Another BS wingnut sound bite that needs to be smacked down

[11 Bravo]

every time we hear it. I'm referring to the term "McGovernesque" or "McGovernite" as used to imply cowardice or weakness in National Defense. I call them on it every time. Just a brief reminder, George Stanley McGovern quit college to volunteer for the United States Army-Air Force during WWII. He flew 35 missions over occupied Europe in a B-24 Liberator bomber, squarely into the teeth of the heaviest flak barrage in history. For conspicuous gallantry in action and heroism in aerial combat, Capt. McGovern was awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. At a time when "National Defense" actually meant DEFENDING THE FUCKING NATION, George McGovern put his ass squarely on the line. How does that stack up with the legions of RW keyboard commandos who consider themselves to be intrepid warriors because they dared to venture outside on a windy day to slap another magnetic ribbon on the old SUV? Please, don't let them get away with it. Like John Kerry, George McGovern is an honest-to-God hero, and I will not allow a slander of either man to go unchallenged in my presence.

[annabanana]

1. Nominated, because more people should know his record.

That his name is being misused in this way is disgraceful.

[Straight Shooter]

18. I will nominate for the same reason. n/t

[11 Bravo]

19. Isn't it remarkable?

I've lost count of the number of young college Repubs I've encountered who hear Senator McGovern's name and immediately respond, "Oh, he's that peacenik pussy", or words to that effect. It's one of life's little pleasures to inform the young chickenhawks of the Senator's bona fides.

[Bigmack]

21. I've had people flat say that I'm lying....

when I tell them. I offer to bet anything they want and start looking around for witnesses.

They usually end up walking away with their little eyes going around in circles.

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. That's why I'm K & R!

[buddysmellgood]

2. Bravo!

[Jade Fox]

3. Thanks, 11Bravo....

Another great man being trashed by Chickenhawks.

[Trajan]

4. Bravo indeed .....

I have put the smack down on ANY RW who starts this bullshit .... 35 missions in deepest axis controlled Europe in the midst of extreme fire ? .... Your goddamned right he is a bona fide hero ....

They do this with everyone ..... Their whole philosophy is nothing but lying about everything ...

[Nightjock]

5. Way to go Bravo!

NOMINATED!!!!!!!!!!

[stepnw1f]

6. Damn Straight.... Recommended for the Chickenhawk Republicans

to Freepers and Pro-War Republicans: Your kind is pathetic and weak.

[jgraz]

7. Also remember....

That 1974 "McGovernite" Congress was the start of the largest and longest Democratic House majority in US history.

Yay for McGovernites!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. McGovern did a great smackdown of William F. Buckley

on the old Firing Line show.

It was the era when the nuclear freeze movement was in the news, and Buckley was lamenting, "The Germans are turning into pacifists."

McGovern's response was, "I was a bomber pilot during World War II, and I'm delighted to hear that the Germans are turning into pacifists."

For once, Buckley was struck speechless.

:thumbsup:

[11 Bravo]

9. Damn! I would have loved to hear that!

Simple, eloquent, yet sharp as a razor.

[Greyhound]

10. To the greatest with you.

lest we forget, what the cause of the Chicago demonstrations were all about, everybody under 40 should see this and many of us over 40 that have forgotten or never knew, that the Democratic Party Rulers showed the world that they would rather see the re:puke:s in office than surrender any of their power.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468528/">One Bright Shining Moment

[Ferret Annica]

11. I love George Stanly McGovern.

He has always been a source of inspiration to me.

[Patiod]

12. Helping us win the "water cooler wars"! Thanks!

as Thom Hartmann would call it.

Always glad to get factual ammunition.

Plus, I think the "slapping a magnetic ribbon on the SUV" is taking off as a metaphor

[Dinger]

13. Thank You So Much For Posting nThis - Bravo!!!

K & R!

[me b zola]

14. k&r

:thumbsup:

[Spiffarino]

15. Like the "Dean Scream" let's take back McGovern

Definitions:

McGovernite - n. A person of authentic courage who opposes war for the sake of empire.
McGovernesque - adj. 1. A quality whereby one only risks what is dear to him or her, and only for the noblest of pursuits. 2. Disdain for those who risk the lives or well-being of others for personal gain.

