A very interesting article appeared in yesterday's Wall Street Journal titled, "The Insanity of Bush Hatred." Author Peter Berkowitz stated that even many normally rational members of the left are completely overcome by their absolute hatred of Bush to such an extent that it borders on insanity:
...But Bush hatred is different. It's not that this time members of the intellectual class have been swept away by passion and become votaries of anger and loathing. Alas, intellectuals have always been prone to employ their learning and fine words to whip up resentment and demonize the competition. Bush hatred, however, is distinguished by the pride intellectuals have taken in their hatred, openly endorsing it as a virtue and enthusiastically proclaiming that their hatred is not only a rational response to the president and his administration but a mark of good moral hygiene.
Berkowitz gave an example of his own personal encounter with irrational Bush hatred:
Finally, another guest, a man I had long admired, an incisive thinker and a political moderate, cleared his throat, and asked if he could interject. I welcomed his intervention, confident that he would ease the tension by lending his authority in support of the sole claim that I was defending, namely, that Bush hatred subverted sound thinking. He cleared his throat for a second time. Then, with all eyes on him, and measuring every word, he proclaimed, "I . . . hate . . . the . . . way . . . Bush . . . talks."
This summary of insane Bush hatred was given towards the end of the article:
In short, Bush hatred is not a rational response to actual Bush perfidy. Rather, Bush hatred compels its progressive victims--who pride themselves on their sophistication and sensitivity to nuance--to reduce complicated events and multilayered issues to simple matters of good and evil. Like all hatred in politics, Bush hatred blinds to the other sides of the argument, and constrains the hater to see a monster instead of a political opponent.
As if to prove Peter Berkowitz correct, the response to his article in the Democratic Underground reveals yet more insane Bush hatred:
I hate, despise, loathe and detest Bush with the burning intensity of a white hot sun.
Mr. Berkowitz has it backwards. The insane ones are those who see nothing wrong with bush and his band of criminals.
I hate people who don't hate Bush.
Hating a Torturer is NOT Insane.
...Do I need meds?
You can see a wider collection of these insane BDS remarks at the DUmmie FUnnies.
—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.
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Argue
November 15, 2007 - 08:35 ET by allanfBerkowitz is correct. You can't have an argument with people who are irrational. Berkowitz related the story of his dinner part where the hostile questioner asked him to prove it was irrational to hate Bush.
That's how these folks think. Discussion is not possible.
I think...
November 15, 2007 - 08:38 ET by tater...most of their hate stems from the Iraq war or wire tapping. It's just that hate has grown and grown over the past few years now they just hate Bush because. Anger can do that to a person.
Do you realize how much it costs to run for office? More than any honest man could afford. -Montgomery Burns
}}---> Their hatred
November 15, 2007 - 08:43 ET by Cool ArrowOK, so Hillary listens to illegally wiretapped information and there's no problem.
Hillary (the President's wife) requisitions 2000 FBI files of her political enemies and there's no problem?
Bill Clinton bombs Iraq with Cruise missiles and there's no war?
Somebody shoulda' told Saddam.
Plant crops - not questions
well my point is
November 15, 2007 - 08:53 ET by tater...their anger is pretty illogical and hypocritical.
Do you realize how much it costs to run for office? More than any honest man could afford. -Montgomery Burns
}}---> tater
November 15, 2007 - 09:14 ET by Cool ArrowI knew that. I was just playing daft.
Plant crops - not questions
In my opinion....
November 15, 2007 - 09:02 ET by ForeverOnTheRightthe hatred started way back in 2000 when Gore lost to Bush in the Florida controversy. It has only intensified and has become more and more irrational. Iraq and the wire tapping of suspected terrorist or terrorist symapthizers was just a handle for them to grasp on to and whip up their anger further. Poorly handled anger leads to irrational thinking and behavior. Anger channeled correctly can lead to constructive action, but not in this case. Poorly handled anger can make a fool of you. Bush has not been the divider it has been the irrational angery Left that has cause the division.
