A political discussion between Red
State conservative Dave Simpson – a former
reporter, editor, publisher and columnist
– and Greg Bean, Blue Stater and
executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers.
Let us know what you think.
Dear Greg:
Times were tough over on your side of the field this week, huh?
First off, your soul mates in the liberal media came up puny when they tried to blame the California wildfires on President George (I believe you refer to him as the “Idiot-in-Chief ”) Bush.
You know, Greg, we Red Staters are a lot kinder and gentler than you liberals/ progressives. You guys commonly call Republicans names like “Darth Vader” and “Idiot-in-Chief.”
I’ll admit I referred to President Clinton as the “Philanderer-in-Chief ” a few times, but as a rule, you’ll never find a Red Stater mentioning – as you did last week – Eleanor Roosevelt and sex in the same sentence. Honestly, Greg. I’ve had that image in my head for a week now, and it’s keeping me up at night. I may have to bring in a priest to perform an exorcism.
But, back to the wildfires. TV reporter Claire Shipman was about to blame Bush for the fact that air tankers couldn’t get off the ground to fight the wildfires, when our boy Gov. Terminator (not a bad guy, for a Kennedy) actually grabbed her microphone and insisted that it was the wind – not the president – that caused the delay. You’ve got to give Claire points for trying, though. She’s a team player.
A president can’t do anything right when it comes to these natural disasters. If he shows up too early, he’s grandstanding and delaying relief efforts. If he waits, he doesn’t care about the victims. About all he can do right is air drop bales and bales of $100 bills, and he better be quick about it.
When did the president become the Daddy-in-Chief, Greg, ensuring that nothing bad will ever happen, and accepting blame and financial responsibility when natural disasters occur?
The other bad news for you guys this week was when President-elect Hillary got all bound up over whether or not New York should be giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
What’s next, free lifetime oil changes for illegal immigrants? Veg-O-Matics? Jack LaLanne Power Juicers?
To their credit, most of your also-rans roughed up President Hillary over that, but my friends in Illinois are still trying to figure out if Barack Obama is the same guy who was the most liberal member of the Illinois State Senate.
Obama scores big with the liberals for being against the war from the start. Of course, back then his job had more to do with tensions between DeKalb and Decatur than Iraq and the U.S. But, I guess with you guys, it’s the thought that counts.
Your friend,
Red State Dave
Dear Dave:
You know, I really hate it when conservatives like you make sweeping generalizations about people like me. You have no idea how many times people have started a tongue lashing against me with the words, “you and your friends (soul mates) in the liberal media.”
Just for the record, I don’t ever say I’m “in the media” and I’ve never once called myself a liberal. I thought I was a liberal before I moved to Massachusetts, but once I got there and saw what a Kennedy liberal looked and acted like in the flesh, I realized I never had been one and never would be.
I’m a newspaperman for gosh sake, and a local newspaperman at that. That means I’ve got about as much in common with Al Franken as you have with Rush Limbaugh (not counting certain similarities, like the way you both jump to erroneous conclusions and make sweeping generalizations).
As a matter of fact, I’m pretty fed up and embarrassed with the way “the media” acts at the national level. Those overpaid, obnoxious primadonnas give ink-stained wretches like me a bad name.
You were a newspaperman for long enough; you ought to understand the difference.
And please, don’t try to tell me that conservatives are all warm and fuzzy when it comes to calling people names. That was you trying to be funny, right? Making a joke? Philanderer-in-Chief is nicer than Idiot-in-Chief? If that was serious, I’ve got a two-word response, pardner: Ann Coulter.
But to get to those wildfires. I don’t think many people actually blame George W. Bush (I admit calling him the Idiot-in- Chief was a little over the line, but would you mind if I follow Molly Ivins’ lead and call him Shrub?) for the response to those disasters.
But there are plenty of people who are still ticked off at the way he and his administration handled the Katrina destruction. He established a pattern of behavior with his cavalier handling of the hurricane aftermath, so whenever something else happens, we expect more of the same recidivist behavior. If people don’t trust him and are looking to find fault at this point, all I can say is that he brought it on himself.
You know what, though? I agree with you about Hillary and the flap over giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. There are plenty of Blue Staters who thought she shot the plow horse on that one, and I’m one of them.
I think you’re also right about one other point. It is the thought that counts. Barack Obama has been against the war from the start, and wants to get us out. That, my wayward pal, is just what I want to hear.
Your friend,
Blue State Greg
You can reach Greg Bean at gbean @gmnews.com. Dave Simpson can be reached at [email protected].