[cynthia]

16. we can not let good people be slandered

From wikipedia

Although he voted in favor of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, McGovern later became a strong critic of defense spending, and was an early and vocal opponent of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, often criticizing the policies of fellow Democrat, President Lyndon Johnson. And he was just as vocal with the Senate's "war hawks," such as when he assailed his colleagues for not supporting an amendment offered by Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield for a complete troop withdrawal from Vietnam, "Every Senator in this chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave . . ." he exhorted. "This chamber reeks of blood. . . . t does not take any courage at all for a Congressman or a Senator or a President to wrap himself in the flag and say we are staying in Viet Nam, because it is not our blood that is being shed," and he blamed his colleagues for having contributed to "that human wreckage all across our land -- young men without legs or arms or genitals or faces -- or hopes."<2> And he dismissed a suggestion by powerful Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Stennis, "I'm tired of old men dreaming up wars for young men to fight. If he wants to use American ground troops in Cambodia, let him lead the charge himself."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_McGovern

[11 Bravo]

32. I can not and will not!

And thanks for the reminder of George's smack-down of Stennis. It gives me chills to this day.

[Spiffarino]

46. It was a great smack-down. Stennis' legacy is a mixed bag.

Senator John C. Stennis, Democrat from Mississippi...

...was an early critic of Sen. Joseph P. McCarthy's Communist witch-hunt.

...wrote the first Senate Ethics Code.

...was a strong proponent of NASA.

...voted against civil rights legislation early in his Senate career.

...voted often to extend rights to women and minorities through the 80s and into the 90s.

...voted against the MLK holiday.

...strongly favored the War Powers Act and helped overcome Nixon's veto.


Not a total dick, but certainly not a saint.

Sources: Wikipedia, Miss. State University bio page

[Joe Chi Minh]

17. They are without the least vestige of shame. The Big Lie - one of their

favourite tools. I was going to say weapons, but apart from Cheney shooting his pal in the face with buckshot, their familiarity with battlefield weaponry would not be the greatest, would it? Mind you a shot gun might have been a start in the right hands.

[madmusic]

20. K&R

[Stinky The Clown]

22. To add to your excellent capsule of McGovern's background ....

When he ran for president, someone on his staff all but begged him to speak about his war record. McGovern didn't see the need to do so. He felt it would have been bragging. So he ran on ideas and current issues, not his own personal record.

And so we are made to think 'what might have been'.

[11 Bravo]

25. George flat-out forbade his campaign manager from referencing his war-time heroism.

Richard Nixon spent WWII in the supply corps. Don't get me wrong, his service was honorable, but once he started to tar McGovern as the candidate of "Acid, Amnesty (for draft-evaders), and Abortion", Senator McGovern had every right to come back and rub his military experience in Nixon's face. He never did. God, he was (and is) a good man!

[democrank]

23. As usual, another BRAVO! for 11 Bravo.

A few months ago I made a similar comment here after hearing about "McGovernite leftists" on Hardball. It`s beyond my comprehension that a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross could be so marginalized by the tv punditry and the ever-babbling chickenhawks. McGovern did more for his country in a month than these Barco-Lounger warriors will do in their lifetime. I`m with you, 11 Bravo. Every single time I hear this kind of crap, I`m going to respond.

[MethuenProgressive]

24. Bravo, Bravo!

[mzmolly]

27. Wow, BRAVO!

:toast:

[Cha]

28. Hey Cool, thanks for the

info..I'm not surprised, the Dems always have the real deal..it's the corporatemediawhores who distort their image.

[Laelth]

29. K&R for TRUE heroes.

n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[BrklynLiberal]

30. I bet he never jumped out his plane leaving 2 of his crewmates to perish.

:evilfrown:

[IndyOp]

31. McGovern is being attacked because of his new book about Iraq...

Former senator George McGovern and William R. Polk, a leading authority on the Middle East, offer a detailed plan for a speedy troop withdrawal from Iraq.

During the phased withdrawal, to begin on December 31, 2006, and to be completed by June 30, 2007, they recommend that the Iraq government engage the temporary services of an international stabilization force to police the country. Other elements in the withdrawal plan include an independent accounting of American expenditures of Iraqi funds, reparations to Iraqi civilians for lives lost and property destroyed, immediate release of all prisoners of war, the closing of American detention centers, and offering to void all contracts for petroleum exploration, development, and marketing made during the American occupation.

[tabasco]

33. This vet salutes McGovern !

:patriot:

Another brave man smeared by right wing cowards!

Blame the stupid idiots that believe the lies.

They are the bane of this Nation.

