If you didn't see Fox News Sunday this week, you missed a major confrontation between Republican strategist Karl Rove, and Maryland's Democratic Congressman Chris Von Hollen. The short story is, Rove won. Continue reading for an expanded account.
Although in the early rounds there was a bit of feeling each other out, in the later going Rove hammered Von Hollen and the only feeling going on was Von Hollen repeatedly clinching Rove's arm, apparently to reduce the number of body shots Rove was landing.
It is worth going to the Fox web site to see if you can download the video, but in case you can't the essence of the two sides was the Democrat, Von Hollen, making a series of unsubstantiated and wearisome statements, which Rove then knocked out of the park.
Von Hollen blamed all the world's woes on George Bush, which the world is sick of to the point we should be asking for a vaccine. Then, wonder of wonders, he claimed the war in Iraq is a failure, and we should hightail it out of there, and yada, yada, yada, on and on and on.
Rove and Von Hollen went at it hammer and tong for a bit, to the point that host Chris Wallace acknowledged he had lost control of the segment, which was OK. Wallace is a great newsman and host, but sometimes you just have to step back and let it fly.
Von Hollen made a fatal error when he said Rove should retract a comment he allegedly made concerning just who in Congress was backing the war in Iraq way back when. Rove sat quietly while Von Hollen was talking, although if body language is a true measure of inner intent it was only because he was waiting to pounce.
Pounce he did! When Von Hollen finished, Rove nailed him for a misquote, and then read chapter and verse of all the times Democratic leaders, including former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle, had publicly denounced the Saddam Hussein dictatorship, and pushed for, as they called it then "regime change."
Rove was ready for that one! He had times, dates, places and news outlets showing the Dems were hot for war and pushing the issue! Man, the Dems should know better that to misquote Karl Rove and to assume they can blow smoke past him without risking a major embarrassment.
Then Von Hollen brings out the old "We are losing in Iraq, we should withdraw" crappola, only days after the Dems' most visible war critic, Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, comes back from Iraq and says it is going very well, thank you very much. Von Hollen's face should be red from the beating he took, and embarrassment, but somehow I doubt it is.
I will leave it to those of you who want to see some good political heavyweights in an all out brawl to check it out yourselves. But if I was in marketing, (oh, sorry, I am) if I was in marketing at FOX, I would turn that donnybrook into a video right now and get it out on www.Amazon.com ASAP.
Hey, Fox marketing guys. Get Amazon to link it with my book, Masters of the Art, A Fighting Marine's Memoir of Vietnam like they do with other books on the military and the War on Terror. Usually they wouldn't link politics and war, but this combination is a natural!
QUESTIONS FOR THE NEXT DEBATE!
I was thinking about some comments I saw and heard on the debate sponsored by YouTube (or is that EweTube) and the Communist News Network - CNN - last week and how the Democrats infiltrated the audience with campaign workers and activists.
The best comments, especially from my Marine brothers at the Together We Served website were "so what?" Any candidate for the office of President of the United States should be able to answer any question from any citizen, or have the backbone to label it as b.s. and say so.
I agree completely, although I also agree that CNN was not innocent in this matter and the GOP should just boycott them in the future. Actually, I think all Americans should boycott CNN because once they show that they can't be trusted on this issue, how can anyone be confident that they can be trusted on any issue.
The Dems still have Hillary and Barack battling out there. Who is CNN rooting for, and which candidate will get stabbed in the back next? Not worth the risk guys, not worth the risk.
Anyway, to avoid having to make that decision I have listed a series of questions for Democratic candidates to use in their next debate. They aren't secret and this is an open book test, seeing as how they're Democrats and all. You can look these up, formulate responses and even use little notes on your shirt cuffs to remember them if necessary.
This idea, by the way, came form my number one associate, or should I say co-conspirator. They are broken down by subject matter.
School Vouchers
A recent study states that 80% of African-Americans who live in the inner city can't read or write by the 4th grade. Why are you against school vouchers and what is your answer to fix this problem plaguing the African-American community?
Tax Plan
You say you want to let the President's tax cuts expire, despite the improvement they brought to the economy. What will you do to strengthen the dollar, cut government spending, and bring jobs back to the USA?
What is your view on the death tax? (We promise not to plant a person in the audience who lost the family farm due to it!)
Social Security
What is your plan if you have one to fix Social Security? Follow up: Shouldn't Congress have a health care plan and retirement package like the taxpayers?
Big Oil
How can you justify allowing special interest groups to tighten supply on one hand, and then blame big oil for the price of gasoline on the other? No new refineries, no drilling domestically, no new oil tankers?
CAFE
Do you feel responsible for the rise in auto fatality percentages because today's cars are made from plastic due to the new CAFE standards?
Windfall profits
How would you insure that oil companies don't pass along windfall profits taxes to consumers?
Harry Reid bashing Rush Limbaugh
To Senator Clinton: Do you feel you signed this letter prematurely? What about the right to free speech guaranteed by the US Constitution? Are you familiar with that document and have you ever read it?
Chinese connection
Also for Sen Clinton: While you were Co-President the Chinese were allowed to steal national secrets and advance their missile technology by decades in a few short years. Now your campaign has received more Chinese donations.
How can you assure the American people that we will be safe from espionage under your watch?
What would you do to revamp the FBI so that cases involving Chinese espionage are tried and the guilty convicted? Do you believe anyone found guilty in these cases should be sent to Guantanamo Bay?
And while we're on the subject, we have heard the Democrats denounce George Bush and his stance on Guantanamo Bay. What would be your solution?
National Security
Mrs. Clinton that was the only reduction in Washington while you were Co-President. Now looking back after all the attacks while you and your husband were president, would you propose another reduction to our military and other national security forces?
NY Times
What is your position on prosecuting those responsible at the NY Times for releasing and publishing classified information?
Follow-up: If you call the NY Times and ask them NOT to print a story and they do so anyway, what will your reaction be?
Abortion
When does life begin?
Why is abortion legal, but capital punishment is wrong?
That should do if for now. Go ahead and start working on your answers. If you finish early, I'll come up with some more work for you in these and other areas.
To quote the Associated Press: Class dismissed.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
3 comments:
Thanks for the post. The War on Terror produces terror (cold products from matter) in microorganisms to stop cilia. There's the rub!
Ron, many good proposed questions for the "next debate" however you provide no mention veterans and military retiree issues, our widows, and our health care.
In particular, the DoD has been short changing those who become medically disqualified for continued military service by separating those with less than 30% disability (by the DOD rating scheme, not the VA rating scheme) and retiring the others. The average difference between DoD and VA ratings has averaged 18% over the past 40 years.
Further, Chapter 61 medical disability retirees are ineligible for the restoration of concurrent receipt where a military retiree can receive both his earned full military retirement pay and his awarded disability compensation.
I do not have a Google account but if you send me email to redleg@zianet.com I will send you an attachment that more completely discusses "broken promises and eroded benefits" of military retirees.
You can also visit the USDR Legislative Action page http://capwiz.com/usdr/ and learn of other issues that impact veterans, retirees, and our widows.
Charlie
Its a good point you brought up about the CAFE standards - but I think they just passed that legislation last week. The good thing is that they were able to reach a compromise though. I do some work with the AAM and because they were able to keep cars and trucks in different categories this won't be such a big problem. Its an issue thats worth keeping an eye on though imo.