DEMOCRATS HIRE GEORGE ORWELL

Democrats Hire George Orwell to Run Their PR Shop

by David Sirota May 27 2007 - 9:18am permalink
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Apparently, House and Senate Democrats have resurrected George Orwell from the dead and put him on staff as the head of their PR department. Why do I say that? Because House and Senate Democrats are now insisting that this week's votes to give President Bush a blank check to continue the war were, in fact, heroic efforts to stand up against George Bush and stop the war. I kid you not.

Here's a line from the Democratic Party's official radio address this weekend, delivered by Elliot Anderson, a veteran of the Afghanistan War:

"The best way to honor the troops is to responsibly end our involvement in Iraq's civil war. As long as President Bush stays committed to the same policies that aren't working, it won't be easy. But I am proud to see Democrats and now some brave Republicans standing up to him." (emphasis added)

Now look, I have all the respect in the world for those like Anderson who have served or are serving our country in the military. And I think Anderson is absolutely right that "the best way to honor the troops is to responsibly end our involvement in Iraq's civil war." But the claim that "Democrats and now some brave Republicans standing up to" President Bush just a few days after 90 percent of congressional Democrats voted to give Bush a blank check is right out of a George Orwell novel (by the way, I don't blame Anderson for any of this - I'm guessing Harry Reid's people wrote him the speech or at least shaped it accordingly as a condition of him getting to deliver it).

Same thing, I might add, from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Hours after the blank check vote, the organization sent out a fundraising letter saying:

"The House just passed legislation that will go to the White House that includes critical issues Democrats have been fighting for including canceling the President's blank check in Iraq."

And, big shocker, there was Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) telling reporters that giving Bush a blank check somehow represents "the beginning of the end of the president’s policy in Iraq."

Again, it's an utterly Orwellian attempt to make the public believe something happened when clearly the opposite happened. We are expected to believe Democrats did everything they possibly could to end the war, just like George Bush would have us believe the war is going swimmingly - because politicians in Washington, to paraphrase Orwell, believe that while all Americans are created equal, some - in particular, the creatures of the Beltway who think they are smarter than everyone and can trick the public - believe they are more equal than others.

The only difference between the Democratic Party's behavior right now and an Orwell novel is that the state-run propaganda in the latter is just a wee bit more convincing. Memo to Democratic politicians and their new political consultant, George Orwell: YOU AREN'T FOOLING ANYONE. WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. THE MORE YOU PRETEND THAT YOU HEROICALLY DID EVERYTHING YOU COULD TO STOP THE WAR, THE MORE PATHETIC YOU LOOK.
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About author David Sirota is a political strategist and NY Times bestselling author whose work appears in major newspapers and magazines. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and The Colbert Report. He has appeared in TV debates with right-wing icons like Ann Coulter, John Stossel and John Fund. Email: david [at] davidsirota.com.

Source: http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/7729