traitors.

Second, this mention of Japan and Germany is as bad as Ted Stevens' yesterday. Stevens compared amnesty for Iraqis with the Axis powers after WWII. They key word being after. As opposed to during. What Gohmert ignores is the simple fact that Germany declared war on us, and Japan attacked us. Iraq did neither, and didn't even pose a threat.

The last few days have shown us another glimpse of the election season. It's going to be the Rove playbook on steroids. Nothing is out of bounds. Decorated soldiers and marines are traitors. You'll go to hell for voting against Republicans. Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11. And Iraq is a resounding success that paid for itself and brought stability and peace to the Middle East.