The Latest GOP Manufactured Outrage

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_04/017817.php

THE LATEST MANUFACTURED OUTRAGE.... Having milked the Department of Homeland Security's report on potentially violent radicals for all it's worth, Republicans have a new manufactured outrage to play with.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, told CNN Sunday it was "irresponsible" for President Obama to been seen "laughing and joking" with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas on Friday.

"This is a person who is one of the most anti-American leaders in the entire world," Ensign told CNN's John King on State of The Union. "He is a brutal dictator and human rights violations are very, very prevalent in Venezuela. And you have to be careful."

"When you're talking about the prestige of the United States and the presidency of the United States, you have to be careful who you're seen joking around with," he also said.

I see. The U.S. president was photographed shaking hands with a foreign head of state, and an international gathering of hemispheric heads of state.

Quick, someone draw up articles before this monster strikes again.

Chances are, President Obama would like to improve relations with our adversaries, and shook Hugo Chavez's hand out of a sense of international diplomacy. The efforts appear to possibly be paying dividends -- Venezuela indicated yesterday that it is considering naming an ambassador to the United States.

To be sure, Chavez is an odious figure. But he's also the twice-elected head of state of a large South American country with 30 million people. GOP rhetoric notwithstanding, there's no downside to improving our relations with the country's leadership.

This may be difficult for Ensign to understand, but sometimes, U.S. presidents meet foreign leaders we're not fond of. Once in a while, U.S. presidents even negotiate with foreign leaders who are clearly our adversaries -- Kennedy talked to Khrushchev, Nixon talked to Mao, Reagan talked to Gorbachev.

Are we to believe it's scandalous for Obama to simply shake hands -- not negotiate, not strike any deals, not come to any agreements, just press the flesh -- with the Venezuelan president? That a simple handshake undermines the "prestige of the United States"?

Please. Even for John Ensign, this is foolish.

Post Script: By the way, I seem to recall a tradition in which elected U.S. officials refrained from attacking the U.S. presidents while they represented the country overseas. It's safe to assume Republicans no longer believe in that tradition?

—Steve Benen

[polichick]

1. They're really scraping the bottom of the slop bucket now!

[babylonsister]

2. That's where they seem to be the most comfortable. Imagine that. nt

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Their bucket is bottomless. I'm convinced of that.

They never cease to come up with another pathetic candidate or stupid non-issue of some sort.

[Turbineguy]

3. Outrageous!

I am just thankful that we have the republican party to tell us what we are to be outraged about. After all, what would I do with all this unrequited outrage?

[Egnever]

4. Ensgn is a tool

He is a worthless mouthpiece yes man for the pukes He is my rep and never responds to any sort of comunication with his office. He is an example of someone elected on the most shallow of reasons.

[Johonny]

5. Remember they said the same thing of Reagan

the nut wing of the Republican party were all over Reagan for being to friendly with the Russian leadership. It's amazing they've never been right but they somehow took over their party.

[driver8]

7. No one in US government should be talking about "human rights violations" while

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc... are still free men.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. Of course when Bush fellated Saudi leaders in Crawford that was a church picnic.

Jesus, what hypocrites.

Ensign, you're a tool of the worst variety.

[TankLV]

9. Johnny is a DISGRACE to our state...

He will soon be replace with a DEMOCRAT - he's such a fucking mormon HIPPOCRITE!!!

[MajorChode]

10. I'll go one better than that

Kennedy talked to Khrushchev, Nixon talked to Mao, Reagan talked to Gorbachev.

Nixon effectively installed Augusto Pinochet who immediately killed over 3,000 people and tortured another 30,000.

Raygun was bankrolling the Contras as they were raping women, killing civilians, and engaging in the most vile torture imaginable.

Raygun also bankrolled Saddam Hussein as he was gassing, murdering, raping, and torturing his own people.

[annabanana]

15. None of that damn "history" for those folks...

Each day is a tabla rasa.

[Fireweed247]

11. I think it is funny their propaganda isn't working

For all their bashing of Chavez, he gives a book to Obama and now that book is #2 on Amazon. Everyone actually wants to read about what Chavez thinks is important for us to know. The people trust Chavez more than the morans :rofl:

[malaise]

12. Chavez was elected

which is more than we can say for G W Bush

[LaPera]

18. Yes, by over 62% - If the leader is a socialist, republicans go crazy make up things, lie...

distort the truth with the help of their media about the 'leftist' progressive socialist.

