My weekly Townhall column begins with the following three sentences:
It must have been a fun week to be a leftist. The week began with news of significant carnage in Iraq. While many liberals harbor sympathy for put-upon Iraqis, many more relish any development that adds to their narrative that “Bush’s War” is a disaster.
I guess predictably, this opening annoyed some left-leaning types. As is their wont, they labeled me an imprudent poltroon while they vented their anger. (In reality, their insults were nowhere near so colorful, but I like to pretend from time to time that the left actually presents some worthy sparring partners.)
Well, as Samuel L. Jackson said in “Pulp Fiction,” allow me to retort.
IN A JUSTLY INFAMOUS INTERNET MOMENT from 2004, Markos Moulitsas offered his condolences for four military private contractors in the employ of Blackwater Company who had been savagely killed in Fallujah and then had their bodies burned as they hung from a bridge. All the victims were decorated veterans of the United States military. Markos commented:
“I feel nothing over the death of merceneries [sic]. They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.”
Now, without engaging in a dispute over whether military contractors are deserving of the left’s sympathies, let’s just assume for the moment the ridiculous and say that they’re not, and that Markos (who has subsequently stood by his comments) speaks for at least a fair number of his followers. That being the case, what happened in 2004 is an example of precisely what I was talking about in the opening sentences of my essay – members of the left gleefully jumping on a piece of bad news from Iraq while feeling no sadness about the news at issue. The fact that Markos didn’t feel any sympathy for the slain contractors should be beyond dispute, unless you feel that “screw them” is a new way for edgy bloggers to express their condolences.
Fast forward to the present day. Earlier this week, Daily Kos front pager McJoan had a post that that read in its entirety:
Just a reminder about what the worst that can happen as a result of escalation looks like:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four of the five Americans killed when a U.S. security company's helicopter crashed in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad were shot execution style in the back the head, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Wednesday.
A senior Iraqi military official said a machine gunner downed the helicopter, but a U.S. military official in Washington said there were no indications that the aircraft, owned by Blackwater USA, had been shot out of the sky. Two Sunni insurgent groups, separately, claimed responsibility for the crash.
You’ll note that McJoan (if that’s his/her real name) didn’t even bother with the pro forma display of sympathy that is de rigueur on such posts in the left wing blogosphere. Given that the victims were Blackwater employees, it’s not much of a surprise that some commenters to the post registered sentiments similar to those of Markos’ from a few years ago. One opined, “I shed no tears for mercenaries. Sorry.” Another chimed in, “They weren't people fighting for their country, but people being paid exorbitant sums to kill people. I'm sure their phat bank accounts are being transferred to heaven as we speak.”
While I think these nuggets of commentary speak eloquently for themselves, I’ll elaborate on them anyway. First, obviously, McJoan’s post and its accompanying comments are an example of precisely the same the same thing that Markos was doing a few years ago – gleefully seizing upon a piece of bad news to further the preferred Kossack narrative regarding Iraq while feeling no remorse for the loss of life or suffering involved. I’m not saying all liberals feel this way. Furthermore, I’m not saying that all liberals need to make it a point to step forward and say these people don’t speak for them. That would be unfair, and a gross example of guilt-by-association.
But it’s also pointless to deny the reality that people like this are out there. In the past, I’ve written about a dinner guest who was eager for America to “learn a lesson” in Iraq. This week, I reprinted an email that read:
It's simple: If the surge succeeds, then the president, the Republicans and the Democratic supporters won't learn any lessons. In the USA victory only makes you more arrogant. Today Iraq, tomorrow Iran, Thursday Dafur, Friday Pakistan, Sunday Beijing, etc... Success would bring us into a state of perpetual war until we make a truly deadly decision. Making the same mistakes each time.
And lastly, and most importantly, I wrote about a Fox News poll that showed 49% of Democrats either didn’t want the surge to succeed or were unsure if they wanted it to succeed.
BOTH THE RIGHT AND LEFT have their cretins. Furthermore, it would be facile and simplistic to assume that the cretins have achieved critical mass on either side of the political spectrum absent any compelling evidence.
Lord knows the right wing miscreants get their share of the media spotlight. Be it a congressman with peculiar tastes in X-rated instant-message partners or a previously obscure preacher who turns out to have a fondness for the fellas, these guys invariably get major airtime.
Similarly, I feel no obligation to ignore the very real presence of leftists who do indeed delight in Iraq’s carnage, and whose expressions of sympathy are likely to read “screw them.” I know there are many liberals who are as disgusted by these people as I am, but I also know that the “Screw Them Democrats” aren’t just a lunatic fringe.
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