This morning on NBC’s “Meat” the Press, Tom Brokaw almost ignored Colin Powell when he said he supports Barack Obama. Brokaw’s performance cemented the observation that he really needs to step down from that chair. Besides, Brokaw is not a member of the press, he’s just raw meat.
Colin Powell, a general, former head of the Joint Chiefs, a potential presidential nominee, and a former Secretary of State, has been a lifelong Republican. Despite soiling his reputation with his pathetic, spin-based UN performance in support of an Iraq invasion/ocupation, more than 80% of Americans still hold him in high esteem. No career is perfect, and Powell has had his share of trouble, even dating back to Viet Nam. Yet, he was also a voice of reason, measured, polite, knowledgeable, informed, and very, very smart.
Even though he knew that he faced two bitter enemies in Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, he continued to provide counsel and advice, as well as play the roll of the good foot soldier, following orders and obeying decisions of his commander in chief. That explains quite a bit about his UN performance.
I suspect that he did not realize in his darkest dreams, the Dick Cheney was using the NSA to spy on him and his aides, or that Condi Rice’s lines were also bugged by Cheney. I suspect it would not have changed the advice he gave.
But it was not Cheney, Rumsfeld, or even his former boss, George Bush, that led Powell to today’s decision to back Barack Obama. It was the cluster-fuck that is the McCain campaign that drove a loyal Republican to abandon his party this time around.
McCain’s campaign is pathetic, and growing worse each day. The vile racist and venomous attacks on “Libruls,” socialists, Democrats, blacks, and “Obama bin Lyin” are attracting growing numbers of potentially violent, truly offensive, uneducated rednecks who can probably count their own remaining teeth on both hands. Add to the mix the reprehensible robo-calls by the McCain camp, and it is easy to see why General Powell believes that the Republican campaign is simply unsupportable. When a man of his experience and education points to Sarah Palin’s selection as absolutely unacceptable, it tends to have some weight to it.
What is amusing is how violently the ultra-Reichists of the GOP react. Chris Buckley lost his job because he endorsed Obama. The Chicago TRIBUNE (!) endorsed him. (so did the Suntimes, but that was always expected).
The LA Times, Houston Chronicle, New York Daily, Washington Post, and many others are going the same way. And just as quickly, GOP pols, including US Senators, are complaining about the McCain tactics, the tone of their campaign, and telling them to stop. But it is no longer the case of McCain being tone deaf, but stone deaf and politically blind. His one last chance to change the contest would require him to pull all robocalls, fire Sarah Palin, and put in a younger, smarter, experienced person who America would be comfortable with. But that won’t happen. Instead, McCain will continue along his current path. And because of that, watch other high ranking GOPers join Colin Powell.
27 thoughts on “Colin Powell’s Decision and the death of today’s GOP”
Wow I see that many of you have much to say about this, and I say who f**kin cares? Does it really make a a bit of difference or are you magicaly convinced that Obama is your savior? Stop bitching just to bitch. There I said it.
Ladywolf
I could not agree with you more. I had a converation with my father who now lives in Florida. He is agast at the 1930’s-50’s thinking when it comes to race. There are people his age that will not vote for Obama because of race. It is these very people who stand to loose the most, i.e Medicade/Medicare reductions, etc. Just read some of the posts here and on some posts on Republican slanted newspapers. It boggles my mind the reasons people are supporting McCain-Palin. It goes to the sheer ignorance of many Americans. They continue to support and vote against their own best interests. As proof look at the reaction to Palin’s appearance on SNL. Why is that taking center stage when more banks may be closing up and or merging or as I read today Texas Instruments cutting 650 jobs. May not be the 1000’s of other companies, but more Americans are loosing their jobs. But Palin was on SNL !
Ladywolf wrote:
Such disgusting tactics might work this time. But they probably won’t work for very much longer.
Ours is an ever-more diverse (and younger) nation. The old prejudices of race and ethnic origin (and their tenuous links to “terrorism”) that have divided us for generations (and which the likes of Karl Rove and company have been shamelessly exploiting to their advantage) are now dying right along with that portion of our population who believe and espouse them.
In fact, it may very well take another generation or two before the majority of people who have known nothing else but to perpetuate such bigotry and baseless dogma to completely disappear from the ranks of voters.
That’s because, as Professor Doctor Max Planck, winner of the Nobel Prize for physics and one of the greatest physicists of the early 20th Century once said, “Innovation rarely makes its way by gradually winning over and converting its opponents. What does happen is that its opponents gradually die out, and the growing generation is familiarized with the innovative ideas right from the beginning.”
I think we are already seeing this happening with Mr. Obama’s candidacy and his growing popularity in this election.
However, what remains unknown at this point is whether a majority of bigots are still alive and shamelessly willing to express their horrifically entrenched prejudices at the polls come election day.
It is amazing what I read here and on other websites where we can post comments. There is someone who always questions the experience, or lack thereof; can Obama lead, can he keep us safe, etc. Simply put he can. It did not much in the way of experience for the wonderful Repub Bush admin to get invovled in two wars, both of which are a disaster. That is a fact. The other garbage about Ayers, Accorn is part of the normal smear campaign the Repub party does. While eveyone is so concerned about the trivial matters, what is lost are the facts. The last 8 years have been the worse in US history. We went from a budget surplus to a deficit of epic proportions. We are at war, the economy has tanked, this is an admin that let a city die, New Orleans. Or did all of you forget that fact as well. Mr Powell and Chris Buckley had the guts to come out as they did. Here are two prominent conservative Republicans making a statement on what is wrong with the current admin and GOP. Maybe it is time the rest of you take an honest look at your party. Are they really serving you in your best interests? Based on the acitivities of the last 8 years and more recently with the econonmic issues, I do not think so. Oh, in case you did not notice, Chris Buckley is white.Or did you not notice.
In all fairness, I should have mentioned that even wimps sometimes grow backbones. That may just be the case with Powell. Well done, sir. A little late, but helpful, nonetheless.
I once got fired for refusing to jury-rig a fire alarm system in a very large public building without proper (fire dept.) approval. I sued, and won, after a six year battle. At first, everyone was behind me and said they’d help and fight and what a travesty it all was, yadda, yadda. But when people realize that living by your convictions takes some courage and some willingness to endure some hardship, you’d be amazed at how quickly people become sheep.
Colin Powell is a good man, IMHO, who, while showing courage on one battlefield, is a complete and utter wimp on another. He has a LOT of company. I wouldn’t be too surprised if these dumber-than-toasters rednecks who claim they’ll fight the government for our freedom will be the ones turning us all in, to be hauled away to FEMA’s concentration camps. Cowards, every dang one of ’em.
I doubt that Powell is a neocon, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t carry out their agenda if Powell’s leader wanted him to.
I think you could trust Powell more as President rather than as any thing subservient. If Powell is in a serving position, you’ll have to decide if you trust tose above Powell. That is where Powell’s allegience resides.
I meant nothing derogatory, his neocon stripes are as such and will not change no matter how eloquent the narrative.
He played in the Bush sandbox and therefore lost his dignity, honor, and trustworthiness.The latter of the three being the most important of those, and which the prior two depend on for validation.
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