SCRAPPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

JOHN BOEHNER


Democrats rightfully questioned why Mr. Bush chose to inject politics into his address to the nation in what should have been a non-political speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Most agree that the speech was a big whiff for the president, who failed to use the opportunity to reach out and invoke the unity the nation shared back in 2001 and instead utilized the national address as yet another platform to sell his failing Iraq war policy. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said, "Sadly, it was a missed opportunity for President Bush, who apparently was more consumed by staying the course in Iraq and playing election year politics." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, "The American people deserved an opportunity to grieve and come together as a nation last night. Instead President Bush gave them partisan and inaccurate rhetoric."
Of course, questioning anything Bush ever said or does is cause to be branded a traitor and hater by the Republican attack dogs, and this time was no exception. From House Majority Leader John Boehner: "I listen to my Democratic friends and I wonder if they're more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people."
Disregarding for a moment that his statement has no actual relevance to the substance of Pelosi's and Reid's remarks, the statement is a massively transparent illustration of just how totally lost the entire Republican Party is. This is all they've got left. They're not even attempting to engage the Democrats on the issues. I completely expect that in the leadup to the November midterms the Democrats will continue to engage Bush's wrongheaded approach to foreign policy while the GOP will continue to engage in ad hominem attacks. They know that they've lost the debate. Iraq is a disaster, the "war on terror" is going nowhere, Afghanistan will most likely be under Taliban control again by 2008, Osama bin Laden is still alive and kicking five years after killing 3000 people, and let's not even start on the non-existent domestic agenda. The Republicans have nothing left. They've lost the debate so they cranked up the attack machine.

Oh, a quick note as I had forgotten about this originally but noticed it after doing a little Wikipedia search. In June 1995, Boehner provoked contentions of unethical conduct when he distributed campaign contributions from tobacco industry lobbyists on the House floor as House members were weighing how to vote on tobacco subsidies. And this guy is the #2 Republican in the House of Representatives. Actually, to me it seems kind of appropriate given the state of the GOP. Nothing to stand on, nothing to run on, nothing but lies and smears.