Disgusting Politics

Maybe it's my current mood, but there have been several things from the last couple of days that have gotten me really disgusted. Here are the biggest ones.

1 — A Senatorial Lie

New York Senator Chuck Schumer made a statement on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday. As quoted, Schumer said:

The violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from al Qaeda said to these tribes "We have to fight al Qaeda ourselves." It wasn't that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.

To be as charitable as possible, this is a complete lie. Less than a year ago, Iraq's Anbar province was considered a lost cause controlled by al Qaeda. I am quite certain Senator Schumer was among those who said so.

It was controlled by al Qaeda, but it was not a lost cause. Once the "surge" began, and U.S. troops went into Anbar province with a new strategy, al Qaeda was pushed out. Attacks, whether against the troops or against civilians, dropped more than 80%. With that success, the troops recruited the tribal sheikhs as allies to make sure that al Qaeda would not be able to move back in when the troops leave. Schumer's statement is false at best and fraudulent at worst, even if his only sources of news are CNN and the New York Times.

Disgusting. Schumer may be the most mean-spirited Senator in Washington, and one of the most partisan. He is lower than scum.

2 — Presidential Candidate — Republican

I saw part of the Republican presidential candidates' debate Wednesday night. In it, one candidate really stood out.

Supporters of Congressman Ron Paul describe him as a libertarian. From hearing him in this debate, it's clear Ron Paul is a libertarian like I'm an African elephant — there may be a connection there somewhere but it's a long, long time ago in a land far, far away. He's clearly not a libertarian but an old-style isolationist, circa 1915. Based on Wednesday's performance, maintaining that position requires him to operate in a manner that is both simplistic to the point of stupidity, and deeply dishonest. The non-sequiturs and false statements I heard coming out of his mouth were simply breathtaking.

Disgusting. This man cannot be supported by anyone with three neurons to rub together. He is lower than scum.

3 — Presidential Candidate — Democrat

Not content with attacking the U.S. and its policies here, Congressman Dennis Kucinich went to Damascus, Syria to do so on foreign soil in cooperation/conspiracy with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Under Assad's direction, Syria is a prime supporter and supplier of a variety of terrorist organizations. Syria is also a primary avenue by which terrorists are armed and supplied, and sent into Iraq to kill Americans. Gateway Pundit has it exactly right: "You have to hand it to Kucinich. Where the other democratic candidates just talk about propping up evil regimes, he goes out and makes it happen!"

Disgusting. This man cannot be supported by anyone with three neurons to rub together. He is lower than scum.