Apology Chicken
It seems the nation’s capitol is engaged in a game of chicken. Apology Chicken. Each side seeks out some spoken offense of the other side and then demands an apology. They go on talk shows and radio and spread the “outrage” until the offender is forced to respond.
The most recent example is the flack received by Sen. Dick Durbin after drawing comparisons to the torture at the hand of American forces to the torture done in the past at the hand of some foreign forces. What Durbin said was that if you were to read the description of what was done by American troops it would be hard to distinguish it from things done by Nazi or Soviet troops.
Republicans came out of the woodwork demanding an apology.
Sen. Durbin held fast.
The Republicans kept up their demands and continued to feign outrage at this attack on “our men and women in uniform”.
Durbin flinched. And apologized.
Democrats demand apologies too. As they did this week when Karl Rove insulted them by saying that Democrats were soft on terrorists. (Actually, the more telling thing that Rove said was that in the wake of 9/11, Republicans prepared for war. Which, we have seen, they did indeed.)
What the Republicans do brilliantly is take offense on someone else’s behalf.
Democrats make the mistake of demanding an apology for some affront to Democrats.
They forget: that’s the Republicans’ job - to insult Democrats.
I’m not sure what they think. The Bush team has not and will never apologize for lying to the American people, sending more than 1700 American forces to their deaths, over 10,000 to lives as handicapped persons, and easily more than 100,000 Iraqi men, women, and children to their own horrific deaths. Does anyone think they would say they are sorry for making some Democrat feel bad?
If it were up to me, I wouldn’t call on Sen. Durbin to apologize. I would call on him to resign. For apologizing. Along with any other spineless Democrat who can’t say something and stand by it.
The most recent example is the flack received by Sen. Dick Durbin after drawing comparisons to the torture at the hand of American forces to the torture done in the past at the hand of some foreign forces. What Durbin said was that if you were to read the description of what was done by American troops it would be hard to distinguish it from things done by Nazi or Soviet troops.
Republicans came out of the woodwork demanding an apology.
Sen. Durbin held fast.
The Republicans kept up their demands and continued to feign outrage at this attack on “our men and women in uniform”.
Durbin flinched. And apologized.
Democrats demand apologies too. As they did this week when Karl Rove insulted them by saying that Democrats were soft on terrorists. (Actually, the more telling thing that Rove said was that in the wake of 9/11, Republicans prepared for war. Which, we have seen, they did indeed.)
What the Republicans do brilliantly is take offense on someone else’s behalf.
Democrats make the mistake of demanding an apology for some affront to Democrats.
They forget: that’s the Republicans’ job - to insult Democrats.
I’m not sure what they think. The Bush team has not and will never apologize for lying to the American people, sending more than 1700 American forces to their deaths, over 10,000 to lives as handicapped persons, and easily more than 100,000 Iraqi men, women, and children to their own horrific deaths. Does anyone think they would say they are sorry for making some Democrat feel bad?
If it were up to me, I wouldn’t call on Sen. Durbin to apologize. I would call on him to resign. For apologizing. Along with any other spineless Democrat who can’t say something and stand by it.
posted by Steve Trumbull | 6/24/2005
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