I remember the years of Ray and Harkin well. Without thinking about it, I just knew they would do what's right. The same goes for Liz Cheney. She and I will never agree on our politics, but she has become one of my heroes. The Silent Six? I don’t even think about them, as it's just a big black hole. But come election time? I will be thinking a lot about how I can help to get them out.
I’m like you re: Liz Cheney. There is little we will ever likely agree about on political issues but her courage in calling out Trump’s threat to democracy - and tirelessly working to stop him - is simply astonishing. She’d be very near the top of my list of “Most Admired Americans” for sure!
You are 💯per cent right, in my book, Barry. But at least we have columnists, like you, who DO speak up. Thank you. I am grateful for your rebuke and saying aloud what many of us see and believe. I appreciate your ‘inside with Harkin’ perspective as well. We are so lucky to have you in Iowa.
Your story telling can be nostalgic; more importantly it tells the story of more normal times. Your substack reminds people of independent federal delegation. Inserting a story of Harkin taking on his Demo Pres was well done.
Silence by the Six helps normalize Trumps' words and behavior. The media and the national Demo leaders have roles in stopping the normalization; our own delegation dropped the ball--and they had 6 chances among the 6 of them.
Thanks, Ralph. You make a number of good points. This coming Tuesday Iowa voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on whether they find silence in the face of violent threats and clear fascism acceptable.
Thank you for, once again, pointing out the cowardice and inertia that surrounds and defines our sorry representatives. They are a disgrace. To paraphrase Liz Cheney, “That disgrace will long outlive every single one of them”.
I agree that Iowa’s “Silent Six” are not profiles in courage when facing their political leader, but I don’t buy your interpretation of Trump’s remarks, Barry, even in the limited quote you provided from the much larger context that contained it.
Inarticulate Donald said, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with 9 barrels shooting at her. Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
Who gives a rifle to someone when standing them in front of a firing squad? The most dangerous object I’ve ever heard of being handed to the condemned is a cigarette.
So what gives? Naturally we must read his severe comment in context to see what he’s talking about.
“Actually, look, she's a deranged person, but the reason she couldn't stand me is that she always wanted to go to war with people.
"I don't want to go to war. She wanted to go. She wanted to stay in Syria. I took them out. She wanted to stay in Iraq. I took them out. I mean if it were up to her we'd be in 50 different countries. She's a radical war hawk.
"Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let's see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.
"You know they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying “Oh gee, Well let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.” But she's a stupid person, and I used to have, I’d have meetings with a lot of people, and she always wanted to go to war with people.”
If his poor speech construction about who gets the gun leaves any doubt, just look at his hand gesture as he says it.
And if journalists didn’t get it the first time, Trump repeated essentially the identical comment at a Michigan rally the next day:
“If you gave Liz Cheney a gun and put her into battle, facing the other side with the guns pointing at her, she wouldn’t have the courage and the strength or the stamina to even look the enemy in the eye,”
Two days later on November 3rd, plenty of time to review Trump’s repeated words, your opinion was published. You criticize the Six for failing to speak out about an event they almost certainly recognized didn’t occur. Their actual failure, which you might applaud, was not to defend Trump.
Trump’s obvious critique of Cheney as a cowardly war hawk is clear, and especially galling because she’s a lifelong member of the socially protected class who were never sent to American battlefields, unless as very brave nurses. She enlisted in the venomous elite group including the likes of Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Nikki Haley, Madeline Albright, Margaret Thatcher, Jeanne Kirkpatrick and more whose war hunger is enacted and suffered by unfortunate others they never meet.
Cheney does have some courage to buck her own party, and perhaps more in that way than the Silent Six, but it is of a completely different order than the courage Trump obviously referred to.
Far worse, rather than report the real story—that Trump made a strong anti-war statement--this inverted the peaceful point Trump was making, instead promoting the Trump-as-Hitler meme.
In my opinion this sinks to the level of herd media mentality. If not excused as a time-crowded blunder, then this instance of propaganda strikes me as a violation of journalistic ethics.
Imagine being such a shitty excuse for a political party that you can’t separate yourself in the eyes of the electorate from these fucking criminal buffoons? I’m pretty sure the Democratic Party isn’t doing it right either. Slightly better than really really really shitty is still pretty shitty.
I remember the years of Ray and Harkin well. Without thinking about it, I just knew they would do what's right. The same goes for Liz Cheney. She and I will never agree on our politics, but she has become one of my heroes. The Silent Six? I don’t even think about them, as it's just a big black hole. But come election time? I will be thinking a lot about how I can help to get them out.
