Mind like a Steele fap [UPDATED]

The Democrats will gain seats in the mid-term elections. Well, it’s possible if RNC Chairman Michael Steele will be leading the GOP effort in November. He’s said some astonishingly stupid shit during his tenure, but this takes the prize:

“The McChrystal incident, to me, was very comical. And I think it’s a reflection of the frustration that a lot of our military leaders have with this Administration and their prosecution of the war in Afghanistan,” said Steele. “Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.”

“It was one of those, one of those areas of the total board of foreign policy [“in the Middle East”?—Note: The audio is not quite clear in this section.] that we would be in the background, sort of shaping the changes that were necessary in Afghanistan as opposed to directly engaging troops,” Steele continued. “But it was the president who was trying to be cute by half by flipping a script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should be in Afghanistan. Well, if he’s such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? All right, because everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history, has failed. And there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan.”

It’s legitimate to debate whether or not the US should have invaded Afghanistan—in 2001—or whether it made sense to double down with a troop surge in 2010. But it’s flat-out delusional to pretend there wasn’t already a war there before Obama was even elected to the Senate. Just ask the dead soldiers and civilians. Oops—you can’t! They died. In a war.

Michael Steele is either an abysmally stupid man, a bald-faced liar or a raving nutbag. Or perhaps all three.

UPDATE:

Well, despite what our lying eyes might tell us, Steele is right to say Obama started the Afghanistan war. Bill Kristol, who is never, ever right about anything, ever, calls bullshit on Steele. So Steele must be right.

Posted by Betty Cracker on 07/02/10 at 09:59 AM • Permalink

Categories: Politics • Election '10 • Election '08 • Barack Obama • Nutters • War In Error • Skull Hampers •

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He’s Maryland’s third-biggest embarrassment, after Alan Keyes and Spiro Agnew.

Comment by Tom65 on 07/02/10 at 10:17 AM

I pick all of the above. Is it too much to hope the RNC runs with this?

Not sure how they’d explain the mysterious disappearance of Pat Tillman. And all the other soldiers who went missing without explanation or suddenly developed horrible wounds because they certainly were not in Afghanistan from 2002 - 2009. Still, “Obama got us into Afghanistan” makes a good sound bite.

(The title is a thing of beauty. Also2.)

Comment by Hunger Tallest Palin on 07/02/10 at 10:29 AM

Well, he has a point—only a total asshole would have invaded a country that was still on our payroll in the Summer of 2001 in order to kill one man we never found, then keep our troops there for seven pointless years so he could hand the whole mess off to his successor.

I hope we get to hear Steele’s remarks over a continuous loop of George W. Bush swaggering around in a flightsuit, all through the run-up to November.

Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 07/02/10 at 10:47 AM

We need statements from every elected Republican on whether they agree with Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink and Michael Steele that we should withdraw immediately from Afghanistan.

Comment by Allan on 07/02/10 at 11:01 AM

Here is a statement of *explanation* from a RNC spokesman sent to TPM:

The Chairman clearly supports our troops but believes that success of the war effort in Afghanistan requires the ongoing support of the American people.

The responsibility for building and maintaining that strategy falls squarely on the shoulders of the President. Like so many Americans, Chairman Steele wants to hear an explanation from President Obama on what his strategy is for winning the war in Afghanistan. The Petraeus hearings were an opportunity - a missed opportunity - to do that. Instead, all we hear from the President is criticism of his predecessor for doing exactly the same thing.

At the same time, Congress must stop playing politics with the war and provide the funding our troops need to win and come home.

This is totally disconnected (surprise!) from what Steele actually said, which seemed to be blaming Obama for starting the Afghanistan war in the first place.  As far as strategy, I believe that considerable time and effort was put into developing what Obama and DOD believed could be an effective strategy last summer, McChrystal was heavily involved in its development and Petraeus said he was carrying on with the same theme.*

*Doesn’t mean I am in favor of the strategy, I want us out yesterday, but nevertheless it’s hard to argue that Obama as a CIC is mindlessly following no strategy as opposed to *cough* other recent presidents *cough*.

