Only Soldiers Who Lean Left Worthy of Trust By Dems

Soldiers that tow the party line are automatically granted full respect, moral authority and unquestioned loyalty by the Dems. These are examples of such obeisance to certain military men.

All three of them opportunists willing to trash their country and the military they once served in for political gain. Their service and their medals are pointed to by the left as they swoon over every anti-Bush tirade. Yet, give the left a military man with impeccable credentials that says something they disagree with and suddenly they are not so respectful.

Give the Dems a man like General Petraeus, who has such a sterling reputation that he was unanimously voted by the Senate to become General. Although there were 19 no-votes, nobody voted against his confirmation. He appears in a highly decorated uniform before a joint Congressional committee today to give his assessment of the situation in Iraq. Yet the Dems undercut his report before he even opened his mouth, and shamefully branded him a liar during the report.

It is hoped that most people will be able to see through this farce by the Dems and recognize they are delusional and willfully ignoring reality. They are so invested in defeat in Iraq, that they cannot admit to even the slightest progress. Here, General Petraeus declared significant progress and the Dems resort to their usual clownish actions. They do not LIKE what he has to say, so they reject it. Wouldn't it be nice to simply reject reality in a similar manner when it comes to bills, taxes or a parking ticket. Simply declare it is not so and poof! it goes away. So while the Dems live in their fantasy world, the thinking public sees them for what they are. They have been bought and paid for by the anti-war left, and they must do their bidding.

Freedoms Watch Helps Push the Pendulum

I have stated many times my frustration at the Bush Administration for refusing to fight back in the public discourse and supports its actions and decisions. My theory is that Bush's lack of articulation and the media's distortion machine were the driving forces in avoiding defense of itself.

It seems that some became tired of the public discourse being so one-sided. They have formed a group called Freedoms Watch. They describe their purpose:

• Our mission is to ensure a strong national defense and a powerful fight against terror, especially in Iraq. On the domestic front, our mission is to give hope, lift people up, and achieve prosperity through free enterprise.
• Those who want to quit while victory is possible have dominated the public debate about terror and Iraq since the 2004 election.
• Our group will give a voice to those who believe that victory is America's only choice. For those who believe in peace through strength, the cavalry is coming.
• Our goal, as we await General Petraeus' report, is to make sure our elected leaders do not abandon our nation's mission in Iraq and that they do not cave in to the demands of those who want to cut and run.

They are implementing their purpose by funding and creating commercials educating the public on the need to continue the mission in Iraq. I had seen a news story that these commercials were coming and I heard one of the commercials yesterday on the radio. I went to their website and found a page with several of the videos for the commercials. Each video contains a statement by one who has suffered loss in Iraq, 9/11 or both. Here is a description of each person and a key message I found in each video:

Iraq war veteran John Kriesel lost both legs in a blast near Fallujah on December 2nd, 2006.

"I know what I lost. But I also know that if we pull out now everything I have given in sacrifice will mean nothing"

Laura Youngblood lost 2 family members to al Qaeda terrorists, first her uncle Henry a New York City fireman who lost his life on 9/11, and than her husband Travis died fighting for our freedom in Iraq.

"My husband fought so my children did not have to ten years from now"

Iraq war veteran Andrew Robinson was on his second tour of duty when he was wounded by an IED in June of 2006. Andrew lost the use of his legs.

"I would go back to Iraq if I could. It's that important because if Iraq is not stable it will become a breeding ground for terrorists....to hear Congress talk about surrendering really makes me angry"

Vicki Strong lost her son Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong, in Iraq fighting for our freedom.
"For Congress to switch votes for political reasons while we're making progress in Iraq to me is unthinkable. If we surrender now its giving a message to terrorists that they can do what they want and get away with it."

I think these people express some very critical points. There has been a great investment by the United States and by individuals to form a stabilized free Iraq to reduce the chances we will see terrorist attacks at home. To walk away now is to make the investment and these sacrifices in vain and result in a worst outcome than if we had never gone.

At the same time as the Freedoms Watch informational campaign, the Bush Administration seems confident enough in the impending report on the surge results to begin its own campaign of defending its policies. It came out swinging the other day pointing to the liberal's ridiculous comparison of Iraq to Vietnam. Bush used the comparison against the liberals to show that if we left Iraq prematurely, the certain massacre of innocents that would occur would create a sure repeat of history scenario. From the outrage of the liberals after that speech I assume they don't like the idea of the blood of masses from Vietnam, Cambodia and a future Iraq being placed on their hands. While Walter Cronkite and his ilk may have escaped the public blame for the massacre they created, but they also had a lock on the public discourse at the time. With the internet and talk radio, that is no longer the case. A premature withdrawal from Iraq will result in a massacre of thousands and there is enough freedom of information to make sure the people know who is to blame. The Dems know this. Which is why they don't want to be the ones to actually pull the plug on Iraq. They keep trying to force Bush and the GOP to pull the plug.

I have not read or heard this anywhere else, but Boortz claims the administration is now publishing insurgency casualty numbers. According to this claim, we are killing on average 1500 of these bloodthirsty savages per month in 2007. Simple math will bring the 2007 total to 12,000 Islamic radicals we don't have to worry about any more. These are numbers the average American can digest and understand. The lack of confidence for Iraq is not rooted in the lack of ability in our troops. It is rooted in the lack of information and the lack of sufficient communication due to a lopsided representation in the media.

