The Losers Of The Left

It's impossible for me to comprehend why it is that the Left is so comfortable being losers. Perhaps it's in their political genes.

Witness Josh Marshall's pathetic hand wringing over Georgia, doing everything he can manage to blame Bush. And when not doing that, he suggests that it's all Georgia's fault really. Who are they to attempt to actually control the breadth of their nation? Don't they understand?

But let me briefly (I hope to come back to this later today) register my deep skepticism about a great deal of the coverage we're seeing about what's happening. We're hearing analogies to Czechoslovakia and Kuwait (which was of course supposed itself to be a latter-day Czechoslovakia) and many other charged incidents of the past. But this strikes me as a lot of crap.

To the best of my understanding, the separatism in these 'breakaway' regions of Georgia is not something ginned up by Russia, though certainly they've exploited it in their effort to either reclaim or dominate parts of what was the Soviet Union. And the Georgians themselves triggered this crisis, however 'disproportionate' the Russian response may be.

What the Left seems to understand in foreign affairs is a chicken-bleep fecklessness, willing to sell out any first principle of freedom and democracy so long as one can avoid confrontation. Such weak minds always end up steamrolled in the end.

And this WaPo editorial from some former Clintonites is only just a bit better. As least they actually understand what's going on on the ground.

Exactly what happened in South Ossetia last week is unclear. Each side will argue its own version. But we know, without doubt, that Georgia was responding to repeated provocative attacks by South Ossetian separatists controlled and funded by Moscow. This is a not a war Georgia wanted; it believed that it was slowly gaining ground in South Ossetia through a strategy of soft power.

Whatever mistakes Tbilisi has made, they cannot justify Russia's actions. Moscow has invaded a neighbor, an illegal act of aggression that violates the U.N. Charter and fundamental principles of cooperation and security in Europe. Beginning a well-planned war (including cyber-warfare) as the Olympics were opening violates the ancient tradition of a truce to conflict during the Games.

But in the end, they too simply have to condemn Bush, as if any amount of diplomacy is going to somehow cause Putin to abandon his grand vision of a once again united Soviet State. These people on the Left are incapable of moral distinctions. They must attempt to try and use every Geo-political event as a sort of wedge. How is it this country will every be able to rise up as one to repel this or that genuine enemy, what with such superficial politicking needing to be injected at every turn?

There is only one message that should be emanating from the United States right now. Russia's actions are as unacceptable as they are repugnant. And whatever the course may bring, their actions in Georgia will be reversed.

Many peoples of the former Soviet Union lived for decades in what amount to chains. Now some number, through great struggle, have managed to break free. And as their would be jailer asserts itself to once again take control our response should be what? We feel your pain?

Bull-crap. If we are to be the beacon of light, hope and freedom for the world we have been for over two centuries, including in Iraq, we cannot permit our principles and actions to grow weak and dim in the face of every threat.

We need to steel ourselves as a nation undivided and turn the Russian threat back, whatever that means in the end. There are free people who needs us. And we should never turn our backs on the likes of them by promising to simply sell Russia less of this or that next year and deprive them of some silly games.

Comments

[PA]

I yearn for the moral clarity express in the JFK inaugural address.

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html

[SacTownMan]

Patton had it right at the end of WWII. He saw the threat posed by Stalin and wanted to take them on while we still had an army on the ground in Europe. Reagan pressured them with the military buildup and helped to free a large part of eastern Europe from tyrany.

Putin is just a modern version of Stalin. They both ruled by might and intimidation and if you don't like it you will either end up with a little obscure nuclear cocktail or as Georgia has seen a little military interdiction. These are the bad guys in the world that "The One" wants to suck up to.

McCain came right out and said that Russia was the agressor while Barry wanted both sides to just sort of "peace out".

Barry Chamberlin to the rescue!

[cindi]

Yeah for Christ sake, JFK's speech writers were all about moral clarity. HEH.

I long for the day we can "all just get along."

Seriously. What is it that some, don't get what freedom and independence is about?

Fuck Russia. Fuck Putin, communist bastards.

[Xerock]

when one contemplates the long suffering of the Russian people under the yoke of the Soviet Union, you really have to feel for the Georgians who have only been truly living for a little while now.

To any leftie that may be reading this...I implore you to go and talk to people who really lived under Soviet tyranny. Please do that. If you live in the New York area go to Green point Brooklyn, there are plenty of Polish expatriates there. I'm sure that it won't be too hard if you live in Chicago too.

EVERY ONE THAT I'VE SPOKEN WITH called Stalin the number one evil in the world, and said that Hitler was no big deal in comparison. And we all know that Hitler sucked.

Russia needs to be stood up to. Plain and simple.

[William Teach]

Progressives would find Chamberlain to be their favorite politician of all time, if they had any knowledge of history.

[Fred Beloit]

Here is a loser, liar, and propagandist from 2004 talking about, what else, how we are losing.
"The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not "insurgents" or "terrorists" or "The Enemy." They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win. Get it, Mr. Bush?"

Can you guess who this is? Hints: Not Kos, Huff, Obie, Reid nor Pelosi. Of course it could have been any one of them.

[Fred Beloit]

No guessers, eh? The answer is here: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2004-04-14

[D. Aristophanes]

Keep speaking loudly and carrying a small stick, Dan. The US isn't going to do shit about Georgia beyond talk, regardless of whether it's Bush, McCain, Obama or fucking Patton in the White House. We take on marginalized Third World dictatorships, not nuked-up industrial powers.

But I can see where you'd like to see some feckless sabre-rattling over this that amounts to absolutely nothing -- it's basically you're entire schtick.