The wingnuts are running scared

The first demonstration of the wingnut fear was when the Bush administration had to send Gen. Petreaus up to Congress to defend the so-called 'surge' in Iraq. Petreaus had to be built up to be the super-soldier and beyond all contradiction because no one in the Bush administration has enough credibility left to even be trusted if they claim the sun rises in the East. Needless to say, when MoveOn.org dared question the sainted Petreaus with the rather memorable question "Is he Gen. Petreaus or is he Gen. Betray us?" the wingnuts were damaged in their weakest point.

No one who isn't bought and paid for by the corrupt Republican Party trusts the Bush administration or his supporters at all, so they had to try to create an individual spokesman who could not be questioned to support their failed 'surge.' And there was MoveOn.org taking out a full page advertisement in the New York Times questioning both Petreaus' credibility and his ability to be honest to the people of America rather than merely support the Republican war in Iraq.

The screaming, hollaring and yelling from the right-wing extremists is not surprising. They feel threatened, as they should. Only, their bluster and blather is not getting the quick results they need. So the Republicans are stepping up the attacks. They have to silence their critics if they are to retain any power. So they sent in the Republican big guns, Rush Limbaugh, who thoroughly stepped in it himself when he called the troops who do not support the Republican War in Iraq "Phoney Soldiers."

This idiocy by Limbaugh immediately got him into hot water, and he has quickly tried to walk away from what he said. Rush claims now (after rewriting the transcript of what he actually said) that he was taken out of context, but Media Matters presents a full fact check of the Truth of what Limbauh said.

So after Petreaus was questioned for his effort to put the needs of the Republican Party above those of his soldiers or the needs of America, now the great Republican propagandist Rush Limbaugh is finding his credibility attacked. Now the Re[publicans have to defend Limbaugh. So they bring out the long-time elder states-wingnut, Bill Bennet (Bios - Wikipedia, Media Matters on Bill Bennett, Michael Kinsley on Bill Bennet's gambling problem.) Here is Digby's description of Bill Bennet's entry into the defensive fray:

I just watched Bill Bennett quivering with outrage that Media Matters has "smeared" Rush Limbaugh; according to him Rush didn't actually say that soldiers who spoke out against the war were "phony soldiers." Wolf, uninformed about the details as usual,looked taken aback and somewhat frightened by Bennett's wild-eyed defense, and left it up to Donna Brazile to present the facts. (She did quite well although she would have been better if armed with the details on this one.) What was interesting is that Bennett then more or less issued a veiled threat threat that they'd better be careful not to push this thing too far or the "betrayus" thing would haunt the Democrats forever. He was more animated than I've seen him in years.

The Republicans are going into full defense on Rush, which is what any smart organization does when its valuable assets are threatened. But Rush not only said what he said, he since edited his transcripts and lied repeatedly on the air. (You know what they say about it's not the crime it's the cover up...) His supporters will defend him against anything (and often have) but this one is documented --- he got caught.

Why are the Republicans now so adamant about defending Limbaugh? Again I quote from Digby:

It's my belief that the conservative movement of the past decade or so was a three headed hydra: Newt, Delay and Rush. Sure, there are others, including Bush's brain, and Grover Norquist (whom I have sometimes included as the fourth head of the hydra) but those three stood for different things that were hugely important to the success of the movement. Newt was the visionary. Delay was the congressional enforcer. And Rush was the voice, screaming out violent hatred for liberals and Democrats day after day, decade after decade.

Gen. Petreaus is central to the functioning of the Republican War in Iraq, and he must be defended. But Rush is even more central to Republican power. Of the three critical individuals who were central to placing Bush as the national Republican leader into the White House in the first place, Rush is the only one left. An effective attack on Rush's credibility that might resonate with his wingnut audience, as his "phoney Soldiers" comment clearly did, could bring him down also. The "Phoney Soldiers" line is one that clearly attacks the soldiers who are or have been fighting the Republican War in Iraq, and is being seems as such an attack by his audience, not the least of which is those very soldiers. Here's more from Digby:

After all, the man was fired from ESPN for his racist statements. He talks about any women who don't worship him like they are either whores or doormats. He has been spewing dangerous eliminationist bile about liberals in general for years and he tells our troops in Iraq every single day on Armed Forces Radio, paid for by you and me, that the Democrats are unpatriotic traitors, which really is reprehensible.

Rush has led a charmed life, but that is because he tells his audience what they want to hear. That the guys who have actually been doing the fighting in Iraq are "Phoney Soldiers" is exactly not what his audience wants to hear.

All of which brings us back to the original requirement by the White House to make Gen. David Petreaus the face of the Republican War in Iraq and to defend him against all criticism. The Republican voluntary and unnecessary war in Iraq is central to any hope the Republican Party has of retaining the mantle of the Party of National Security. For that war to continue to be the bedrock on which all remaining support for the Republican Party exists, it must continue to be viewed by a large portion of the American voting public as a war for the very existence of America.

Yet all of the defenders of the Republican War in Iraq are being exposed as nothing more than defenders of the power of the Republican party at all costs. The Republicans are being exposed as corrupt self-centered greedy nationalists who lack any credibility at all when their Patriotism is viewed in the sunlight.

The Republican noise, lies and threats are to be expected. They are losing what they value most - power. They will not go from the center stage quietly. But go they must, if America is to remain a democracy under the U.S. Constitution.