Politically Motivated? Yeah, What of it

by Rich Miles

Feb. 26, 2004

At least there’s some humor in this grim political season. I can’t help laughing when I read yet another statement from the White House, or some other Bush partisan, that this or that action by the opposition was “politically motivated”.

Let me clue in those poor souls who are so clearly lacking in a sense of irony that they can make such statements with a completely straight face: most of the “attacks” (read: uncovering of inconvenient facts) are indeed politically motivated. But that doesn’t make them wrong. Consider:

We still don’t know – despite the release of all those smudged copies of pay records and honorable discharges and so on – if our “War President” ever even served the time he signed on for in the Air National Guard, while his less-well-off cohort was off in the jungles of Vietnam, sweating and dying for our country’s misguided foreign policy. But to continue bringing up the matter, and seeking real information or eyewitness accounts of his presence in the wilds of Alabama is “politically motivated”.

Mr. Bush himself has backed away from his loudly proclaimed promise that he (HE, mind you, not the nation’s economy) would create 2.6 million jobs this year, and has blamed the entire statement on some overzealous number-crunchers at the Dept. of Labor. But for that fact to be brought up in public conversation is “politically motivated”.

Ditto his claims that massive tax cuts will actually reduce the massive deficits – “politically motivated” if you bring up the obvious fact that the emperor’s budget and fiscal policies have no clothes.

He has blamed his acceptance of flawed intelligence – which he was allegedly TOLD was flawed before he used it – on the CIA. But to mention that he is the president, and therefore should have made absolutely sure before using that intelligence to justify sending our troops into combat is “politically motivated”.

And God forbid – pardon, no pun intended – you should question whether a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is right or wrong! To suggest such an abuse of our constitutional system is genuinely anti-American is, again, “politically motivated”.

One can go on and on – but the bottom line of this discussion is that the effort to defeat Mr. Bush in November is – you guessed it – politically motivated. There – we admit it, it’s out in the open, and now, can we just give that particular canard a rest? It doesn’t sting the way it’s supposed to any longer – in fact, I’m proud to wear it.

The real irony here is that everything – EVERYTHING, even the stuff that looks good at first glance – that the Bush administration and their off-the-books pit bulls do is politically motivated, and intended for no other purpose than to get Mr. Bush reelected (or should I say, elected for the first time, as I don’t acknowledge that he was elected in 2000 – he was appointed by the Supreme Court).

So lest I go on to book length in this little screed, let me just say it once and for all: yes, the “attacks” on you are “politically motivated”, Mr. Bush. And our political motivation is to get you out of office in November. No amount of whining by your minions will alter the fact that we are deeply angry with you out here in the Heartland. So angry, in fact, that a lot of us, some Republicans included, are going to vote for anyone but you, even someone who has told us unequivocally that he will raise our taxes, to pay for your fiscal irresponsibility over the past three years.

I read a satirical quote the other day, that was attributed to George W. Bush. He probably never said this, but it does seem to describe his attitude rather succinctly:

“You can fool some of the people all of the time – and those are the ones we need to focus on”.

Politically motivated? Damn right.