It says a lot about the character of the new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he would blow off the state funeral of Gerald Ford, the least partisan of our most recent presidents, in order to get in a little holiday sight seeing and engage in some hobnobbing with South American leftists. In fact, I think it a precursor of what we can expect from the Democrats in general for the foreseeable future. Out of power for a decade, I think it safe to say that these ain’t your daddy’s Democrats. In fact, I’m certain that these aren’t the Democrats of the 1970’s either.
The Majority Leader of the Senate during Ford’s tenure as President was Mike Mansfield. The craggy faced Montana lawmaker served in that leadership position longer than anyone in history. Perhaps his greatest moment occurred during the service in the Capitol Rotunda for the assassinated John F. Kennedy when he delivered what is considered one of the most moving eulogies in American political history:
There was a sound of laughter; in a moment, it was no more. And so she took a ring from her finger and placed it in his hands.There was a wit in a man neither young nor old, but a wit full of an old man’s wisdom and of a child’s wisdom, and then, in a moment it was no more. And so she took a ring from her finger and placed it in his hands.
There was a man marked with the scars of his love of country, a body active with the surge of a life far, far from spent and, in a moment, it was no more. And so she took a ring from her finger and placed it in his hands.
Somehow, I don’t think our Harry quite measures up, do you?
Mansfield was a brilliant man, an accomplished diplomat. Harry Reid is a political hack. But the differences go beyond talent, beyond intelligence. The fact is, Mike Mansfield was a gentleman. Harry Reid is not.
Mansfield could be as hyper-partisan as any politician today but he always behaved in a way that reflected his belief that the feelings and sensibilities of others was something to be considered. In other words, Mansfield demonstrated the number one trait of a gentleman; empathy.
Harry Reid seems to have a dead spot in his soul where empathy usually resides in the rest of us. Blowing off the government of the United States, his colleagues, the Ford family, and history itself is just the latest in series of actions and statements that show Reid to be unfit to follow in the footsteps of giants like Mansfield, LBJ, and the venerable wise man George Mitchell – all of whom would have blanched in horror at the prospect of the Majority Leader of the Senate missing a high affair of state such as a presidential funeral.
Reid has demonstrated on numerous occasions that his rank partisanship gets in the way of him acting like a normal human being; to wit:
Reid made headlines in May 2005 when he said of George W. Bush, “The man’s father is a wonderful human being. I think this guy is a loser.” Reid later apologized for these comments. Reid also called Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas an “embarrassment” and referred to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan as a “partisan hack.”
He also called the President a “liar” and refused to apologize. Whether true or not, the idea that one politician calls out another for lying is loony. It is beyond the pot/kettle analogy, moving into the sublime territory of stratospheric irony usually reserved for Communists when they name their country a “Peoples Republic.”
Reid’s snub may be unprecedented, although I doubt whether statistics about such insults to the United States government are kept. And I doubt whether we’ll hear a peep of criticism from any sitting Democratic politician either. At bottom and with few exceptions, the values of tradition and etiquette mean very little to the left. After all, they’ve spent the last 40 years trying to overturn tradition and violate etiquette in order to “speak truth to power” or “challenge convention” or some other such nonsense that more often denotes agitating for change simply for the sake of change itself rather than any specific goal for improving society.
The fact that Reid’s deputy, my home state senator Dick Durbin is also on the junket (along with Kent Conrad, Judd Gregg, Robert Bennett, and Ken Salazar) means that the task of delivering the eulogy may fall to Senator Robert Byrd, President pro tempore emeritus of the Senate. Byrd, for all his faults, is a creature of the Senate and one who reveres and worships its traditions and precedents. I have no doubt that the West Virginia Senator will do a fine job in eulogizing Ford. But frankly, it’s not his job. It’s Reid’s. And the absence of the new Majority Leader at the state funeral of a former president sets a very bad precedent that I hope Republicans will never take advantage.
Jimmy Carter is no spring chicken. There will come a day in the not too distant future when his remains will lie in the Capitol Rotunda and the Honor Guard will stand their solemn watch. And Members of Congress will gather to pay their respects and deliver eulogies to the dead Commander in Chief. Will the Republican leader recall this insult by Reid and find other pressing matters to attend to? I hope not. For if there is one occasion where partisanship should be left at the door, it is in honoring those special men who took up what the Smithsonian referred to as “A Glorious Burden” and guided the United States and the Ship of State through perilous waters.
I’m with Hugh Hewitt 100%: “Turn. The. Plane. Around.”
UPDATE
What a classless act, and Reid, Durbin, Kent Conrad, Judd Gregg, Robert Bennett, and Ken Salazar should be ashamed of themselves. If Harry Reid can’t figure out that his new position as Majority Leader carries some extra responsibilities, then perhaps the Democrats need to find someone who does understand it.
Amen. Although with the exception of Byrd, I doubt there are more than a handful of Democrats who see anything wrong with Reid’s excursion and would therefore be equally unfit to lead.
And Heather at my blog bud Raven’s site – And Rightly So – wonders “What ever happened to respect?” Indeed.
UPDATE 12/29
It appears that the President of the United States will also forgo the proceedings in the Rotunda on Saturday in favor of staying at his ranch for another day.
Less anyone think my displeasure is reserved exclusively for the Democratic LEADERSHIP (Note: The Republicans on the junket are not a part of the leadership in the Senate. Those in the comments who have demonstrated their towering ignorance by not being able to tell the difference between the Majority Leader of the Senate passing on this event and two relatively unknown GOP members skipping out might want to deepen their thinking faculties a bit.) anything I said about Reid above goes double for Bush.