I’m like you re: Liz Cheney. There is little we will ever likely agree about on political issues but her courage in calling out Trump’s threat to democracy - and tirelessly working to stop him - is simply astonishing. She’d be very near the top of my list of “Most Admired Americans” for sure!
You are 💯per cent right, in my book, Barry. But at least we have columnists, like you, who DO speak up. Thank you. I am grateful for your rebuke and saying aloud what many of us see and believe. I appreciate your ‘inside with Harkin’ perspective as well. We are so lucky to have you in Iowa.
Thank you, Virginia! I really appreciate your comments, your readership and your support.
Your story telling can be nostalgic; more importantly it tells the story of more normal times. Your substack reminds people of independent federal delegation. Inserting a story of Harkin taking on his Demo Pres was well done.
Silence by the Six helps normalize Trumps' words and behavior. The media and the national Demo leaders have roles in stopping the normalization; our own delegation dropped the ball--and they had 6 chances among the 6 of them.
Thanks, Ralph. You make a number of good points. This coming Tuesday Iowa voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on whether they find silence in the face of violent threats and clear fascism acceptable.
Thank you for, once again, pointing out the cowardice and inertia that surrounds and defines our sorry representatives. They are a disgrace. To paraphrase Liz Cheney, “That disgrace will long outlive every single one of them”.
Yes it will.
I agree that Iowa’s “Silent Six” are not profiles in courage when facing their political leader, but I don’t buy your interpretation of Trump’s remarks, Barry, even in the limited quote you provided from the much larger context that contained it.
Inarticulate Donald said, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with 9 barrels shooting at her. Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
Who gives a rifle to someone when standing them in front of a firing squad? The most dangerous object I’ve ever heard of being handed to the condemned is a cigarette.
So what gives? Naturally we must read his severe comment in context to see what he’s talking about.
“Actually, look, she's a deranged person, but the reason she couldn't stand me is that she always wanted to go to war with people.
"I don't want to go to war. She wanted to go. She wanted to stay in Syria. I took them out. She wanted to stay in Iraq. I took them out. I mean if it were up to her we'd be in 50 different countries. She's a radical war hawk.
"Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let's see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.
"You know they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying “Oh gee, Well let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.” But she's a stupid person, and I used to have, I’d have meetings with a lot of people, and she always wanted to go to war with people.”
Glendale, AZ, Thursday, October 31st, 2024
Associated Press: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47_XcdW7A7A
If his poor speech construction about who gets the gun leaves any doubt, just look at his hand gesture as he says it.
And if journalists didn’t get it the first time, Trump repeated essentially the identical comment at a Michigan rally the next day:
“If you gave Liz Cheney a gun and put her into battle, facing the other side with the guns pointing at her, she wouldn’t have the courage and the strength or the stamina to even look the enemy in the eye,”
Friday, November 1, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/election-trump-cheney-war-hawk-14e2037b4fd8d22acf64c8b888ce296d
Two days later on November 3rd, plenty of time to review Trump’s repeated words, your opinion was published. You criticize the Six for failing to speak out about an event they almost certainly recognized didn’t occur. Their actual failure, which you might applaud, was not to defend Trump.
Trump’s obvious critique of Cheney as a cowardly war hawk is clear, and especially galling because she’s a lifelong member of the socially protected class who were never sent to American battlefields, unless as very brave nurses. She enlisted in the venomous elite group including the likes of Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Nikki Haley, Madeline Albright, Margaret Thatcher, Jeanne Kirkpatrick and more whose war hunger is enacted and suffered by unfortunate others they never meet.
Cheney does have some courage to buck her own party, and perhaps more in that way than the Silent Six, but it is of a completely different order than the courage Trump obviously referred to.
Far worse, rather than report the real story—that Trump made a strong anti-war statement--this inverted the peaceful point Trump was making, instead promoting the Trump-as-Hitler meme.
In my opinion this sinks to the level of herd media mentality. If not excused as a time-crowded blunder, then this instance of propaganda strikes me as a violation of journalistic ethics.
Let’s just call it what it is: Fake News.
Imagine being such a shitty excuse for a political party that you can’t separate yourself in the eyes of the electorate from these fucking criminal buffoons? I’m pretty sure the Democratic Party isn’t doing it right either. Slightly better than really really really shitty is still pretty shitty.