I think the hatred started
November 15, 2007 - 11:43 ET by BruzillaI think the hatred started well before 2000, and actually goes back to the early years of the Clinton presidency. It is normal human behavior for most folks to attempt to justify bad behavior by pointing to the bad behavior of their opponents. O'Reilly gripes about this practice all the time.
The issue for Democrats is that they thought Bill Clinton truly was wronged, that he was victimized, that he was being wrongfully persecuted. Then when he came clean and confessed, the Democrats were faced with a tough decision: admit that they were wrong and denounce the guy who had wronged them (which is what Republicans tend to do) or attempt to justify Clinton's behavior by pointing to something a Republican has done, and make a wrong a right by saying "everyone does it!" They chose the later.
So, I don't think it really mattered if Bush became president or McCain or anyone else. Whoever got elected was going to be the target of a concerted attack to paint them with the Bill Clinton brush. If they can delude themselves that "all Presidents lie", then what Clinton did wasn't that bad. If they can delude themselves that fighting a war is worse than having sex with an intern, then what Clinton did wasn't that bad. So in the end I don't see it as a Bush hatred thing, but a legitimize Clinton disorder.
I disagree. They hate him
November 15, 2007 - 09:03 ET by danboI disagree. They hate him because he won the White House which they believe was their property.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
Hear-hear!
November 15, 2007 - 09:32 ET by Evil CapitalistHear-hear!
"now they just hate Bush because..."
November 15, 2007 - 09:26 ET by vrwc13...they hate him too because he has said he is a "born again" Christian....let the hate begin.
v
The reason that Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart.
Thomas Jefferson
Honestly,
November 15, 2007 - 11:02 ET by heldmywI think that their hate is far more visceral.
G.W. doesn't speak like they do, share the same worldview, is an unapologetic Christian and, worst of all, doesn't toady to these so-called 'intellectuals' and fawn over their 'wisdom'.
A crime of unimaginable proportions, compounded by the fact that the economy is chugging along, we're winning in Iraq, and people are quietly happy and getting on with important things like raising children and paying mortgages.
Criminal!
NO NO NO NO NO!
November 15, 2007 - 12:28 ET by cvgbuckeyeIt occurs to me that a host of people miss most of the main reasons for Bush hatred; that being his deep faith and his unashamedness at expressing it.
Next; his unbending pursuit of policy dictated by his concience.
Next; he mixes these all together with political endeavors that are consistent with his moral values but not always with a straight conservative bent.
Lastly; his public persona is inconsistent with his high level of intelligence and education which dwarfs the general populous of elites, atheists and agnostics and they just can't stand it.
May they all go straight to the Hell that they've been striving for.
Some day, fair and balanced historians will record his and his administrations heroism in protecting this nation during a terribly dangerous period.
I'd vote for him ten more times if he could run
Me, I dont like his hair?
November 15, 2007 - 08:50 ET by general company"I . . . hate . . . the . . . way . . . Bush . . . talks."
Well I guess that is a good enough reason, good grief.
My Brother had this problem, last time I was up their we (just him and I) went to dinner. I asked him what his problem was with Bush, most of his hatred was just like this. I staightened him out a bit, by pointing out how this type of hatred was so stereotypical, and how the media twist what is realy happening. Their were a few other Bush haters within ear shot, when one of them chimed in my brother told him to f-off, I was so proud. I told him to quit listening to people tell him what they think Bush ment, instead focus on the words coming out of Bush's mouth. Now if I can only get Pop to come around?
"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest". Mark Twain
"Do I need meds?"They
November 15, 2007 - 09:01 ET by danbo"Do I need meds?"
They may help with this irrational thought process.
