Right’s right: His domestic failings aside, the

president is focused on this basic truth: We’re a nation at war by Jeff Gardner, Albuquerque Tribune Online

[The Left]

disingenuously raged about ”W’s rush to war” or deceitfully claimed W ”lied” about weapons.

Well, let me say this about that….[I]f the president believed the weapons were there, he wasn’t lying…. [Duhbya] is dead right about

the most important thing: We’re at war.

It’s so frustrating to read right-wing columnists like Jeff

Gardner. First, conservatives act as if they don’t run everything: the House, the Senate, and the White House (ie, all of the Executive

and Legislative Branches). As for the Judiciary, the radical right rails against ”activist judges” while doing their best to stack

the bench their way (while using the Legislature to curtail numerous rights). With a tight grip on all three branches of government,

arch-conservatives turn their ire on the media, the supposed liberal media that puts someone like Gardner on the front of the section and

may, just may, print someone like me a few pages back.

If Bush wasn’t lying about WMD (or tax cuts or the Patriot Act, ad nauseum),

then he is ill-informed, even ignorant and incurious (widely acknowledged). Why is that so much better in a President?

For at least 20

years, conservatives have framed and determined every aspect of public discourse. Everything must be expressed in their terms, by their

rules. We are at war because they say we are. Gardner uses two standard reactionary tactics: put words in your opponents’ mouths

(ridicule them for things they never said — reread his column to note all the little digs and jibes) and repeat exactly what other

conservatives say (stay on target, consistent and loyal). These are powerful techniques that the radical right uses to stifle discussion.

You’re with them or you’re against them.

Bush’s presidency is the crowning achievement of the radical Christian fundamentalist

right — our Taliban. And still they feel the need to berate, belittle and bully the Left. Real nice folks. It’s a shame they can’t

enjoy their near-total victory (and all the spoils). Better get what you can before the pendulum swings again, as we all know it will —

maybe even in November. mjh