Confessions Of The Monumentally Stupid
Humans often say very foolish things; politicians are defined by their general inability to always say very foolish things. As we come to the end of an earth-shattering week of political tomfoolery, I think its important we chronicle some of the best of the dumbest. There is no doubt that this Confessions of the Monumentally Stupid has a very good chance to be the first Confessions of the Monumentally Stupid. Let’s hope so; they are only too easy to write.
Typically, the politically stupid happens when a politician is trying to defend an indefensible position. “I did not have sex with that women!” springs immediately to mind. In today’s debate, conservatives are often forced into the monumentally stupid in order to more effectively reverse a previous position; John McCain’s entire campaign springs immediately to mind.
We lead off with a classic utterance on the subject of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. That such a monumentally stupid policy should lead to a monumentally stupid confession should not surprise anyone, but at any rate, here it is.
Implementation of any new policy should begin “when our singular focus is no longer on combat operations or preparing units for combat,” said Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon of California, top Republican on the Armed Services Committee.-Associated Press
One wonders when the military is ever not in a combat situation or preparing for one. Rep. McKeon has run afoul of another common predictor of the stupid; attempting to wrap his bigotry in a reasonable fabrication.
Senator Jon Kyl has spent the last two years coughing up stupidity in order to slow down the President’s agenda. Currently, his cough is caused by the START Treaty, an agreement with Russia endorsed by every Republican not currently enslaved to either Fox News or the Tea Party. Time is what is important to Senator Kyl, or so he says:
“It’s more a view of reality than policy,” Kyl said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding that if Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would allow a couple of weeks for study, debate and amendments, “then theoretically there would be time.”-Courtesy The Hill
Senator Kyl, lately seen blasting Democrats for procedural tricks on health care, is concerned about time. He wants to study the treaty before voting on its ratification. A noble desire to be sure, but curious given the treaty was signed more than eight months ago. Surely such a well-compensated and well-supported public servant could have read the treaty, studied its implications, and written a handful of op-eds on its problems by now?
Rush Limbaugh has earned millions being monumentally stupid (which I have to admit begs a few questions). This week, he attacked Speaker Pelosi for claiming that President Obama’s deal gave too much to the wealthy at the expense of the working class.
After playing a clip of Nancy Pelosi discussing how the middle class were held hostage because the Republicans demanded additional tax cuts for the rich, Limbaugh said, “What she’s claiming happened didn’t happen. Nothing was done for the rich.-Courtesy PoliticsUSA
The Bush tax cuts were a multi-trillion dollar giveaway that forced cuts to programs that strengthened the working class American households that create the opportunity to be wealthy. Their extension is precisely what Speaker Pelosi says it is, and Limbaugh is a lifetime member of the monumentally stupid. And there it is; the first of the dumbest. I have a sneaky suspicion it won’t be the last, as even the smartest can be among the dumbest…some of the time.
