Late Nite FDL: There They Go Again

by Phoenix Woman [courtesy of Firedoglake]

On the rare occasions when Team Bush or their fellow Republican office-holders do something almost sensible, it's often something that they and their media buddies have attacked Democrats for doing or proposing. The planned meeting in Switzerland between US and Iranian envoys is just the latest example.

In the week after 9/11, Joe Lieberman introduced with Max Cleland (D-GA) a bill calling for what could have been a good idea: A new Department of Homeland Security. Karl Rove at first opposed and attacked the idea -- then, after overnight polling showed that it was popular with the American people, decided to coopt it. He had the congressional Republicans push his own homeland security bill, loaded with nasty things like anti-labor provisions -- a bill he knew that the Democrats would oppose. Then, when Cleland was up for re-election, the Republicans beat him with ads attacking him for "voting against homeland security".

Fast-forward five years: Public disgust with Bush had just given the Democrats nominal control of Congress for the first time since 1994. New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did what Republican legislators had been doing for years: She went to Damascus for talks with Syrian officials. And of course the Bushies and their media pals howled like demons hit with a holy-water cannon. Then barely a week later, what do the Bushies do? They send Condi Rice to Damascus to meet with Syria's leaders.

Now we come to Barack Obama's proposing that we talk with the Iranians. Again, the Bushies and the righties howled; "Chamberlain" and "appeaser" were among the nicer things they called him. And again, the Bushies will do what a promient Democrat advocates doing: They're going to talk with the Iranians.

Talk about two-faced!