Look, friends. Hearken to me.
A nation is an organism, a life form. And what animates this life form, what gives it the power to unite our people – so diverse, so different – are its myths and legends; in other words, the symbolic over the substantative. The Constitution does a fine job in defining the powers of government. But its real power is in its iconic symbolism in which we have bound up all the hopes and dreams of our citizenry for a better life.
The United States is a very young country by any standard. We are so young, we really have no “myths” or “legends” per se. That’s because even our greatest mythic heroes like Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett left a written record behind along with friends and acquiantances who were able to tell biographers and historians what those two larger than life characters were all about. A “legend” is hardly legendary if we know that the myths surrounding the legend are untrue.
And tied up in these efforts to create legends has been the dominant truth about American public life since George Washington; the presidency as a symbol of nationhood. We have no king, no royal family. Our continuity is the result of civil compact among all of us that the office of the presidency belongs to no man, no party; that it is the one aspect of public life in which we invest enormous power and place enormous trust in the occupant not to abuse that power. Hence, the presidency as a symbolic representation of us, the citizens of the United States imbues the occupant of that office with the status of civic god – especially after he is safely retired and unable to do any damage to our liberties.
I think Bush should be widely criticized for not attending every event related to the Ford funeral rites. The symbolic life of the nation demands that he attend and participate. I believe he and Reid’s failure to take part in the ceremonial, the tradition of laying to rest a former president and former Commander in Chief lessens the hold that office has on our emotional bonds with America – what Lincoln referred to as the “mystic chords of memory” – that allow us to rise above that which separates us and unite in common cause to remember a dead icon.
I fully expect the lefty commenters to belittle this rationalization. So be it. It is probably why in 50 years, long after I’m dust thank god, the way citizens feel about the United States will be unrecognizable to my generation.
(This update has become a separate post.)
8:26 am
Why I call him Tara
Right Wing Nut House said turn the plane around.
8:53 am
I fully agree with you. There is only one thing I can add…President and Mrs. Ford DESERVE the respect of all and no matter how this is “smoothed” over it will remain what it is…an insult to someone who has served his country well and a cold hard slap in the face to someone who is hurting. My heart goes out to Betty Ford.
Carol
9:33 am
Harry Reid Skips Out on Gerald Ford’s State Funeral
Harry Reid has plans:
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will miss the state funeral for former President Gerald Ford at the Capitol Rotunda on Saturday night, opting instead to lead a delegation to South America with an expected stop at the M…
9:41 am
well done! its all about partisanship and blogs like yours keep that dull witted spirit alive!
9:45 am
What kind of a numbskull accuses me of partisanship when pointing out the monumental insult done to the United States government, the presidency, the Ford family, and to tradition itself by Harry Reid not performing the task carried out by every other Majority Leader in history and eulogize a dead president?
It takes a special kind of stupidity to be that dense.
9:54 am
The Friends of Terror Scrapbook
The State Department just declassified documents relating to the murders of U.S. diplomats in the Sudan in 1973. As many have suspected, the U.S. was aware that Yasir Arafat directly orchestrated the killings…
9:59 am
Least partisan?! He pardoned Nixon, for Pete’s sake! Ford was a made man.
10:05 am
Please adjust your tinfoil hat before coming to this site.
Thank you.
10:06 am
big wow. jerry Ford was 93, a partial term, non-president. Even more ineffectual than bush-by, jerry has been living off the public tit for 30 years of golfing and lazing about palm springs. Who cares that he finally passed. You righties are so sensitive.
10:07 am
Thank you for perfectly illustrating all the points I made above about the left.
If you were here, I’d kiss you…
10:12 am
This word you keep using, this “hacks,” I do not think it means what you think it means.
Snarky translation:
Are those bad mean reality-based dems gonna go and meet with presidents and stuff rather than go to the nice man’s funeral?
Yelling at you primitive screw-heads translation: This is the problem with you nutjobs, you don’t understand the difference between politicians going through the motions and accomplishing nothing (like Bush Iraq policies) and what it means when people are actually working.
The Point, for those without tinfoil hats: Get used to it, the 110th is going to be a working Congress, not some lackluster bunch of stuffed suits, the REAL political hacks here, if you actually go and look up the meanign of the word, who were the 109th “Taken to the Woodshed and Beaten like a your Step-Sister’s Orphan” Congress.
10:17 am
I really at am a loss as to why I have to defend according a former President of the United States all of the honors to which he is entitled.
This has nothing to do with a “working Congress” – whatever the hell that means. It has everything to do with tradition and reverence for the highest office in the land – something missing in your disjointed and incoherent comment as well as Reid’s sensibility regarding his position as a leader of the Congress – one of the co-equal branches of government.
Mystifying indeed…
10:39 am
The total lack of respect from the left is nothing new,only just now does it become obvious.All you that voted to teach a lesson,I hope you have learned it.I only hope the Country can withstand the lesson you wanted to teach.Scum is scum no matter what perfume you put on it it still stinks.
10:44 am
Web Reconnaissance for 12/28/2006
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
11:09 am
All honors to which he is entitled? Excuse me, is there some Miss Manners section in the Consitituion that outlines what “honors” are due a deceased ex-president?
