What Makes The Muskrat Guard His Musk?

[Laxman]

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!- The Cowardly Lion

A brief discussion of courage, the lack of it and the false portrayal of cowardly behavior as courageous.

Apologies to Bert Lahr (a/k/a the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz) and to cowards everywhere for including them in this discussion. It really isn’t fair to cowards. However, there is a “separated at birth” element to those three pictures, isn’t there.

Republicans are big on courage, or at least talking about it. When it comes to actually demonstrating courage, it becomes a very different story. Let’s start with that “good Christian man” Mike Huckabee. He’s got a great body of work to choose from that ranges from his stance on issues like health care and climate change to any other matter where he stakes the most extreme conservative position possible. However, let's take a step back from the substantive policy positions of "the other former Arkansas Governor" and look at his penchant for pandering. His recent "misstatements" concerning the president's childhood experience is extremely illustrative of Mr. Huckabee's lack of character, morality and yes, courage.

Whether you support the president or not, anyone who has done a modest amount of research knows that the president grew up in Hawaii, knows that his father left him and his mother when he was very young, knows that he worked hard, went to college and law school and became a very successful person despite his humble beginnings. Unless Huckabee just doesn't want to be confused by the facts, he has to know this. Yet he continues to pander to the extreme right wing, the birthers and other fringe lunatics, and becomes their champion by continuing to proffer this myth of Obama being some secretive socialist Muslim foreigner who somehow managed to get himself elected president. Now granted, Huckabee probably has a gold membership to the Creation Museum (http://creationmuseum.org/), so ignorance is a plausible explanation, but I opt for a lack of courage.

A leader needs to stand up for what is right, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient. It may risk alienating some of his supporters, but if Huckabee had any measure of leadership qualities he would abandon this nonsense and move on to other right-wing lunatic matters. But he doesn't have the courage to do so. Additionally, what kind of courage does it take to deny and abandon a myth or a lie? None! His inability to stand up and repudiate (or is it refudiate? ) a lie not only exposes his lack of courage, it exposes him as a coward.

Next, we'll move from the formerly fat-boy governor to the currently fat-boy governor. Doing his best Tony Soprano imitation, the latest and greatest Great White Dope for the Republican party goes around trashing public employees (who really do the work of government) and pandering to myths and stereotypes of people in public service as lazy, privileged and over-paid. Faced with a multi-billion dollar budget gap he has taken the bold step of cutting the budget. This shows great, dare I say it, courage! His predecessor, Jon Corzine, faced with a budget gap, spent three years cutting the budget and paring the public payroll but did so without the public fanfare or demonizing of large sectors of the middle class.

However, in an orgy of self-aggrandizement, Chris Christie has taken on the roll of the bully. We know that at the core of every bully is a coward.Christie is no different. Cutting the budget in bad economic times is not some brilliant piece of governing. Yet you would think this was some magnificent epiphany. The brave and courageous leader has figured out that spending needs equal income. How do we achieve this? Not by a modest tax increase on NJ's 212,000 millionaires. No we will do this on the backs of the middle class and poor. What else would you expect from someone who's family wealth comes from Wall Street. (Christie really sucked at being a lawyer, by the way) What a courageous guy.

Real courage comes from finding solutions to governing in hard times. How to continue to provide necessary services. How to keep an eye on creating a better future. Cooperating with those who disagree with you in an attempt to reach consensus and workable solutions. The last person Christie ever cooperated with was Solomon Dweck (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/cooperating_witness_solomon_dw.html). He has no idea of how to work with anyone who questions his infallibility or whom he cannot intimidate or pressure. A real leader knows how to do all of those things. But Christie is not a real leader. He is a coward too. Shouting at, belittling or intimidating those who disagree with you is not a sign of policy expertise or leadership. It is the mark of a bully with limited intellect or ideas.

Its time to stand up to cowards and bullies. Let them know that we are on to their game and we will not be cowed or intimidated by them. Punch a bully in the nose and he will run home to tell his dad-then you're going to get it! It is time to demonstrate what real courage and leadership is about and send these cowards packing. Now is the time to speak out and speak the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient. The real question is, do we have enough people in this country who have what it takes to oppose these false leaders. What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!

[HopeHoops]

1. Muskrat? I saw a weasel, a lion, and a hog - in that order.

[jberryhill]

6. They look like flying monkeys to me /nt

[Auggie]

2. Bert Lahr played the Lion

Recommended. Where is our party's courage, BTW?

[Laxman]

3. You're right

If I only had a brain!

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

5. There is the million dollar question!

Are our leaders so tied to keeping their jobs that they won't take the risk of being brave? Ironically, that is just the type of behavior that could have led to many of them keeping their positions and keeping the republicans out of the majority in the house.

[Auggie]

8. They need to see The Wizard

Maybe he'll grant them courage in exchange for Michele Bachmann's broom.

:)

Welcome to D.U., BTW

[swilton]

4. Where's Obama's Picture?

[Jokinomx]

7. Your 100% correct....

The yelling and condemning is used by those that are hiding something.

I once belonged to the great Union .. The United Steelworkers. I grew up understanding the need for unions, coming from a family of underground iron miners. However, the union leadership of our local were not very good leaders. They took lavish "Union Business" trips with little oversight and there were always rumors that our leaders were skimming money from the union coffers. I was only 20 years old at the time and faithfully attended our union monthly meetings. In one of those meetings, a brave member stood up and called for more openness on use of union funds. I thought the so called leaders were going to strangle him right then and there. They went on a long and loud rant on how dare he question the legitimacy of trips and money spent. They effectively shut him up and if there were others that supported this guy, they were intimidated to silence.

Lesson learned.... if someone screams, belittles and threatens someone for asking a question, they are hiding something.

Peace

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

9. Reminds me of the old Soupie Sales Bit

You know the one-That's funny, I see F you see K! Actually, I do see a family resemblance in those pictures. Although it looks like the lion has purple eyes. Unfortunately, the republicans don't have a monopoly on the lack of courage. They're just a whole lot creepier about being cowards.