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Bush Spares Tiny Island Nations, Bashes Gays Instead
Gays have a new role: uniting the Republican Party and protecting innocents from diversionary U.S. bombs. Surely the president, the writer says, is finally finding his stride. Sandip Roy is an editor for New America Media and host of "UpFront," a NAM weekly radio program on KALW-91.7 FM, San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO--I was expecting Grenada and got gay marriage.
With sagging poll numbers in just about everything and with just about everyone, the White House needed a distraction. New faces such as spokesperson Tony Snow, staff chief Josh Bolten and Hank Paulson at Treasury obviously couldn't veer the conversation away from Haditha and gas prices. In the good old days, a time-tested way to change the subject would be to invade some small outpost of evil.
In 1983, Ronald Reagan launched "Urgent Fury" to occupy Cuba-chummy Grenada six days after its prime minister was executed in a coup. It also just happened to be two days after 241 U.S. servicemen were blown up in the Marines barracks in Beirut. The headlines had to change.
But it was easier when we had a vague, big-tent Evil Empire instead of the named and numbered Axis of Evil. It would seem odd now to suddenly take a quick sideswipe at Bolivia while making let's-talk noises to the Iranians.
So in the end it came to the gays to be served up as the sacrificial lamb for the nation to gather around. It's been a hard year, divisive for the Republican base -- Iraq, immigration, the ballooning budget. It's a good thing gays were around to heal the wounds.
The president, in effect sent an old-fashioned telegram out to his runaway base: Party sick. All forgiven. Come home at once. Gays getting married.
The reaction to the President's call to action has been predictable. Howard Dean said the President was using "marriage as a political wedge issue." Sen. Bill Frist said "marriage as an institution should be protected, not redefined." It's so rote, you'd think everyone already had their responses prepared long before the president even opened his mouth.
The curious thing is obviously everyone must know this is a scripted Passion play -- no surprise ending predicted. The chips are down, bring out the old whipping boy. It's like the brand new "Omen" releasing in theaters everywhere this week. Can you scare everyone all over again with the same script and the same creepy ending? At least "The Omen," unlike the White House, changed its cast.
But, really, how many times can you recycle the old bogeyman?
Could Argentina re-invade the Falkland Islands as a diversion if their own economy goes into another tailspin?
More
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=bae616eafe382507f5bf1c399720e127
With sagging poll numbers in just about everything and with just about everyone, the White House needed a distraction. New faces such as spokesperson Tony Snow, staff chief Josh Bolten and Hank Paulson at Treasury obviously couldn't veer the conversation away from Haditha and gas prices. In the good old days, a time-tested way to change the subject would be to invade some small outpost of evil.
In 1983, Ronald Reagan launched "Urgent Fury" to occupy Cuba-chummy Grenada six days after its prime minister was executed in a coup. It also just happened to be two days after 241 U.S. servicemen were blown up in the Marines barracks in Beirut. The headlines had to change.
But it was easier when we had a vague, big-tent Evil Empire instead of the named and numbered Axis of Evil. It would seem odd now to suddenly take a quick sideswipe at Bolivia while making let's-talk noises to the Iranians.
So in the end it came to the gays to be served up as the sacrificial lamb for the nation to gather around. It's been a hard year, divisive for the Republican base -- Iraq, immigration, the ballooning budget. It's a good thing gays were around to heal the wounds.
The president, in effect sent an old-fashioned telegram out to his runaway base: Party sick. All forgiven. Come home at once. Gays getting married.
The reaction to the President's call to action has been predictable. Howard Dean said the President was using "marriage as a political wedge issue." Sen. Bill Frist said "marriage as an institution should be protected, not redefined." It's so rote, you'd think everyone already had their responses prepared long before the president even opened his mouth.
The curious thing is obviously everyone must know this is a scripted Passion play -- no surprise ending predicted. The chips are down, bring out the old whipping boy. It's like the brand new "Omen" releasing in theaters everywhere this week. Can you scare everyone all over again with the same script and the same creepy ending? At least "The Omen," unlike the White House, changed its cast.
But, really, how many times can you recycle the old bogeyman?
Could Argentina re-invade the Falkland Islands as a diversion if their own economy goes into another tailspin?
More
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=bae616eafe382507f5bf1c399720e127
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