[Odin2005]

34. Pukes use "McGovernite" as code to thier followers to mean "those libruls that blame 'Murrika first"

I swear, those fuckers talk in code about everything.

[eridani]

40. We need to get rid of that bullshit line just as much

Whenever someone yammers about "Blaming America first," just ask them when they started to confuse Bush and Cheney and the rest of the neocon ruling thugs with "America." Don't the rest of us poor saps who just live here have some claim to the title? You might also add "Whatchu mean WE, white man?" if you think they are old enough to remember Lone Ranger/Tonto jokes. (That last can backfire if they haven't heard the joke, though.)

[immoderate]

35. K&R for George McGovern -- one of the smartest men who ever...

ran for president. Brains, integerity, and courage, our country is the worse for not electing him. :patriot:

--IMM

[11 Bravo]

36. Amen.

Can you imagine how different the last 34 years might have been had Nixon never oozed under the threshold of the White House front door?

[immoderate]

38. Tell me about it.

That was the first presidential election that I participated in. (I was a Goldwaterite in '64 but I got re-educated as I got closer to the draft. Ah, but that's another story.) I campaigned enthusiastically for McGovern, but his campaign was tragic starting with the Eagleton fiasco. By the time of the Watergate hearings, I had become a political junkie, and the hearings were the best entertainment there ever was. The Bush investigations might be even better, except everybody knows about Bush, so there won't be as many surprises.

I always thought of McGovern as the smartest man in government.

--IMM

[Bjorn Against]

37. If Americans had known the truth about both McGovern and Nixon...

McGovern would have won by a landslide. Looking back today I am sure there are many Americans who would have voted differently if they were given a chance to recast their votes. People can rip on McGovern for losing an election all they want, but those who attack should ask themselves how the results would have been different had the public known what Nixon was up to.

[glitch]

39. K & R nt

[Senator]

41. Another of their Fractured Fascist Fairy Tales

I call them this because many on the right literally need these stories to sleep through the night.

(Suddenly realizing that everything you've ever thought was/is the opposite of the truth can cause one to wake up in a cold sweat several times a night.)

In this case they need the "McGovernite" bogeyman to convince themselves that Vietnam (and now Iraq) was something more than a quasi-masturbatory display of sadistic faux machismo.

----

[Cooley Hurd]

42. It pisses me off, as well!

:grr:

George McGovern was a war hero who opposed wars that were unjust, immoral and WRONG. Not because he was a coward, but because he knew what war REALLY was about. One can compare him to Jack Murtha today.

K&R:kick:

[Toots]

43. It has been my experience that hose who saw the most shit end the most opposed to

the same stuff for their children. Real War Heros rarely want War. They know first hand the horrors of war and will do anything possible to save our children from having to endure anything similar. On the other hand those that know only what they see John Wayne doing are the first to advocate for "kicking some ass"...McGovern was a pacifist because he knew there has to be a better way... Not because he was afraid.....

[Old and In the Way]

44. Outstanding post!

I'm proud to have been a canvasser for George in the '72 election. This was the 1st election where I saw the MSM ignore the candidate's biography and focus on the Republican "peacenik" meme to destroy this good man's candidacy. I can only imagine how things might have been if a few key events in the 60's and 70's had turned out differently.

[Founders Know Best]

45. great interview with him on Democracy Now

Well, let me say, first of all, I resent the implication of what has just been said about me not supporting American national security during the Cold War period. I have always been for a strong defense. I was a bomber pilot in World War II. A lot of these so-called hawks, who sound so belligerent vocally, never have been near a battle scene. They know nothing about war from firsthand experience. What I know, as a bomber pilot that flew in World War II, is that war is a bloody business. As General Sherman said, “it's hell.” And that's true. And we want to avoid unnecessary wars that weaken the country rather than strengthening us.

You know, Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attack of 9/11. The administration tried to leave the implication that somehow we went into Iraq to fight terrorism. There was no terrorist problem in Iraq until we put our army in the middle of the country. Now, some of the highest-ranking American military officers in Iraq will tell you, face to face, that we’re turning Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorists. The whole Middle East is against the United States having an army there year after year.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/15/1459243

[Th1onein]

47. I agree with you. By the way, you're one hell of a writer.

Good job.

[DeeDeeNY]

48. McGovern has always been one of my heroes

I voted for him in the very first election I was eligible for, I attended rallies for him, and was absolutely devastated when he lost. People actually later rationalized by saying that perhaps it was best Nixon had won, because after Watergate our leaders would have much higher moral standards in the future!