Sidney Blumenthal in Salon.com: "Isn't this a democracy?"

[milkyway]

Before attending a rally to hear Vice President Dick Cheney, citizens in New Mexico were required to sign a political loyalty oath approved by the Republican National Committee. "I, (full name) ... do herby (sic) endorse George W. Bush for reelection of the United States." The form noted: "In signing the above endorsement you are consenting to use and release of your name by Bush-Cheney as an endorser of President Bush."
<snip>
...The more profound issue is not who served in Vietnam and who dodged. It is whether the president is a sovereign.

Since the birth of the American party system, presidential candidates have always gone directly to the sovereign people, who are the only source of legitimacy and power, to make their case. After the Democratic Convention, Kerry traveled from New England to the Pacific Northwest doing just that. Not one of the hundreds of thousands who attended his open-air rallies had to pledge allegiance to him, and he encountered organized Bush hecklers as part of the price. At Bush's rallies he is the packaged president as pseudo-populist. But these controlled environments reflect his deeper view of the presidency as sovereign, preempting democracy.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2004/08/19/ask_bush/index.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. go Sidney! eom

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. chimpy shrubshit now requires a written oath of allegiance

to merely attend one of his staged gatherings. This has reached a level so pathetic and ghastly that it is hard to logically comprehend, except in the light of a still lingering 9/11 mass hysteria.

Can you imagine the utterly void mindset of those who would actually sign such a document??????

[LisaL]

3. YEP

Soon we will be saying "remember when this WAS a democracy".

[demoman123]

4. Sidney Blumenthal aka (in Republican circles) as "Sid Vicious"

Sidney Blumenthal being Sidney Blumenthal, he harbors a lofty conception of his role in the Clinton White House, perhaps something along the lines of French intellectual Andre Malraux, who skewered ideological foes even as he advised Charles de Gaulle on matters of art and state.

But, alas, the people who know him less affectionately as Sid Vicious have another image in mind: Blumenthal as skeet.

Just last week the Republican leadership of Congress locked, loaded and fired. They demanded that the FBI investigate whether this Clinton counselor has trafficked in stories about the putative sex lives of aging and overweight Republican legislators.

The New York Post, the GOP's Greek chorus on matters of sex and politics, offered its subtle and unsubstantiated take. Blumenthal, its front page declared, is "Bill's Dirt Devil" and a "top White House smear-meister."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/blumenth092598.htm

[struggle4progress]

5. Gasp! "He is accused, as a journalist, of denigrating those who wanted ...

... to investigate Whitewater." I'm shocked! Everybody knows that if Ken Starr had been given another $40 or $80 million, we could have enjoyed even more allegations about Whitewater! Just who does this Sid fellow think he is?

[buycitgo]

7. sooooo, you posted this.........got a POV on it?

are you enjoying this article?

or what

[Jim Sagle]

8. Whaddya want, a loyalty oath?

;)

[demoman123]

9. Yes, he is nasty little mofo hatchetman...

who couldn't make it as a journalist, so he became a dish-out-the-dirt flack for a politician.

Want my POV on anything else?

[mitchtv]

10. a few more democrats like you

and we could change the name of this board.

[leftchick]

11. He is one of THE best journalists out there today....

Perhaps you should read more of his material before passing judgement.

[JNelson6563]

13. Care to provide examples of falsehoods?

Please enlighten us as to any fiction Blumenthal has written?

Additionally, how do you feel about Ann Coulter?

Julie

[lovuian]

6. Sig Heil!!! Take an Oath!!! Sign your soul away

signs like making a pact with a devil than a democracy

[trapper914]

12. I Love This

Isn't the point of campaigning to get your message across to the undecided? Bush should be trying to reach independents and maybe right leaning Democrats. Instead, he seeks comfort and validation from those who are going to vote for him anyway. No wonder he's going through his millions without moving the needle.

[Child_Of_Isis]

14. Give him enough rope

and he will hang himself. I think the loyalty oaths are an excellent idea. }( You know, come to think of it, bush cannot do anything right. It's hilarious! He is a very ass backward person.

[PhuLoi]

15. Norm Coleman was on The Daily Show stating that there were

no such loyalty forms. "You must be listening to the 527 ads." said weasel Coleman. "I've never been asked to sign one." Ah, well then Q.E.D., it must be false.

[Moderator]

16. Locking as duplicate.

Please continue discussion here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x68594