Let me rephrase that. Delusional thought process.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
Bush hatred stems from the
November 15, 2007 - 09:04 ET by rimskyBush hatred stems from the fact that he won the 2000 election, from the unfounded perception that he is somehow not intelligent, from his stubborn resolve to persevere in the WOT, from his family connections (somehow the Kennedy's get a pass here), from his loyalty to Dick Cheney, from his strong Christian beliefs (I'm sure some can't believe that he has to pray to his God for guidance), and most of all, I think they hate him because they fear history will be kind to him, and they just can't stand it.
Part of the left/liberal
November 15, 2007 - 09:28 ET by MidAmericaPart of the left/liberal mindset is a sense of superiority. They are smarter and more sophisticated than some shlub driving around in a pick-up truck. They have the fantasy that other people need their help and advice to make it through life. ...and then they get beat (twice) by a man that is the personification of all the people they look down their noses at.
To the looney bin!
November 15, 2007 - 09:36 ET by mattmSend in the rubber truck...
Couldnt read the comments at
November 15, 2007 - 09:57 ET by sunandsteelCouldnt read the comments at DUmmie FUnnies (darn web filter) so had to read them at the Undergound. Now I need a bath, I feel so dirty.
Texas has a population of nearly 21 million people, all of whom are ashamed to be from the same state as the Dixie Chicks. (IMAO.us)
Hatred toward George vs. hatred toward Bill
November 15, 2007 - 10:03 ET by Agrarian-DecentralistThe Bush hatred on the left has something in common with the Clinton hatred (toward both Bill and Hillary) on the right. But I think there is an essential distinction between the hatred for Bill Clinton and that directed at Bush. Bill was brilliant both as a politician and a leader.That elicited an understandable spluttering rage from the opposition, which was reduced to going against him for his moral weaknesses. Bush, on the other hand, has some political savvy, but has terrible judgment which should preclude him from ever holding any kind of leadership position. That has been manifested in his response to Katrina, his decision to mount a preemptive war againt a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 rather than focusing on Osama and the real terrorists, and his willingness to accept guidance from unitary-executive fanatics. Has this man ever even read the Constitution?
Bill was brilliant both as
November 15, 2007 - 10:16 ET by MidAmericaBill was brilliant both as a politician and a leader.
He was (is) neither. He did not lead. He talked and mugged for the camera. He will be forgotten within a generation because he squandered his eight years.
AgDe....Have you ever read
November 15, 2007 - 16:43 ET by SoftRightAgDe....Have you ever read the Constitution? Check out my tagline...Art. 4 Sect. 4 clearly forbids the Feds (ie. Bush) from going into a state and doing anything without the legislature's or Governor's permission. Period. Can you imagine the rabid mouth foaming by those that suffer countless imagined Constitutional slights if Bush had actually violated the Constitution and overrode the Dem "Machine" that ran LA/New Orleans???? Gov Blanco resisted Fed help for quite a while, lay the slow response where it belongs.
Frankly, my fondness for Art 4 Sect 4 comes from the "protect them from invasion" clause..... but you have to love both of the other clauses.... James Madison was a genius the likes of which our government hasn't seen since.
Congress: Do your Duty! Enforce Article 4 Sect 4 of the Constitution!
I think Clinton's
November 15, 2007 - 10:16 ET by Hero SquadI think Clinton's "brilliance" as a leader is certainly debatable. Brilliant politician? No argument here.
People who disagree with Bush's decisions will naturally disagree with his actions, as you clearly do. However, many of us realize that most of the opposition is merely blowing hot air about a man who could cure cancer and be accused by the left of causing rising unemployment among oncologists.
**My Daughter at the WWII Memorial
Ahh! The "reasonable"
November 15, 2007 - 10:21 ET by robert108Ahh! The "reasonable" Bush-hater. You have everything wrong, but don't let that stop you. You make the point of this thread. Thanks.
I'm sorry, but I stopped
November 15, 2007 - 10:25 ET by Jack BauerI'm sorry, but I stopped reading your diatribe after you mentioned Bill Clinton being a "leader."
