Posted on 12/16/2005 4:02:17 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
By Tony Snow
Dec 16, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It would be easy to portray Jack Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid or any of the other wheezy prophets of the Defeatocrat Party as oddities were it not for the fact that their position on Iraq is deeply consonant with what the Modern Democratic Party has believed for 50 years.
The latest Democratic position on Iraq goes something like this: Even though the Iraqis pulled off a stunningly peaceful and successful election on Dec. 15, President Bush still needs to establish benchmarks for the future, informing the American people of precisely what he will do -- i.e., how many troops he would demobilize -- should certain things happen on the ground in Iraq.
They believe human events unfold in a neat and predictable manner. Call it the Theory of Human Orderliness. The idea is that one can harness the insights of science and the methods of engineering to perfect societies. Theorists believe sound plans can impel people to behave in an ordered manner -- like asteroids tracing their paths through the void.
Thus, John Kennedy launched a war on poverty, asserting in his Inaugural Address that we had it within our power to vanquish hardship and want. Within years, the government began dumping untold billions into like-minded efforts to clean the air and water, provide health care for all, and ring in an era of manageable economic growth and prosperity.
The only flaw in the Orderliness Hypothesis is that it doesn't work if people are present. The war on poverty looked great on paper. It failed miserably in real life. Air-cleansing regulatory schemes looked great in computer models, but failed abysmally in reality. Centralized health care boasted of chalkboard elegance, but is breaking the bank right here, right now. The myth of managed affluence collapsed with the Berlin Wall.
And yet, failure has not altered Democratic thinking an iota. John Kerry boasted dozens of times in his debates with George W. Bush that he had a plan -- for everything: dental care, tree planting, street paving, book binding, teen rutting, mass transit, air circulation, steel production ... you name it. He announced these schemes with a sense of triumph, as if having a plan were superior to having a clue.
In resisting President Bush's infinitely variable approach to the ever-shifting situation in Iraq, Democrats have reverted to form. The cries for benchmarks and deadlines merely embody their weird faith in plans. Howard Dean unwittingly captured the absurdity of it all when he announced this week the precise number of National Guard units required to subdue Al-Qaida.
You see, there are significant differences between celestial bodies and human beings. Asteroids don't change their minds or behavior for any reason -- let alone for myriad reasons. People do.
The mere facts of human cussedness and unpredictability explain why commentators since Sun Tzu have written about the art, not the science, of war. Men are creatures of impulse and will, and almost never behave in accordance with plans (let alone orders).
Democrats have ignored another critical feature of human nature: will. Sheer willpower can motivate troops or demoralize them. If one side has an absolute determination, and the ability to adjust regularly and freely to changes on and around the battlefield, that side can win.
But another kind of will matters, and that is national will. Terrorists don't believe Americans have the stomach to endure combat hardships. They think we will quit. Our ability to prove otherwise will have far more influence on the final outcome than any plan drafted in any office in Washington or elsewhere.
David Bellavia, who won a Silver Star in Iraq and has been recommended for a Medal of Honor, says Murtha and other Democrats ought to apologize to U.S. forces in Iraq for their repeated claims that the Army is beaten, living hand-to-mouth and doomed to defeat.
Yet the Democratic position, far from being an isolated act of political cynicisms, is something far worse and more disturbing. It is a clear signal that the party still hasn't learned the folly of believing more in blueprints than in people.
The recent burst of anti-Bush and antiwar rhetoric marks the advent not of another Vietnam, but of another Carteresque interlude. Jimmy Carter underestimated the prowess of American workers, fighters and entrepreneurs. In so doing, he all but destroyed his party, handing history's mantle to Ronald Reagan. If nothing else, Jack Murtha's ascent to stardom proves that Democrats, having learned nothing from history, intend to repeat it.
Thanks for the post! :-)
Tony Snow article ping :-)
Thanks for posting that.
Well done!!!
Most of these democrats would not REALLY cut and run if they regained the White House...as with all subjects, democrats have no core beliefs, rather they choose temporary positions based upon what they believe will get them elected.
Recall Clinton who promised a middle class tax break, but then once elected claimed that things were worse than he thought, and even though he worked "as hard as I have in my life", he just could't do it.
Tony cuts right to the bone in this one.
The democrats are still trying to deify humans and human effort...and, of course, it can't be done.
Thx for posting it!
This is the money line in the piece as it pegs the Defeatocrats exactly.
Democrats have ignored another critical feature of human nature: will.
And in a general sense, this is the core of problem with the defeatocrats. Socialism is a wonderful system...until you involve people. What is forgotten in systems such as socialism is human nature. When people discover that they don't have to work and yet still have a government that will take care of them then human nature kicks in. Over time, smaller and smaller percentages actually work hard, and they end up carrying an increasingly larger part of the societal burden supporting those who will not work.
Excellent column
Just a couple of points John Murtha is hardly a star, just a legend in his own mind.
John Kerry hasnt a clue, and the Democrats ARE lending aid and comfort to our enemy.
I used to think George Bush had a clue but his appointing Clinton to work with his dad and his signing of the CFR and now McPains latest bill on torture of prisoners tied in with his immigration plans and his backing of Spectre,have me wondering about him too.
Great article and I loved this line "as if having a plan were superior to having a clue." Excellent.
How events play out over the next few months leading to the 06 election and more importantly the 08 election will determine what the official party position will be.
All the rest will be forgotten as they and the press rewrite history once again.
One person embodies this strategy almost perfectly,Hillary.
On a day when Iraqis were freely voting in their own country, I had to laugh when the best that the hapless and grey-faced Harry Reid could do was get up in front of a bank of cameras and bemoan the President's comment that Tom DeLay is entitled to a presumption of innocence.
Thanks for this post.
The Democrats have morphed into an American version of a Euro-Socialist Peace-Party.
Another great column *bump*
here is my prediction:
Things will continue to go well into next year allowing the US to start reducing forces. The defeatocrats will lay claim to being responsible for this because of the pressure they have put on the White House.
My response:
Just because you demand that the sun come up tomorrow doesn't mean you are responsible for it when it does.
Good Morning saveliberty.
Thanks for the ping.
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