Getting something off my political chest

The political posturing in the CIA leak investigation is getting as tiresome to watch as “Survivor 7 – Living Directly In an Incinerator.” (or whatever manifestation of a tired concept they are on now) Democrats are devouring it as if Bush fondled children, and Republicans are aghast that this “politically motivated” investigation would be so bold as to indict someone for a series of lies indirect to an investigation, and that it could lead to the “criminalization of politics.”

First, to the Republicans… come on. Much of politics should be criminal. Pork, cronyism, leaks, should be illegal. The day you give a critical government position to an unqualified buddy, use budget money for a useless pet project or abuse the press to forward your agenda, you should be impeached and charged with something akin to treason.

As for the investigation, remember when Bill Clinton was indicted (and impeached) for lying in a similar manner? It was pile-on time. He was lying about receiving oral sex, not about leaking a CIA agent’s identification, and possibly deeper, the origins and justification of a war. Don’t get me wrong, Clinton was guilty of lying. But such short memories you have. The feeding frenzy among the GOP at that time couldn’t have been reproduced by the best Hollywood special effect people as part of Jaws 4: Yet Another Goddamn Sequel.

And to the Democrats, calm down, this is still an investigation. Busy yourselves working on your plan. You people spend all day criticizing the Bush administration regarding the war, the deficit, health care, while taking no time to develop your own strategy to tackle those issues. I hear you rant about how bad things are, but see no evidence of you getting your political shit together. I’ve never seen a party that wants the White House so badly, yet has such little to say about what they’d do if they were actually there.

On another subject, the political bullshit squabbling surrounding the grim milestone of 2000 deaths in Iraq sickened me. Republican talk show hosts like the irritating Laura Ingraham spent the entire day talking about how any media outlet who reported the death toll milestone is a liberal outlet with an agenda.

Gee, Laura, I believe I spent a little time that day discussing our dead men and women, hoping it was not in vain.  And mourning. Perhaps you should hearken back to the lessons of Media 101: The Press’ Job is to Report Facts, and things which consumers find captivating and compelling. Doing so doesn’t mark the press as liberal, you idiot. There is plenty of real, actual evidence of the press’ political leanings.

One more thing. Philosophically I lean conservative, but I’m a member of the VAST majority in America who fall somewhere in the middle. Those who believe the world to be neither black nor white, but interesting shades of grey.  I’m growing weary of the misuse of the word “patriotic.” Somehow, the definition has been adulterated. It’s now a barely recognizable mutation, congruous to blindness.

Patriotism is not blind. It’s caring enough to keep your eyes open.