Churchill was a leader. Reagan was a leader. FDR was a leader. Even JFK was a leader.
But Clinton, gimme a frackin' break. Anti-leader is more like it, as the man never made a decision in his life without a focus group and a spot of triangulation.
I believe he even focused grouped his "girlfriends."
Douglas Adams vindicated
November 16, 2007 - 08:56 ET by GrannyGrump42Bill Clinton was vindication of Douglas Adams' observation that the job of the President (of the Galaxy, okay, but you get the idea) isn't to wield power, but to draw attention away from it.
I'd like to know what was going on while we were pondering a cigar and a blue dress. What were Bill's handlers diverting attention away from?
Earth to AD
November 15, 2007 - 10:36 ET by danboThe gulf coast still has plenty to do. But is well ahead of New Orleans. For the problem in New Orleans. You mainly have to look to the local government. (Ray Nagin) and the state. (Gov. Blank-O.)
But hey. I didn't have the advantage of learning the truth from the media. As I didn't have electricity. I was busy cleaning up storm damage. Listening to local (including New Orleans) news on the radio. Seeing the federal help along the coast. Getting water, food, and ice from FEMA. Having them ask me if I needed a tarp. And watching the convoys heading down I-10 to New Orleans only to be stopped by the state of Louisiana. And I actually had to deal with the state of Louisiana and FEMA trying to help Louisiana recover at work.
Same storm. Same FEMA, same federal government. Different state and local governments.
JHC. New Orleans is still talking about debris pick up. Over 2 years later.
Liberal insanity never ceases to amaze me.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
No, I don't believe the right hates the Clintons
November 15, 2007 - 12:15 ET by Bess2728Not hate - the right doesn't agree with the Clintons and their policies or political philosophies. However, one does not see the right hating the Clintons simply to hate.
The left Bush-haters take every opportunity to blame the man for everything they do not like or even things that have gone wrong in their personal lives.
The Bush hatred has almost (and I say almost - not that it has) reached the same depth as some anti-semites have for Jews. It is deep; it is irrational ; it is spreading ; and it is unhealthy and caustic.
I agree with you. However,
November 15, 2007 - 12:28 ET by Hero SquadI agree with you. However, my wife comes thisclose to hating Bill Clinton - disgusted would be a more accurate word - because of his cheating, particularly with an intern. Politics aside, she finds him repulsive and demeaning to women, and she would feel no differently if it were a Republican engaging in that behavior.
Consequently, she has very low regard for Hillary Clinton and would never, ever even consider voting for her... even if she were so far to the right she'd make Reagan look like a bleeding heart. My wife's reason is simple: when the truth of President Clinton's tryst was confirmed, Mrs. Clinton should have packed her bags and left... or better yet, made President Clinton leave the White House. Perhaps he could've crashed on Al Gore's couch.
The Clinton's may have a marriage of political convenience, but my wife (and no doubt many other women) can only see her as dutifully accepting a role as nothing more as a marriage doormat, and a slap in the face to the sanctity of marriage. That should be unacceptable to many women, and I think it will be revealed as such come election time.
**My Daughter at the WWII Memorial
Disgusted is a good term
November 16, 2007 - 09:35 ET by Bess2728I like the term disgusted in terms of Bill Clinton. Mostly I just shake my head.
But Hillary - she's another whole ball of wax. I would never ever vote for her. Not because of marriage to Bill - if she wants to be a doormat - than let her. It's her ideas that I find repulsive. Her "village" that wants to "raise my children." I would rather vote for a trained monkey than Hillary (or any other Democrat, truth be told).
20 years ago, I was a conservative at an all-woman very liberal liberal arts college (not the one Hillary attended, but a "sister" of it). Hillary reminds me of many of my classmates - unfortunately I tolerated them back then - thinking they could do no harm - watch out - there's another generation of Hillary's coming at you about 10 years from now.
How can an idiot consistently outwit geniuses on the Left?