The pendulum of public discourse is starting to swing back towards a supportive position on staying in Iraq. The efforts of Petraeus and the troops have purchased this opportunity. The Bush Administration finally seems willing to capitalize on it. The efforts of Freedoms Watch will certainly play a major factor in the pendulum's move. If this continues, the Dems who have branded themselves with a position of surrender and defeat will be severely caught with their pants down. It is already humorous fodder to watch them attempt to spin their way out of their self imposed brand. Without the constant umbrella of protection by the media, the Dems would already be exposed as the clowns that they are. The real question is how willing the media will be to go down the drain with them. If they really believe the garbage they support, they will go down with the ship. If they want to survive, at some point they will leave the Dems to crash and burn and look for the first opportunity to rewrite history at a later date.

Media Attention Deficit to Turn on Dems

The MSM has for years been participating in the dumbing down of America and training them to have the attention spans of toddlers in toy shops. Politically, the Bill Clinton machine leveraged this by mastering the sound bite in its communication. Now there are many sheeple out there that cannot handle too much information. This will soon bite the Dems strategy in Iraq.

For years now their message has been that Iraq is a hopeless cause. After their November victory they demanded troop withdrawal and began their funding antics to try to get Bush to pull out of Iraq and saddle him with the disastrous consequences that would happen. To everyone's shock, the lame duck announced a new strategy of adding more troops under new leadership and a new strategy. After conceding to Bush's request for funds to support the ongoing effort and the surge, the Dems immediately began a PR campaign undermining the surge. Before the surge was even in place the Dems were there at every new insurgent attack to say "See! It's not working!".

The sheer volume and intensity of the Dems claims of utter failure have done several things. First, their position has been clearly "branded" in the public forum. Without massive cover from the MSM (that is sure to be provided) there is no chance of backing away from the clear stance of failure they took. The insightful have seen the Dems pictured as those who put their fingers in their ears and say "La la la la la la la. I'm not listening to any reports of progress. La la la la la." To those less insightful their position of failure is clear.

Second, they have really lowered expectations with their clenched teeth posturing. Any progress at all will be perceived positively. After all Americans want to be winners. They may not all agree with policy, but unless they have a stake in losing most want to avoid the stigma of loss. With the bar so lowered, a report of significant progress will have a more intense positive response.

Third, the clear stance of the Dems will underline the fact that they were wrong in their predictions when progress is announced. It is like a Market Analyst predicting a market crash and then the market goes up 2000 points in a few months. The investors will take that Analysts predictions with a grain of salt next time or change the channel to another one.

Finally, the Dems have no choice but to change their message. Many are now trying to save face by admitting some progress with the surge. However, they are quick to add a "but...." clause afterward. "The surge may be working but the political landscape is still horrible". This is their new strategy. However, thanks to the trained Media Attention Deficit response most will only hear that the surge is working.

It is amazing how often the left digs a hole for a trap only to find themselves falling into it. It is equally amazing how poorly the right manages to capitalize on it. The clear self-branding of the Dems as utter incompetent fools does little for the GOP if they also are perceived as fools. Many of them did not have the political courage to support the surge. Too many GOP listen to the MSM to tell them why they lose elections. Too many GOP have the courage to clearly brand themselves like the Dems have done so they can capitalize when they are right. Only fools like Lindsay Graham and Chuck Hagel take a brand - and a wrong one at that.

As for Media Attention Deficit, this country will only make real progress when many are cured and take the time to pay attention to details. Most do not really know facts - only soundbites and slogans. When the uninformed vote, this Congress is what we get.

Bush to Redeploy 4400 Troops - to Iraq

Look out for exploding heads in the liberal camp. While in the middle of their squabbling over the troop surge of 21,500 troops into Iraq, Bush has apparently decided they needed an extra scoop on their hot fudge sundae. He has approved 4400 new troops to be added to the already controversial surge number.

Many blogs including LASunsett over at PYY are posting the videos of the PR attacks by the anti-war crowd on one of their most loyal congressmen - David Obey - WI. Obey voted against the war and wants to do everything he can to end it. There is just one little problem - he is a realist and the anti-war crowd can never be accused of having two feet in reality. They ask him why he isn't doing this or that. One less than informed guy asks the congressman why he doesn't filibuster! Obey knows he does not have the votes to overcome any filibuster in the Senate or a veto by Bush. Twice he opens his jacket to ask if they see any magic wand in there.

The additional troops are telling me that Bush is trying to ride a wave of recent successes in Baghdad resulting from the troop surge. The shuffling of the lead positions in the Iraq war effort seems to have brought an improved recipe for now. If more success comes of it and we reach a tipping point where those opposed to the surge are forced to admit it was a good idea; we may see the war effort head into a new phase where everybody is behind victory. I realize many critics will think it is far too early for such talk and may never be willing to swallow such talk no matter how well things get.

There is a group of heavy hitting bloggers who do not think it is too early for victory talk. They have banded together and formed a new blog consortium called the Victory Caucus. I love their mission statement:

• Deliver the perspectives and news on the war effort which the mainstream media neglects to help the American public understand the nature of our conflict and its true progress

• Provide tools and infrastructure to help citizens who are committed to victory organize into a recognized and influential caucus

• Identify opportunities for the caucus to act and exert influence on America’s leaders and to directly aid and support the men and women of our military

See the "Our Beliefs" section here for a well written statement of the stands taken by the caucus. Some cannot grasp how damaging it would be to leave Iraq without it being stabilized. Regardless of whether one agrees with us going into Iraq, all must realize it would be damaging to how some very dangerous elements in the world view our committment in any future war effort. It would send a message that all that is necessary is huge anti-war propaganda effort to make us lose our will. Leaving Iraq too soon would also cause huge ill-will for the U.S. when thousands are slaughtered in the violence that would happen after our departure. Let's hope it does not come to that and that the new troops with a new plan will achieve victory.