Paul Begala Epitomizes the Hysterical Left

e-mail from a friend, Bob Graham | July 21, 2005 | Christopher G. Adamo

[Deacon_m]

Anyone who still clings to the absurd notion that the war on Islamic terrorism can be fought in the manner of past wars is either naive or criminally ignorant of the situation in which America presently finds itself. Treaties, truces, and conventions are neither strategic tools nor effective weapons when confronting the fanaticism that drives militant Islamists. Likewise, Republicans who believe that the political issues presently facing their country can be solved through reasoned discourse and compromise between the opposing parties are simply out of touch with reality. Any doubts that this is indeed the case can be quickly laid to rest in light of recent statements from Paul Begala, formerly a key political strategist in the Clinton Administration.

Throughout the Clinton years, Begala worked in concert with "hatchet man" James Carville. Though neither Begala nor Carville has ever done a respectable job of honestly and intellectually promoting Bill Clinton's liberal agenda, their strategy never required them to do so. Instead, it was by the sheer force of their nastiness that they were able to overwhelm debate from their opposition. Apparently, Begala is still at it. At a recent gathering of the "Campus Progress National Student Conference" in Washington D.C.,

Begala actually asserted that Republicans seek to kill Americans. In an almost surreal statement referencing to 9-11 he began "I was driving past the Pentagon when that plane hit. I had friends on that plane; this is deadly serious to me." But then, in a virtually seamless transition, he asserted "They want to kill me and my children if they can. But if they just kill me and not my children, they want my children to be comforted -- that while they didn't protect me because they cut my taxes, my children won't have to pay any money on the money they inherit."

It is noteworthy that in his bizarre ramblings, he completely blurred any distinction between al Qaeda terrorists who slaughtered three thousand innocent people, and Republicans who managed to implement a meager tax cut for Americans. Actually, such mindless rhetoric has long been a staple of those on the left. At the first sign of conservative opposition, liberals immediately respond with epithets of "Fascist" and "Nazi," as if the application of these labels truly buttresses their case.

It is altogether irrelevant to them to seriously ponder the iron-fisted roles of those regimes in the lives of their people, and how efforts at "thought control" and intimidation were far more reflective of "political correctness" than of any attempts by conservatives to intellectually prevail. Instead, it is enough for leftists to hurl hysterical accusations, always gambling that their loyal following will not seek to learn the reality behind such rhetoric. And, for the most part, they have been right to make this assumption, especially in recent decades during which they held a virtual monopoly on the dissemination of information.

Now however, mainstream America gravitates away from the liberal media and towards alternative sources of news and analysis. But liberal Democrats remain acutely aware that if they are to have any hope of retaining the loyalty of their "base," they must continue to fan the flames of radicalism that brought them political dominance during the 1960's and thereafter. So, to this day, the same mantras, the same name-calling, and the same denials of reality are regularly invoked as the core of their political strategy.

Furthermore, it should not be assumed that individuals like Begala only represent the extreme liberal "fringe." At the very same event where he peddled his venomous diatribe, another noteworthy speaker was Bill Clinton himself. While both Clintons seek at times to portray themselves as "centrists," neither is the least bit uncomfortable revealing their true, ultra-liberal philosophies at gatherings of this nature. It must be clearly understood that Paul Begala is not the source of a problem within Democrat circles, but merely an outward symptom. Amid similarly shrill allegations, the Democrat/media cabal grossly exaggerated the fabricated crimes of Karl Rove and misdeeds of Tom Delay.

Meanwhile, the same people regularly turn a blind eye to the horrendous security breaches of former Assistant Attorney General Jamie Gorelick and National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, among others. If Democrats can keep Republicans on the defensive, they consider themselves victorious. And they remain indifferent to the resulting moral boost this continually gives the terrorists. Apparently the endangerment of America is an acceptable risk, when the Democrat Party's political future is at stake.

[ClearCase_guy]

Those Republicans are messing with my precious bodily fluids!

[FormerACLUmember]

No difference whatsoever between Begala and Goebbells. Except that I don't think the Nazi inventor of the Big Lie was ever as extreme as Begala.