11:10 am
I wonder if the incoming congress could possibly be any worse than this:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12055360/
cover_story_time_to_go_inside_the_worst_congress_ever
p.s. – please link to similar stories about a democrat controlled congress.
11:12 am
“What ever happened to respect?â€
Respect went out the door when Cheney told Sen. Leahy to go f**k himself, and those who opposed the Iraq invasion were traitors and terrorist supporters.
11:15 am
There are several traditions that are in play here.
The fact that a former CIC has died is of paramount importance to the military – any military in the world I might add – in that there are very traditional honors that the former Chief is entitled.
Then there is the tradition of the passing of a President. Every President since William Howard Taft has been offered the opportunity to lie in state in the rotunda of the Capitol. Nixon, among others, refused. But the honor is offered. And when that ceremony takes place, it is traditional that speakers from the other branches of government – including the Supreme Court, the Congress (both Majority and Minority Leaders of both parties and both chambers) as well as the current President say a few words eulogizing the dead president.
The Constitution is silent on the matter of course. But I am very happy to see that you and other liberals have now become such strict constructionists of that document.
11:21 am
Also on the trip with Reid…
Gregg, R-N.H., Robert Bennett, R-Utah
Any comments from the Righties on this?
Of course not.
11:22 am
Ah! Now the lunatic fringe is foaming at the mouth because Reid will not attend Ford’s funeral.
Maybe he has better things to do—like working—than pose for photo-ops.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is playing referee in the Iraq civil war and the Decider has just decided to have a “non-decisional” meeting about what to do with the quagmire in Iraq.
You people are just pathetic. You hate Democrats/liberals so much that you would rather side with the terrorists rather than push for bi-partisanship. Thank goodness, you are a minority.
11:22 am
Lord knows the Repubs didn’t deserve the majority after the way they behaved over the last couple of years. they can however take some solace in the fact that the Dems are all ready working hard to give the majority right back to them. One or the other of our political parties really should make a new years resolution, a resolution to be competent. We’ll save effective for the end of next year. No sense in asking for too much all at once.
Of course, our biggest problem is that a number of party members on the left and right function as enablers rather than supporters, isn’t that right AkaDad, KC, T. Gray, at. al.
11:24 am
Ah, traditions…well..you know I somehow think that Mr. Ford himself might approve of Mr. Reid eschewing attendance at a state show funeral in order to meet with Latin American leaders, especially as one of them has control of the third or is it fourth largest oil reserves in the world. Oh, but said leader is a leftist that’s true. You know somehow that doesn’t bother me. I not sure that would have bothered Mr. Ford either. Do you think that would have made him a “liberal?” Just asking.
11:39 am
Oh, and one other thing. Mr. Cheney showed up an an international gathering of heads of state honoring victims of the holocaust wearing gear typical of a snow-plow man, that is, a parka al la walmart, a stocking cap with a slogan on it and thick waffle stompers. Everyone else was in warm but somber formal attire. Mr. Cheney there set the standard for US politicians, a very low bar which Mr. Reid has yet to match.
11:43 am
TGRAY:
Again, just what do you think these Congress critters do on these junkets? And since when does Harry Reid make foreign policy for the United States government.
Go ahead and try to play nice with Chavez and Morales. That sounds like a winning strategy for ‘08…FOR REPUBLICANS.
11:45 am
It’s a working Congress. It just happens to be that the first piece of work is a tourist, aka fact finding, junket to South America. I’m sure they’d reschedule if they could but they’re probably afraid of global warming induced degradation of the historical sites. Heat can melt stones!
11:46 am
Gavin:
Whatsamatta? Can’t tell the difference between the Majority Leader of the US Senate and two minority members in non leadership (non-eulogizing) positions?
It isn’t the junket – it’s Reid, imbecile.
11:49 am
yawn. it says a lot about the left that harry reid doesn’t show up for Prez Ford’s ceremony. It says a lot about the right that they bl;indly support a moron, wanna-be dictator. that’s right, I said it. you wrote this post just to stir up trolls, didn;t you? admit it, you love to stir up the trolls so you can get a good name calling match started. “libs are dumb!” “wing nuts are stupid!” blah, blah, blah. RIP Gerry Ford.
11:50 am
Since when does Congress make foreign policy? Oh, since the Consititution was written. You think it is the sole duty of the President? Then why, may I ask, is it the Congress’ sole duty to declare war? That’s not foreign policy? Why is it Congress’ sole duty to control the purse strings of all of government? That doesn’t include foreign policy? Did you pay any attention at all in history class or social studies or whatever? Did they teach you anything?
12:01 pm
“Respect went out the door when Cheney told Sen. Leahy to go f**k himself”
If Sen. Leahy wanted respect from Cheney he shouldn’t have accused him of trading American lives in order to enrich himself. Where I grew up it was common knowledge that respect is forfeited when you act in a disrespectful matter to others. Leahy acted disrespectfully and, therefore, ‘earned’ the nastiness. He’s lucky Cheney didn’t punch him in the face. Certainly most of the folks reading this would do it to me if I said the same about them.
Dems complain about Republicans questioning their patriotism when they do something like call a ‘cut and run’ strategy ‘cut and run’. Dems question the MORALITY of Repubs with their morning coffee.
12:05 pm
Wow. Ask for simple respect and dignity and you get the scrapings from the shallow end of the gene pool acting terribly offended. The attitudes of some responsers above remind me that I made a good decision getting the hell out of the Democratic party.
