Wait, This Is No Time For Sincerity
I’ve been trying to analyze the unbridled glee many feel about Cheney shooting his buddy. The right wing commentators have pointed out that there’s nothing particularly funny about a man getting shot, so why the kind of angry joy that I’m seeing today? I think it’s because this group has gotten away with so much for so long by simply using their spin machine to bludgeon the opposition into neutrality. They even tried to spin their reaction to Katrina. But this is something they can’t spin. This was a screw-up.
The haughty arrogance of the right wing lecturing us about their ever-changing values, is tough to take, but what I really find annoying is their attitude that they are what America is all about. America was created for them, and no one has served it any better. Yes, that’s it. This administration should be facing prison time for many of their actions, and yet, we have to listen to an endless speech about how great they are, and how well they’re doing.
But what we had here was a little different: One of them finally does something undeniably wrong - something even their most hardcore supports would have to acknowledge was a bad thing. There is no way, and I’m wondering here, that they’re going to try and turn this move into good behavior, is there? Oh, I’m sure they’ll make glib little jokes about it at their fundraisers. Cheney might get off a quip or two about it, down the road. But they’re not going to try and claim this was the sign of good thinking and competence, are they?
So, at least for today, I think we can all agree that what Dick Cheney did was a real mistake. This was not a positive. Even Dick Cheney regrets having done it, right? So that means we don’t have to hear about how wise this was, and how good it was for the country – at least for a while. No one will be called a terrorist sympathizer for saying this was a bad move, will they? In fact, I predict the right wing will have to wait at least until next week before they try praising Dick Cheney for shooting his buddy with a shotgun.
posted by Bill McDonald @ 3:52 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Bill, in my circles and travels I've seen plenty on the right who are willing to see the humor in this incident and who don't blame Cheney's political opponents for taking advantage of it. As you suggested in an earlier post, this is the stuff joke writers dream of. Who can deny it? As I have said elsewhere, I would expect jokes even if the guy had died, and I wouldn't impute any personal animosity toward the deceased on the part of the jesters on that account.
Frankly, I think you're getting too heavy in this post. This is indeed something that doesn't bear much spin, but you seem to be trying. You use equivocal language, saying "one of them finally does something undeniably wrong," which might be a better choice of words for a deliberate act. When all is said and done, this was an accident. Unless and until we find out more, it's not even clear that what happened constituted a breach of "good thinking and competence."
In the meantime, why not just enjoy the opportunity to have a good laugh at the VP's expense? I don't fault you for that; in fact, I'm likely to enjoy it.
I don't mean wrong that way. You can do something wrong that causes an accident; there doesn't have to be malicious intent. For example, I might use a knife wrong and cut my hand. I've read there are no accidents in hunting that are unavoidable. Someone has to do something wrong to have them happen.
As for the jokes, frankly, I found this episode didn't give me any strong laughs. I'm becoming worn out by these guys. It just reminded me of the many young people getting shot in Iraq for the wrong reasons, and in that case, I believe Cheney did wrong in the more criminal sense.
I forgot to thank you for writing, Idler. I sense a good spirit behind your comment.
You're welcome. In case you're interested, I have a post on the Cheney topic. I criticize some of the reactions, though not yours.
I can appreciate how you feel without feeling the same way. I've already expressed my opinion about your post here, but I'll add that it demonstrates a maturity lacking in a lot of the other stuff I've seen.
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