November 15, 2007 - 10:32 ET by Ted ClarkeWho, in your opinion, is the single, biggest nuclear-powered idiot unleashed upon the world today?
The one who fits the bill for me is Cindy Sheehan (or perhaps Keith Olberman). Now place her (or him) in a bare-knuckle brawl of wits with all of the greatest minds the Conservative world could ever produce.
Now imagine Ol' Peace Mom (or our pal "Olby Dick") somehow managing to twist our guys around by their nostrils, leaving them bruised, bloodied and thoroughly discombobulated. (...not once or twice, but consistently, day after day.)
An idiot like Cindy Sheehan outwitting a Charles Krauthammer? An Ann Coulter? A Rush Limbaugh? God forbid! But imagine if this were real. How would you feel?
For me, a jugfull of "Mindless Hatred and Rage" might be the only medicine available to help me through the rough patches.
It must be like this for the Left. They see Bush as a mental midget trouncing their best and brightest at every turn. Man, this must gall them so much that sane people might be incapable of fully understanding. Those poor, poor miserable bastards. I feel their pain.
Here's some pain!
November 15, 2007 - 14:35 ET by IamTinmanIf you wake up in a particularly malicious mood and want to add to your lib friends discomfort, simply mention that without Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, Clinton, Kerry, Gore would be nothing more than historical footnotes.
I disagree...
November 15, 2007 - 11:01 ET by orlandocajunThe loons on the left are not borderline insane. They crossed the border long ago. One only need read those Dimocrat Underground comments.
I thought libtards were
November 15, 2007 - 11:40 ET by wiwfI thought libtards were open minded! I thought they wanted HUGS, not bombs. If anything, Bush is the one doing the hugging, Liberals are responding with slaps and stabs.
I wish Bush would learn, though, that you can't "make nice" with liberals. But that's also something I admire from his Christian faith perspective: love your enemy at whatever cost. In a perfect world, he'd be right, and liberals would finally cave...
The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy
think about it ...
November 15, 2007 - 12:24 ET by pmohbuckall the intellectual and elitist posturing the liberal left displays each and every day ... the "educated", "the informed", "the perceptive" ... taking complex and polarizing political issues and reducing them to simplified "good vs. evil" scenarios ... basically dumbing the debate down so their idiot constituency can understand.
if anything, it is entertaining to see the similarties of todays bush-hating liberals with 2nd graders on a playground. you've got it all: the whining, the fingerpointing, the name calling and usually the biggest whiner/liberal of them all ends up getting clobbered and runs crying to the teacher.
Lib Hatred of Bush
November 15, 2007 - 12:56 ET by Six String SpiffI think this visceral hatred is nothing more than that of a 5 year old who can't get the bag of candy they wanted at the grocery store. The ridiculous behavior that has spread like an infection throughout this great country is awful. The inane belief that elections were somehow STOLEN when a republican wins, but not when a Dem wins is CHILDISH. Plain and simple. They have NO IDEA what dictator rule even means, and they should be ashamed that they think so ill of this country. Of course, when you tell them to leave, they somehow never want to.
Islamic Religious Services Will Be Held at the Firing Range At 0800 Daily.
"I . . . hate . . . the . . . way . . . Bush . . . talks."
November 15, 2007 - 16:46 ET by MightyMouth"We . . . hate . . . the . . . way . . . You . . . Think."
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
"This conversation is over"
November 16, 2007 - 08:51 ET by GrannyGrump42I had a co-worker, let's call him Bill, who said he hated everything Bush did.
I pointed out to Bill that Bush had commuted Henry Lee Lucas' death sentence. Surely, I said, as a DP opponent, this presented a single, discreet act by Bush that he, Bill, did not hate.
"I hate his inconsistency!" Bill snarled.
"So -- he should have fried Henry Lee Lucas?"
"This conversation is over!" And Bill put in the earbuds for his iPod and that was that.