12:10 pm
“It says a lot about the right that they bl;indly support a moron, wanna-be dictator”...that beat a sitting Vice President atop a strong economy and relative peace (the biggest fumble since the 1978 Miracle at the Meadowlands), and then a Vietnam Vet/Senator while the country was in a war of choice that the populace was souring on.
Bush may be ‘dumber’ but the Dems are apparently ‘dumberer’.
12:17 pm
Rick,
Nothing attracts the crazies like well-reasoned criticism of one of their kommissars and his adolescent antics. Really, you’re above having to defend your assertions. If the shoe were on the other foot, we know they’d be howling ‘til the cows come home.
That being said, your essay overlooked an important characteristic of the evolving leftist mentality. If Harry Reid’s refusal to attend the funeral of a former US President symbolizes anything, it is the left’s inclination to dehumanize their political opponents. After all, if Republicans and/or conservatives are something less than human, then they aren’t really worhty of good manners and common decency, are they?
12:30 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House [...]
12:32 pm
Speaking of disrespect.
Fahagie’s swipe at Gore showed no respect (nor gave mention) to the job the “liberal MSM” (ha ha, that one kills me) did on him by making up things he said, giving W a pass on his “funny math” claims during the debates, and looking the other way over W’s AWOL issues while talking about Gore’s attire.
12:43 pm
>32:
you still support a moron, wanna-be dictator. the dems are a separate issue. will the time ever come when people say, “you know what, this guy REALLY is an idiot!” i guess a man can dream…
harry reid is going to be known as the greatest majority leader ever to serve in the senate. you mark my words- GREATEST EVER! how about you all start showing some respect for the incoming senate majority leader and take the high road in returning civility to political discourse inn this country
1:01 pm
Well, the usual suspects are out in full force I see. No surprise to hear from Evil “Progressive”, by far the biggest idiot out here in blogland.
I won’t be shocked at all if Reid does a 180 and decides to attend. Hopefully someone from his party with half a brain in their head will get to him and let him know just what a blunder he’s making. We’ll see. The fact that he’s even considering skipping says a lot about the man’s character, or lack thereof. To me, he’s now on level with the dimwit trolls that have shown up here. No class whatsoever.
I do know one thing…when that dim bulb Carter finally kicks the bucket, we won’t be having this discussion.
1:03 pm
1. The delegation is bipartisan. That means Harry and his commie friends aren’t making this trip by themselves. Harry Reid isn’t dissing Ford. He’s taking care of the people’s business. You’ve never had to miss anything because you had to work?
2. It is precisely because the countries are so leftist that we need to have a strong friendly prescence. I would think a right wing nut would understand that. You guys are always going on about Chavez being the second coming of Stalin.
3. This five member strong, bipartisan delegation is scheduled to meet with three presidents. Three. I can just imagine what a nightmare that was to schedule.
It is a testament to Harry and the Dems’ strong governing skills this is even happening. The president can’t even manage to get a meeting with a measly two foreign leaders.
2:06 pm
Harry Red and all his comrads (including liberuls!) should be deported for crimes against America and christiunity! Victory is soo close – two years max at most – that we need to invalidate the election and get those good people back into congress so we can win! Re-elect Bush in 2008!
2:11 pm
frankye,
You are trying to be logical with these yahoos. They aren’t really upset by Mr. Reid’s “disrespect” of Mr. Ford. The main reason they are stirring the pot of faux-outrage is to distract from the fact that Mr. Ford is now on record in grave disagreement with the current president’s war. They are hoping that if they squeal and howl loud enough about a non-issue like Mr. Reid’s non attendance at a state show funeral for Mr. Ford that the substantive news will be overlooked and forgotten. It is a typical neo-con ploy. Don’t let it bother you.
2:14 pm
TGRAY:
Your tin foil hat is slipping…Better adjust it before its too late.
2:14 pm
Like I said after two years of Carl and Steve and AkaDad and the rest the Repubs will be back in charge. Unfortunately they won’t be forced to improve to rise ot the majority once more. They’ll just let Carl and Steve and AkaDad and the rest show their act to the voters. Depressing stuff.
2:32 pm
Oh, Rick, Rick, Rick,
How did it feel when you heard that yet another highly respected Republican elder statesman has repudiated our dullard-in-chief’s complete and utter f**k-up of a “foreign policy?” So much easier to distract oneself with a bit of over the top outrage for Mr. Reid’s “non-traditional” behavior. Do you feel all nice and vindicated now? Has inner equilibrium been restored? Too bad it requires such a very serious warping of reality.
2:55 pm
Give me a break. The junket discussion has to start with Sensenbrenner, and Delay before him.
And if you want to argue “Congressional duty” then bring up the last 6 years of rubber stamp BS that we’ve seen, and before that the $140M spent to investigate the Clintonian ‘misuse’ of the whitehouse Christmas list.
Tired, tired arguments are yours…
2:57 pm
That reminds me, didn’t busk take a vacation after being told New Orleans was about to be washed off the map by Katrina?
2:58 pm
t.gray (#43),
While we now know the former President Ford disagreed with the current administration’s strategy and justification in regards to our actions in Iraq, “repudiation” is not at all in keeping with his demeanor.
Ford was able to disagree and criticize with dignity and respect, and had his priorities in line when it came time to heal the soul of our great nation. Come down off your high horse and you just might learn a thing or two.