But If it's a right-wing nut case killer that's fine with the republicans because they can do business & make money with the right-wing leader by exploiting their land and cheap labor of their people....

If it's socialism they pound it into us that's it bad for us (but not them) and capitalism they insist is better for us tax paying workers (for the corporations to make money, steal our tax dollars, bust unions, fight universal health care, lay us off because of their incompetent decisions, exploit & pollute the planet while paying us the least amount as possible if they don't outsource the jobs first....but a socialist country like Venezalia won't allow that republican bullshit...so the republicans attack and lie about those countries they can't get their imperialistic hands on.

I'll take socialism any day, than the republicans ideology & capitalism!!

[Fireweed247]

21. Venezuela votes with diebold machines...

...but Chavez insisted on paper receipts and he got them.

Apparently due to environmental regulations, ATM maker diebold cannot produce voting machines with paper receipts in the US.

[Brother Buzz]

23. Many Americans voted on Sequoia Voting Systems....

Owned by the Venezuelan company, Smartmatic which in turn appears to be controlled by another Venezuelan company, Bizta. :shrug:

[zeemike]

13. "To be sure, Chavez is an odious figure"

I would like someone explain that one to me.
Twice elected by his people in what everyone agrees was a fair election...Is that what makes him Odious of is it the fact that his skin is not the right color?

[ejpoeta]

25. it's like this.... if WE don't like them then it doesn't matter if they were ELECTED

apparently we can ignore them and treat them badly. but dictators that kill their people, we shake their hands and be friends with them. I don't see how being a jerk to someone will help relations. nor do i see how treating someone like a person who was elected by their people does anything but treat them with the respect that they deserve and give us the ability to possibly work with them on making the lives of their citizens better.

[annabanana]

14. The pouting is getting old. Nobody's buying it anymore (well, the backwash is)

They pretty much shot their wad in the teabagging. Everyone has seen what they can and cannot do when it comes to public opinion.

[pdxmom]

16. And the MSM, or at least CNN, is busy feeding this faux outrage. They

are constantly using the term "joking with" to describe a photo...despite there is absolutely no indication of what was said or if, indeed, there was any joking. So their actually gripe is that Obama shook hands and...oh, no...SMILED at the man. I even heard one say he shouldn't have "grinned so big".

Another example of the right and the MSM making something out of nothing.

[butterfly77]

17. Yes, they have something to say about every move he makes

David Gergen said he shouldn't have smiled, and tried to call this a rookie move. The people are ridiculous they think everything needs to be done in one day..

[B Calm]

19. The prestige of the United States would be hurt if Sen. Ensign shook President Obama's

hand!

[GreenTea]

20. And where is Bush these days....in communist China, but that's OK cheap labor & goods & tax

shelters for the corporations.

[spanone]

22. using that logic, no one should ever talk or shake hands with bu$h*

[FrenchieCat]

24. Republicans should check history before coming with dumbass talking points!

CAUSE WAIT.......

:wtf:

Eisenhower and a Commie






Nixon smiling, drinking, and shaking hands with Commies






Ford Yuking it up with a Commie









Reagan & Nancy, and Bush Sr. hugging, smiling and grinning with a Commie






Bushit and the Commie






The Kool-Kids, aka, dressing just like a Commie is really Kewl!





Or Perhaps it's OK after-all, and Republicans just don't know what the fuck they are talking about? :shrug:

[noamnety]

26. and this, though not a president:

[zeemike]

30. Someone should send those pictures to Gergan

And ask him to explain his remarks.

[ColbertWatcher]

27. The people of Venezuela didn't elect a dicatator.

Why is this lie still not being challenged by the GOP-controlled media?

[cascadiance]

28. These pics don't need words to show hypocrisy...

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/11/11/arafat4,0.jpg

[cascadiance]

29. William Randolph Hearst and the Nazis...

and Charles Lindbergh and Hitler...


Papa Bush, Siva Yam (President of US-China Chamber of Commerce), and Prescott Bush (Chairman of U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce).

[malaise]

31. I'm waiting for their response to his answer at the press conference

in T&T today when he said other countries also have ideas. The nerve of this man. :sarcasm:

[struggle4progress]

32. After years of propagandizing for torture, Ensign is going to hurl accusations about brutality?

Y'know, I think I'll hurl too :puke: