April 16, 2004

Partisans and Patriots

Kevin Drum of CalPundit Washington Monthly links to this Tom Bevan post which frets over 'bush' bashing, then asks the 40 cent question:

There's an obvious problem here that begs a question for Matt: when your interest as a patriot (making changes for the better) and your interest as a partisan (making Bush look bad) conflict, which interest do you put first?

The 9/11 Commission should generate exactly such a conflict among liberals because the more partisan the Commission becomes, the less likely they are to find the truth and the less likely the Commission's final report will have legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

Sadly, however, many on the left don't seem able to either recognize the conflict in the first place or resist the temptation of putting partisanship above patriotism

I agree the that 9-11 panel has taken a somewhat more partisan fell, though that's partially due to the fact that the big players have been testifying lately. That's not really the point, though.

Mr. Bevan and others seem to think that before the panel, there wasn't a partisan element to it, while there clearly was. Before the hearings there was one partisan voice: The Bush administration. Everything released, every spin, every element was pro-Bush. He had the bully pulpit, and the control, and we all know how open this Administration is to sharing any glimpse into how it works.

Now, there are two sides. For every person on the committee who berated Rice, there was another who lobbed soft ball questions designed to make her look good. For every person on the panel who called Clarke a patriot, there is one who painted him as a disgruntled employee.

And, I might add, it's working. Do you think we would have had the release of the 8/6 PBA if not for the politicized element of the panel? Would we (the public) have seen Rice's testimony? Would Bush and Co be working to de-classify documents if there wasn't a political need for them to do so? History shows us the obvious answer is no.

Those on the right aren't really upset that pre-9-11 events are being politicized, as that started on 9-12 by Bush and Co, and continues. What they're really upset with is that the politics now criticize Bush as well as defend him.

Comments:
Posted by Henry at 08:30 AM || Link to me || Category:: Politics, Just Left on