Chip
2:58 pm
Not one commenter has addressed the thesis of my post; that Reid’s junketing and missing a former President’s funeral is violating both good manners and tradition.
All if get is conspiracy theories and Democratic talking points.
3:51 pm
Rick,
First of all you are using the word “junketing” a prejorative and loaded description of Mr. Reid’s and various other congress members’ (some republicans included)visit with Latin American leaders, in order to make it seem unimportant or trivial. Given the very serious issues that need to be discussed, that is hardly fair.
Second, our republic has no inviolable tradition that dictates who should or should not attend funerals for ex-presidents. Simply because something has been done in the past does not make it a “tradition” of that calibre.
Third, not attending a funeral is not bad manners. It just isn’t. It is a choice. Even close family members have chosen not to attend the funerals of loved ones for various reasons and you can scour Miss Manners and every etiquette manual ever written and you will not find that behavior described as “bad manners.”
And Chip, perhaps “repudidate” was too strong a term. However, Mr. Ford “very strongly” disagreed with Bush’s foreign policy choices in regard to Iraq to the extent that he stated he would not have done what Mr. Bush did. If that is not repudidation it is pretty damn close.
4:17 pm
W = greatest president ever. who will be there at his funeral?
4:19 pm
1. And I guess the sight seeing trip to Machu Picu is where everyone is going to sit down to a formal state dinner.
2, Why is it so difficult to get through your thick skull that the Majority Leader of the Senate has duties and responsibilities beyond the Republican non leaders who are accompanying him? Is this a difficult concept? Should I reduce the number of syllables I use to describe it? Maybe add some pictures, would that help?
3. I made clear in the piece that the Majority Leader always eulogizes the dead president. I guess it isn’t a tradition in your mind because it only goes back a 100 years.
4. And trying to compare a funeral of your uncle Ed (or other “loved ones”) with the funeral of a President is laughable. THIS IS A STATE OCCASSION. Foreign heads of state or their representatives will be in attendance from every nation on earth that we’re speaking to. There are diplomatic protocols. There are military protocols.
If this goes on when your uncle Ed dies, take some pictures. Might be interesting to see…
4:30 pm
Rick,
Not true…I commented on your essay in the context of how Democratic party rhetoric suggests that they view those with whom they disagree as enemies rather than competitors. The fact that leftists are neither subject to journalistic scrutiny nor constrained by propriety supports this assertion. But if you really beleive this is the stuff of conspiracy theories, then I will refrain from any further comment.
4:37 pm
Perhaps my criticism was a little too broad. Let’s just make it apply to the idiot lefties who want to compare the funeral of an ex President with their auntie martha’s shindig. Or who think I’m complaining because I’m really mad that Ford told Woodward one thing about the Iraq War and Thomas DeFrank something totally different. Or that Harry Reid’s visit to South America will actually make one whit of difference to the foreign policy of the United States and that he really is going to hold important discussions while visiting the ruins at Machu Picu.
5:11 pm
Rick,
Well, I did a little research and, yes there are diplomatic and military protocols. Nevertheless, in the past, the order of a state funeral including who gives the eulogies was determinded by the family. But, these days, according to the Wickipedia “State funerals are usually planned years in advance. Each living U.S. president—current or former—is required to have funeral plans in place upon becoming president. These details become more important upon leaving office, as it reduces stress for the president’s family in an era of worldwide electronic media scrutiny.”
So, are you saying that Mr. Reid turned down either Mrs. Ford’s or Mr. Ford’s request that he give a eulogy? That would surprise me very much.
Oh, and by the way, Mr. Mansfield delivered his moving address in the rotunda during the three days President Kennedy’s body lay in state there. At the funeral proper, there were no eulogies.
There you have it.
So, are you saying that state visits should be nothing but sitting around conference tables discussing serious issues? That was something that, Bush, himself, did precious little of while visiting Europe. He seemed to have more interest in the roast pig given him at a German banquet. The Senators do a little sight seeing to Machu Picu and that means the whole trip is nothing but unlevened frivolity?
5:20 pm
Why didn’t you mention the two Repub. senators that are going along?...Oh yeah IOKIYAR.
5:24 pm
And yes, I did notice that you mentioned the rotunda thing, but again in all of the writing about what should or should not go on at a state funeral, nothing was said about the eulogies, nothing. Obviously it is not considered that important a part of the ritual except to those who want to bloviate.
Enough. Making a mountain out of a mole hill, you are.
5:35 pm
Fahagie Said:
12:01 pm
“Respect went out the door when Cheney told Sen. Leahy to go f**k himselfâ€
If Sen. Leahy wanted respect from Cheney he shouldn’t have accused him of trading American lives in order to enrich himself. Where I grew up it was common knowledge that respect is forfeited when you act in a disrespectful matter to others. Leahy acted disrespectfully and, therefore, ‘earned’ the nastiness.
Oh, yeah! Check Halliburton stock—it was about $10/share before the Iraq war. Now it’s $31/share and btw it split 2-for-1 in the interim. So if Cheney had $2 million of HAL stock in March 2003, it’d now be worth $12.4 million. I’m sure if you’d ask Lynne & Dick they’d tell you they had no idea how much their stock was worth.
5:40 pm
So you agree with Leahy. Dick Cheney advocated going to war to personally enrich himself.
Considering the fact that there is not one shred of evidence that this is so, that makes you a conspiracy mongering, tin foil hat wearing loon.
And a slandering, calumnious bastard to boot.
5:46 pm
Rick said: “I made clear in the piece that the Majority Leader always eulogizes the dead president. I guess it isn’t a tradition in your mind because it only goes back a 100 years.”
Q: So how long have we had the ‘tradition’ of Congress checking the power of the executive branch?
A: 220 years (minus the past 6 years, of course)
Q2: How long have we have the ‘tradition’ of debate for legislation—allowing the minority to voice its opinion before finalizing legislation?
A2: 220 years (minus the past 6 years…again).
You like it when ‘tradition’ works in your favor, but neglect to cite it when the shoe is on the other foot. Douchebag.
That quaint document called the Constitution that you and your ilk have been wiping your asses with over the past 6 years will now come back to bite you in those same asses.
5:54 pm
Balz:
What in God’s name are you talking about? How did we get from Harry Reid to…whatever it is you’re trying to say in your endearing if incoherent way?
If you’re trying to make a point about “tradition,” you bungled it insanely.
6:04 pm
Balz,
Obviously Rick is woefully unaware of what the republicans in congress have been up to for the last six years. He is not alone. Even I didn’t realize the extent of the damage until I read the Rolling Stone article “Worst Congress Ever.” I had no idea that the bi-partisan “traditions” of Congressional protocol had been so, to borrow Rick’s term, “violated” and destroyed.
Maybe Rick should read it too, but don’t hold your breath.
6:16 pm
I’m sorry that your sub-standard intellect can’t grasp esoteric concepts. I’ll break it down. Be sure and read this NICE AND SLOOOOWWWWLY…maybe you’ll catch up:
1. Per YOUR (weak-ass) argument…Reid is breaking a 100 year old tradition by not speaking at President Ford’s funeral.
ok…still with me?
2. I cited numerous examples of the bonehead, out-on-their-asses former Congress breaking tradition (and if you REALLY think that this past Congress served as a viable check to W, then I have got a bridge to sell you).
Wait for it…
3. Using my logical reasoning skills, which have been honed through countless debates with the idiocracy that is the right wing blogosphere, I drew the conclusion (maybe I should have drawn it with crayons…more your speed), that you’re fine jumping all over Reid for ‘breaking tradition,’ but steer clear of any mention of the egregious breaking of tradition by the 109th Congress.
4. Your argument of Reid ‘breaking tradition’—essentially turning him into this monster that you so very much want him to be is therefore rendered completely invalid (unless you want to admit that the majority members…Sensenbrener and Hastert for a start…are equally monstrous).
Instead of just lamely telling me I bungled it, show me something. Enlighten me. How was it bungled?
6:24 pm
T. Gray—I read that just today. Ironically, I got the link from up the page [thanks KC].
And thank YOU Rick for providing a forum that only strengthens my convictions…
6:40 pm
Dear brother –
The saddest commentary on the passing of all that Gerald Ford represented is apparent in your site stats. Your moving and excellently written piece on Ford yesterday garners 18 trackbacks and responses; this challenge to Harry Reid’s basic decency amasses a whopping 60 attacks and counterattacks as of now, and Reynolds Aluminum stock shot up from purchases on both sides of the political aisle. Must be fun.
You rarely have actual liberals showing up around here, and you don’t today. You have a few former New Left Stalinist apologists trying to defend the unthinkably crass actions of a colorless and mediocre centrist like Reid.
But you don’t get a lot of conservatives here either, and few today. You do seem to get a fair number of inmates worthy of your site title, and I shouldn’t be surprised that a “rightwing nuthouse” attracts exactly that as opposed to the dwindling number of conservatives of the type that Ford personified. Most of your posters here are not of his party, which as you and many others have noted was one that recognized opponents and not enemies and which has all but disappeared from Republicanism, Democratism, and public discourse in general today.
So maybe you and I should just hoist a toast to a fellow Midwesterner who was too decent to talk and act like your commenters here, and who had enough of a self-effacing sense of humor to be amused at how his death has become merely an opportunity to score rhetorical points against one’s demonized political opponents.
7:13 pm
Oh, gee, once a guy or gal who calls him or herself “sensei48” shows up, it’s all over. Pretentious, bloviating, pompous puffery takes over the board. It is almost as bad as having to listen to a windy, ironlunged politician eulogize some poor, defenseless dead ex-president.
I’m outta here.
Ballz, take it easy. Don’t let ol Rick get your goat.
7:24 pm
Since T. Gray seems to appreciate (if not quite correctly employ) Latinate vocabulary, maybe he should dust off whatever rhetoric text he once used (if any) and reacquaint himself with “argumentum ad hominem,” or in this case ad nomimnem. His second sentence is the best example of itself that I believe I’ve ever seen.
8:28 pm
t.gray (#60),
I see, the 109th is “the worst ever” because Rolling Stone says so. Such is the appeal of so-called gonzo journalism amongst the mad/rad left, where expletives and cockiness command credibility, rather than objectivity and critical thinking.
Can you provide a source for such an outlandish claim which are geared less toward a “fan base,” perhaps a piece with a bibliography?
Chip
8:53 pm
Rick my only problem with this Harry Reid thing is: thats all you got? Thats your big news item of the day? Man you are really reaching when thats your anti-democrat story of the day. Oh by the way 3 more American troops died in Iraq today, balance that with Harry Reid’s the anti-christ. Give me a break.
12:29 am
Ah, it seems most of our commenters are in love with the tu quoque logical fallacy.
By the way, sensei is practically the only sane voice out of 60+ comments.
These people attacking Rick for pointing out Reid’s error are not liberals, nor are most of the visible group who want to call themselves “progressives”. I wish I could call myself a liberal, but thanks to the ideals embodied in most of the people attacking this post I cannot, and have had to throw my hat in with the libertarians (though I’m not really one). Perhaps I could try “traditional liberal” or “classical liberal”. The latter has a nice ring to it.
The irrational and illogical discourse spewed from both sides of the aisle is sickening, and I dream of the day where logic trumps rhetoric.
12:55 am
Wow! The fascist are pissed because they don’t get the respect they think they deserve… Priceless
12:57 am
New bumper sticker “FU 43/109 FU”
1:48 am
W missed Reagan’s funeral
4:01 am
Rick Moron,
You said: “Whether true or not, the idea that one politician calls out another for lying is loony.â€
– What? Should politicians just roll over and play dead when confronted with falsehoods? I would hope that liars are called out, no matter their political persuasions.
Please tell us all what the Republicans (Gregg, R-NH, Bennett, R-UT) are doing on this trip. Are they dissing the glorious legacy that is the Ford Presidency? How are they different from the Democrats on the trip? Please tell us all why only the Democrats are traitors in your opinion. While you’re at it, please remind us all of the percentage of the popular vote that Ford won. Oh, I forgot, if you’re a Republican, you don’t really need to win an election to become Resident, do you?
Speaking of junkets, Rick, perhaps the Republican delegates will take a side trip to inspect the land (about 100,000 acres) that the Bush family recently purchased in Paraguay. The land sits atop one of the world’s largest fresh water aquifers and, conveniently, it is adjacent to a larger plot owned by the goodly Reverend Moon. It’s also really close to a large air base. Here’s a link, for fun:
http://poljunk.gloriousnoise.com/2006/10/water_world_the_sequel_paranoid_in_parag.php
This raises the question: Will the Glorious Republicans give Jimmy Carter any respect when he passes or will they find more important things to do with their time, such appear on Fox News and slam the Carter Presidency? I should add that it might not be Carter who would necessarily be the next to go; I understand that Bush 41 is somewhat disappointed (and quite stressed about) some (all?) of W’s foreign policy choices.
Having said all of this, I don’t mean any disrespect to President Ford (I too grew up in Michigan), but it just seems to me that any President who had the genuine best interests of America at heart would understand that sometimes the business of statesmanship trumps America’s sentimental affairs, and, therefore, would rather that such a delegation continue with its work, rather than focus its efforts on a dead man. (By the way, my understanding is that Ford is dead, and, as a dead man, he probably has little or no opinion on this matter.)
This might shock you, but the rest of the world does not revolve around America’s schedule. By the way, how many unelected Republican Residents have we had now?
4:06 am
A perfect combination of tin foil hat looniness and willful self delusion.
Congrats – you come out close to the top as far as one of the more ignorant commenters on this thread.
8:02 am
bibbleman (#71),
It would appear you have missed, sir.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/images/20040611-2_hp8c1663-515h.html
Typical Bush basher. Ready. Fire. Aim.
Chip
9:29 am
Chip, you should really read something other than the WH website for news.
Frakking mouthbreathers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061228/ap_on_re_us/ford_state_funerals
9:37 am
As a center-left person, I find Mr. Reid’s behavior puzzling. Regardless of how one feels about a former president, attending the funeral is showing respect to the office. And Ford really did a lot of good in his two years of office. An amazing amount, actually. The only negative was his pardoning of Nixon ( something I’m still not sure I’m against) and possibly the way the end of the Vietnam war was handled – I mean, was it really necessary to end it so chaotically and with such a lack of dignity?
Reid’s behavior seems almost as bad as Bush’s when Bush has, on several occasions, stayed on vacation rather than attend to important Presidential business such as trying to deal with the severe warnings about an impending attack on the USA or finding out what was happening to New Orleans ( hey – I said I was left of center!)
9:52 am
You may be left of center but your comment was spot on.
Good to see my brother (Sensei) isn’t the only rational lefty to visit this site.
10:44 am
Hey, you know what would be really bad for all the right-wingers flogging this story? If it turned out that Bush wasn’t attending either! And to make matters worse, if he wasn’t even on a diplomatic/trade mission, but was just sitting on his ass in Crawford! Geez, that would make you guys look like complete jackasses.
It’s a good thing Bush is… let me Google this real quick… oh dear.
President Bush will not attend weekend ceremonies including a Capitol Rotunda service, but he will return to Washington from his Texas ranch on Monday, pay respects to Ford while his remains lie in state at the Capitol, and speak Tuesday at services for Ford at the National Cathedral.
Cripes! What’s next? Are we gonna find out that Saint Ronnie committed the mortal sin of criticizing a sitting President?
10:51 am
It appears that the President of the United States will also forgo the proceedings in the Rotunda on Saturday in favor of staying at his ranch for another day.
Less anyone think my displeasure is reserved exclusively for the Democratic LEADERSHIP (Note: The Republicans on the junket are not a part of the leadership in the Senate. Those in the comments who have demonstrated their towering ignorance by not being able to tell the difference between the Majority Leader of the Senate passing on this event and two relatively unknown GOP members skipping out might want to deepen their thinking faculties a bit.) anything I said about Reid above goes double for Bush.
How stupid and ignorant do you feel now? Are you embarrassed to be shown up as an idiot?
