The ripening is done

It’s started. Hard to pin down a date, but I think the veil lifted this winter. Lex is seeing something similar, but from a slightly different angle – like we are seeing the same animal from different sides.

From the start of this blog, one of the themes I have tried to hit on now and then is the nature of the Left, the hard core Left, and their pathological self-hate of this nation. I am not talking about Republicans or Democrats. No, nothing like that. Would I rather have Lieberman or Chafee as SECDEF? Lieberman, unquestionably – though that is none of my business.

The core Boomer Left has been in the wilderness for a very long time. The early 70s were their heyday. The world was run by the WWII generation, but they saw themselves, just by their numbers and dedicated core, as in the ascendancy. Socially and politically, everything was going in the direction of their worldview. Something nasty happened though. Urban renewal brought Cabrini Green. The sexual revolution brought herpes, HIV, HPV, sterility, divorce, single income supporting day care, and lonely weekends interrupted by a sad series of inadequate relationships. By the late 70s political progress was stymied by the economic backwash from the ’73 Arab Israeli War, a geo-political swamp infested with aggressive Soviets in Afghanistan, and the strange rise of radical Islam in Iran. They all ganged up on the beautifully opportunity of the Carter Administration that just wasn’t able to get those nasty distractions off the plate so the march could continue. Then Reagan happened, and the ‘80s voided itself on the scene.

The core has nurtured a tender wound of frustration, hate, disgust; all wrapped with a conceit of their own sense of self-importance, unique intellectual clarity, and natural right to rule, control, and shape the future of lesser citizens.

Some people who in the 60-80’s were Communists or their Useful Idiots, saw evil in the world only with an American face. There was no evil in Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile, Nicaragua, or El Salvador; only the evil hand of American against the will of the people to develop a progressive society. America didn’t have enemies – only people who opposed its imperialism.

Then as now, America is the problem. In AF, IQ, IR, and the Levant; anywhere America or her allies is threatened, the instinct of the Left is to see America as the problem.

They simmered through the ‘80s. Sure, there was the “Homeless Crisis” and “Trickledown Reaganomics” to harp about at home. There were anti-cruise missile and Pershing II marches in Europe. There was the El Salvador and Sandinista Kabuki dance in Central America….but that just wasn’t working. They couldn't gain power with their lame technocrat in 88, but Bush 41 wasn’t Reagan. After all, he did manage to ban some guns, raise some taxes and tried to talk Ukraine into not parting with the Russian Federation as the beautiful loser of the Soviet Union faded, but then Poppy did the unthinkable. He ran what was seen then as a perfect war that brought the Left’s boogieman out of the closet; the U.S. military could once again march with pride. Service members now had no problem wearing their uniform in public without fear.

But there was still hope. The man from Hope. The glorious dawning of a new day took place in ’92 when the last of the WWII generation turned over power at last to the Better Generation; Bill Clinton and the Boomers now were in power. Looking at WJC’s CV, they drooled – and his wife was a known quantity. Aquarius was back. And even better, that military would now have to answer to them.

Well, that didn’t work out as well as they wanted. Sure, the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” fiasco was a bit of progress, but it still smelt of defeat. Tailhook was a gift from the goddess. The military’s best and brightest were gibbeted all around the ramparts – knocking them back down a bit closer to where they belonged. Little steps here and there we brought them to heel. Scare their leaders into eating their own. Transplant the most corrosive of our theories in the belly of the beast - to grow and grow. But yet, not enough.

The ‘90s were of great frustration. The inner circle festered in frustration as the outer rings grew rich in the .com boom, and compromised their way through the halls of power. ’94 was a nightmare – an opening festering wound. Strong guerrilla warfare took out some of the enemy's leadership, but no power. WJC teased them into thinking they could at last bring taste the fruit of the tree they planted so long ago – but nothing came of it.

Then 2000. Florida. Family connections. By just hundreds of votes, they lost. To the son of 41. A Texan. Gore served on active duty in Vietnam. Shrub was a TANG guy. Florida (to its shame) was a low tax state with a lot of military bases. A large percentage of military personnel who at one point or another go through FL, especially if they come from a state with an income tax (if they waive it or not) change their residency to FL so they don’t have to fiddle with State income taxes. They take their FL residency with them when they leave. The military pushed voting for its service members, and has an active program every election to get them to vote. The vast majority of military members in national elections vote for Republicans. Thousands of military members who are stationed overseas, Virginia, California, Hawaii, Texas and elsewhere fill out a FL absentee ballot, because that is the only way to vote. Gore lost Florida because of the greedy, right-wing, lazy, military that doesn’t want to pay their fair share.

Frustration is an exceptionally powerful emotion. Mixed in with envy, and you can have otherwise intelligent, nice people becoming an angry, incoherent mob. In 2000, the Boomer Left saw that its long march through the education industry, university, press, and entertainment halls of power was stymied.

Then we were attacked. An attack worse than Pearl Harbor. With a right-wing Republican in the White House. A war was started. Not a boutique war of choice like Somalia, Kosovo, Bosnia or some other Blue Helmet OP; no, a real war. This was a threat, a horrible threat – a threat to their proper place – in power.

This is what it is all about; power. Pure and simple – power. The Looney Left, and those who use them as shock troops, see this all in the frame of about how they get back in power. Where they belong. Power at any cost. The growing Long War was/is seen as a huge block in their playbook back to power. The war was too popular, and everything about it was strengthening those institutions that were in their way.

Undermine, frame the issue, fight any potential for victory on the Republican’s watch. Wallowing in the afterbirth of an engineered self-defeat or re-defined defeat; they will emerge with no institution that can question their moral authority. Defunct, disgraced, humbled and weak; in disarray the Left’s opponents will not be able to block their mission to reshape this nation and the world order closer in line with their wisdom. They were so close 25 years ago. As they start to hit 60, the Boomer left knows that they are at the peak of their power. They know they have to press their advantage. Now.

How does the military play into this? Well, the smart ones on the Left know that we are just a tool in many ways. Only as a symbol do we have any impact on domestic politics. Though a considerably right-of-center group, with significant exceptions, the military is, thankfully, by tradition and law toothless domestically. On the right though, the military and the concepts it represents are a foundation stone. To significantly weaken the moral power of the right in this country, you have to weaken the one institution where the majority of its members are on balance right-of-center and of high standing with the public – that is the military. The only way you undermine the moral standing of the military is through scandal and defeat, especially when the scandal and defeat come from a war when the Executive Branch is in Republican hands.

The reason for the war is not important. What is important is how you prevent victory – a victory that helps the right – and assist a saleable defeat that empowers the Left.

That is the end-state for this operation. The mission statement involves the ascendancy of the Left back to a position of power in the Executive and Legislative Branches of government., and as a result, through appointments bring the Judicial Branch back towards the Left as well.

The war, and preventing a victory, is simply a domestic political tactic. The attacks on the moral standing of the military isn’t personal; it is just politics. Easy politics too, because they know that in the end, the military will do what we have always done; “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States…”

BT

And so, it starts again. There are hopes that this will just be an election year fever that will fade. No, I’m sorry. This will go on and through ’08. Ironically, if by some string of luck the Republicans keep one or both Legislative Branches in the fall, it will get much worse in the run up to ’08. Even if the Republicans loose both, the Left won’t be sated – it is going to get nasty.

Remember, to the Left the military is between themselves and power. The Left is angry and frustrated. Not about the war, but from being out of power. Get a thick skin and an iron stomach. This is going to be a rough ride – again. Don’t know where it will end this time.