Posted on 10/11/2009 8:06:41 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
This morning, in an interview with CNN's State of the Union, Sen. John McCain (RINO-Ariz.) apparently used some rather choice language to describe the fairly evident future political aspirations of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Ak.):
"Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time."
—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2360310/posts
With only a cursory glance, it appears from McCain's language that he is merely asking for a second chance -- in 2012? -- with Palin. [And, at first blush, it is easy to dismiss his words as the ravings of a senile old man.] However, as FReeper rae4palin pointed out, the phrase
“Let a thousand flowers bloom” was said by Mao to encourage dissidents to self-identify. Mao then killed them.
—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2360310/posts?page=26#26
[Or, more precisely, as other FReepers noted, the phrase "let a thousand flowers of bloom" is a variant of a Maoist phrase "let a hundred flowers bloom." In all cases, however, the distinction between the two phrases--Maoist and McCainian--or in other words, the word "hundred" vs. the word "thousand," are irrelevant to the phrase's meaning.]
In fact, this observation was also picked up and expounded upon by other FReepers, including piytar and cripplecreek. The origin of the phrase "let a hundred flowers bloom" (i.e., the actual phrase upon which McCain's particular words were based) is...Chinese Communist Mao Zedong! As FReeper cripplecreek noted,
Let a thousand flowers bloom is a common misquotation of Chairman Mao Zedong’s “Let a hundred flowers blossom”. This slogan was used during the period of approximately six weeks in the summer of 1957 when the Chinese intelligentsia were invited to criticize the political system then obtaining in Communist China.
The full quotation, taken from a speech of Mao’s in Peking in February 1957, is:
“Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting progress in the arts and the sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land.”
It is sometimes suggested that the initiative was a deliberate attempt to flush out dissidents by encouraging them to show themselves as critical of the regime. Whether or not it was a deliberate trap isn’t clear but it is the case that many of those who put forward views that were unwelcome to Mao were executed.
The biggest question here is why McCain specifically elected to use a Maoist phrase in connection with Palin's fairly obvious future political aspirations. Certainly, it goes without saying that his choice of words is especially disturbing, given his time in captivity in North Vietnam. [Could it be that the late conservative activist Ted Sampley, who presciently labeled McCain as a "Manchurian candidate" nearly seventeen years ago, was right all along?] Furthermore, upon closer examination of McCain's language, especially in the context of his past actions as a noted RINO and member of the Beltway establishment, it becomes alarmingly obvious that his words constitute nothing less than a veiled threat against Palin, or i.e., the Republican establishment considers her a direct threat to the continuance of their power and will most certaintly attempt to derail her future aspirations, much as Mao encouraged Chinese intelligentsia to speak freely nearly fifty-seven years ago...before executing the ones he disagreed with.
Of course what happened after those 100 flowers were invited to bloom - is they were almost immediately thereafter, mercilessly smashed in the ensuing crackdown.
bfl
. . . Don't miss the last paragraph in the article.
.
I called him McChurian a long time ago.
Palin may be part of a winning combination... YOU, McLAME, WILL NOT BE
ping to this.
McCain’s not that smart. IMHO there’s no conspiracy to cause to self-identify and then “kill off” (figuratively) non-RINO republicans. McCain is just being an idiot, which is quite believable and in character for him.
On the other hand, I can’t help but agree with the old guy when he says, “Let’s come up with a winning combination next time.”
That winning combination DOES NOT include John McCain.
McCain is such a douchebag. Surely SOMEONE must have some real nasty dirt on the SOB to wreck him in 2010.
Wow! GREAT post, very thorough. Far better than I would have done!
OK, off to ping Drudge et al.
:-)
After the hundred flowers blossomed to remind all of the beauty of freedom, they were pulled up by the roots like weeds and left to die in the hot Red sun.
Your obsession with McCain is bordering on the insane.
Maybe, maybe not. But if he's not, there are people behind him that are.
IMHO there’s no conspiracy to cause to self-identify and then “kill off” (figuratively) non-RINO republicans.
There probably isn't some organized "Illuminati" type conspiracy (*crosses fingers*), but I assure you, the GOP establishment--the Beltway crowd--feels threatened by Palin and the Tea Parties and the apparent awakening of the electorate. Or, they could just be a bunch of elitists who feel that Palin presents competition and an obstacle to the continuance of their agenda, including their continued existence within the Beltway.
If she becomes too big of a threat, the GOP establishment--including McCain, who's trying to establish his "bipartisan" legacy before he joins his buddy Teddy Kennedy (or before one of {Hayworth, Simcox, Deakin, another GOP or Rat challenger} defeats him in {2010, 2016}), and Romney, who's trying to run for President in 2012, and Palin's candidacy effectively ends his aspirations--will openly try to derail her.
Plus, it goes without saying that Palin is an open and unlimited threat to the Democrats.
Why do I get the feeling the title is a rhetorical question?
>> But if he’s not, there are people behind him that are.
ROFL! Really? Where the f**k were they when he was running for Prez? Or have they signed on since his epic fail? Tell me you’re not talking about Steve Schmidt?
WOW, that is weird, very weird!
If this thread is insanity - sign me up.
This is a well-researched, thoughtfully prepared thread of facts on one of the greatest challengers to freedom in American today. John McCain must be defeated in 2010.
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