Next time – try reading the post before you make a total fool of yourself.
10:56 am
“Please tell us all what the Republicans (Gregg, R-NH, Bennett, R-UT) are doing on this trip.”
I love how after I point out the continual use of tu quoque some idiot comes along and uses the logical fallacy again. (Actaully, he’s the third person since my comment to use it.)
There really should be a rule that you can’t comment on politics until you’ve studied logic and familiarized yourself with fallacies. Then again, about 99.99 percent of political blogs would never have been made if that were the case.
11:11 am
One small point. The Rotunda service for Mr. Ford will be will be conducted in the Capitol Rotunda on Saturday evening, Dec. 31, 2006. Mr. Reid does not become Senate Majority Leader until Jan. 1, 2007. The person who “traditionally” should be giving an eulogy is…ta da…the current Senate Majority Leader, Mr. Bill Frist.
Chew on that bubba.
6:14 pm
I sure do love the grasping of straws.
7:10 pm
Hey, Moran—
Just wanted to say I was amazed and impressed that you expanded your original post to include Bush’s non-appearance at the funeral. I’m always thrilled when guys on the right show that some of ‘em still understand how to play fair.
9:39 pm
thanks Rick for pointing out W’s no-show. YOU SIR are one of the few righty blogs I can stomach.
8:08 am
Shawn,
If it is a “straw” it is one of the two main “straws” that Rick built his indictment of Mr. Reid with, that is the “violation” of the “tradition” that the dead president be eulogized at the state funeral in the capital rotunda by the Senate Majority Leader. I am merely pointing out that the “tradition” is not being violated, at least not by Mr. Reid since he is not and will not be Senate Majority Leader until after the rotunda service. If my point be a “straw” then the argument it completely demoishes is equally straw-like.
1:24 am
“lest”
8:34 am
Bush blew off Ford’s STATE funeral as well. He is too busy clearing brush in Crawford. He blew off Reagan’s as well, but at least he had the excuse of a G8 meeting.
10:00 am
“Not one commenter has addressed the thesis of my post; that Reid’s junketing and missing a former President’s funeral is violating both good manners and tradition.”
Well, before Gerald Ford it was “traditional” to wait until AFTER someone is convicted of a crime before granting him a pardon. Party loyalty: 1—Tradition: 0. And Gerald Ford our “least partisan” president??? Ford actually boasted that he set a record for the number of bills he vetoed (66). On a brighter note, I’m sure Bush will do his damnedest to break that record in the next 2 years, thereby giving new meaning to the word “bipartisan” (and convincing voters that the only way to get this country back on track is to put a Democrat in the White House).
Oh, and where I come from, meeting with the presidents of 3 South American countries hardly qualifies as “junketing”. Now Tom DeLay’s golf trips at taxpayer expense … that’s what I call junketing.
Gerald Ford spent all of 2-1/2 years as president and he wasn’t even elected to the office, he deprived this country of the right to know exactly how corrupt the Nixon administration was, and he didn’t even have the courage to let Woodward publish his disapproval of Bush until after he was dead. Harry Reid might be guilty of “bad manners” but maybe he decided that was better than being guilty of hyprocrisy.
12:18 pm
“what gives it the power to unite our people – so diverse, so different – are its myths and legends; in other words, the symbolic over the substantative”
Thank you so much for hitting the nail on the head. Here’s some myths and legends: WMDs, Saddam in cahoots with Al Qaeda, the Constitution is just a piece of paper, global warming is a left-wing fantasy, and Bush’s policies are based on science.
Now insult me. Thanks
2:09 pm
“anything I said about Reid above goes double for Bush.”
Kudos sir for being evenhanded, something which doesn’t happen very often on either the left or the right.
This is my first visit to your website and I think that I shall be back.
On another note, it’s interesting that no one on the right has addressed the point the Mr Reid is not Majority Leader until 1 January 2007. I would be interested in any comments from the right leaning posters on this site regarding this fact.
Have a happy and safe New Years everyone!
Jonathan
12:41 am
“Less anyone think my displeasure is reserved exclusively for the Democratic LEADERSHIP…”
Yes it is.
“Lest”
2:04 am
Jonathan (#90),
The 109th Congress ended on December 9, 2006. Mr. Frist has retired and returned to Tennessee, therefore the honor and duty would fall to the incoming Senate Majority Leader, Mr. Reid.
Those who are so eager to nail Rick on a trite technicality ought take note that Mr. Reid won’t have a Senate to be Majority Leader of until January 4, 2007.
Chip
10:34 am
Chip,
The 109 Congress didn’t “end” on December 9, 2006. It ajourned. It still held authority as a Congress till the end of its reign that is December 31, 2006. Sorry, nice try.
10:56 am
Look, all this froufra over not much, the end of which is that Rick for all his willingness to impugn the character of Mr. Reid for pragmatically choosing a visit with three pretty important South American leaders, one of whom is sitting on impressive oil reserves, over attending the state funeral of an ex-president, also recognizes that he has to acknowledge the current president’s lack of character for blowing off the same state funeral so he wouldn’t have to cut short one of his many vacations.
Good for you, Rick. May you continue to see more and more clearly.
11:30 am
T.Gray,
Of course the Congress has adjourned after passing the concurrent resolution to end the session.
Again, if you want to play a game of “gotcha” based on trivial technicalities, then please get your facts straight. The 109th Congress was to end on or before January 3, 2007.
Chip