Comment by marindenver on 07/02/10 at 12:41 PM

All right, because everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history, has failed.

Ha! And Steele calls Obama a bad student of history?  I refer you to the Mongol Invasion and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, Mr Steele.

I wish people would stop pimping this romantic myth of the invincible noble savages of Afghanistan; for a start, it’s kind of racist, and it’s also not true. The Afghans have had their collective clocks cleaned on quite a few occasions by outsiders; the fact that the decaying remnants of the USSR failed does not make it impossible, and nor does the current American quagmire.  I know that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but they’re not half as bad as people who learn a lesson from history that isn’t there to begin with.

Comment by Mike on 07/02/10 at 12:41 PM

TPM just flagged a statement by Steele from a few months ago in which he called Afghanistan “a war we have to win.”

But Josh Marshall noted that the most intriguing aspect of this posting was that it was a key REPUBLICAN operative who sent him the link.

We’ll miss ya, Mike, ya big lug.

Comment by Allan on 07/02/10 at 12:49 PM

Mother of Mercy—is this the end of Steele?

My guess is yes. Too many big names want him gone, now.

Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 07/02/10 at 12:54 PM

Erick the Redneck is piling on too. Damn, I don’t want to see Steele go—he’s a win-win for our side. Hang tough, Mr. Chairman!

Comment by Betty Cracker on 07/02/10 at 01:09 PM

Mother of Mercy—is this the end of Steele?

My guess is yes. Too many big names want him gone, now.

If there were more* well-known, unemployed African-American ReThugs out there he’d have been gone a long time ago. Maybe they’ll decide to appeal to the ladies and bring Palin on board.

*Or do I mean any? I can’t think of anyone. Keyes gave the GOP the finger a while time ago.

Comment by Hunger Tallest Palin on 07/02/10 at 01:22 PM

Something scary is going on with Bill Kristol: he also wrote that Obama should fire McChrystal and replace him with Petraeus.

Organizing my life around expecting the opposite of whatever Bill Kristol predicts has been such a dependable strategy that I fear I will become unmoored.

Comment by Allan on 07/02/10 at 01:57 PM

@Allan, you’re not alone. Perhaps we can express Kristol’s Petraean Exception of Omniwrongness thus:

A) Bill Kristol said Steele should resign.

B1) Bill Kristol is always wrong

AND

B2) Michael Steele is always not Petraeus

THEREFORE

C) Michael Steele gets to keep his job.

Comment by Dave S. on 07/02/10 at 02:23 PM

Thank you, Dave S. I was coming unglued at the loss of a Universal Organizing Principle too.

Comment by Betty Cracker on 07/02/10 at 02:26 PM

Betty, I was really worried too, until I realized B2 above. As for a UOP, one could always fall back on “Because shut up, that’s why!”

Comment by Dave S. on 07/02/10 at 02:57 PM

This is totally disconnected (surprise!) from what Steele actually said

Thank you. For a minute there, I thought I’d had a stroke or something.

Steele: (a) Keep him in office, then blame him when the Repubs tank “unexpectedly” in November and he’s outski; (b) ditch him now in favor of God knows who (Palin would indeed be fun, but no chance, IMO), and let them carry the can. I can see them queuing up for the job as we speak.

Comment by YAFB on 07/02/10 at 03:44 PM

They could go all in and get Cheney. As I am always not Bill Kristol, this could happen.

Comment by Dave S. on 07/02/10 at 03:56 PM

I think they’ll reach out to Newt Gingrich and ask him to do a Petraeus and take one for the team until they can elect a new leader next year.

Comment by Allan on 07/02/10 at 04:15 PM

Ha! And Steele calls Obama a bad student of history?  I refer you to the Mongol Invasion and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, Mr Steele.

You might be expecting a little too much from a guy who can’t remember what happened from 2003-2009.

Comment by gil mann on 07/02/10 at 04:34 PM

RNC Chairman James O’Keefe . . .

Comment by Bob Stanley on 07/02/10 at 07:03 PM

Good call, Bob, but I think this guy is more energetic (special bonus Easter Egg for the Roasters at the link).

Comment by Allan on 07/03/10 at 01:40 AM
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