Republicans Strike Out (10/4/03)
by Dean Hartwell
Someone in the George W. Bush Administration leaked the name of a confidential CIA officer. Strike One.
Rush Limbaugh made racist comments on national television. Strike Two.
Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to inappropriate behavior with women in his past and revelations came out that he once said he admired Hitler. Strike Three.
During the baseball playoffs, it is the Republicans who have struck out recently. In each situation, no excuses emerge for the party or the individual.
How can anyone in the Administration justify revealing the name of a CIA officer? At the least, it was an act of political pettiness since the officer’s husband had disputed President Bush’s contention that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Niger. At the worst, it has put the officer and her family’s lives at risk.
Now it remains to be seen whether the Administration will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate it. Bush and the GOP have initially resisted this idea. This attitude contradicts their wholehearted zeal for special prosecutors when Bill Clinton was president. These prosecutors hammered away at Clinton over non-issues like Whitewater for years.
Though Limbaugh is not an elected official, he represents the Republican Party on his daily radio show. Until his ill-advised comments that the media wanted a black NFL quarterback to succeed, he also worked on an ESPN football show.
Now he is minus the latter job. He won’t apologize for what he said and says he is surprised there was even a controversy. The incident shows how out of touch Limbaugh is with racism and the role of the media.
And then there is Arnold Schwarzenegger. When allegations first arose that he had fondled women against their will and made inappropriate comments throughout his acting and bodybuilding career, his aide, Sean Walsh, denied them. Then, Schwarzenegger told an audience there would be some allegations made about him and that most of them were not true.
In another turnaround, Schwarzenegger admitted he had been on “rowdy movie sets” and “done things that were not right” and offered a general apology. Many Republicans were quick to accept the apology and move on.
Some of these same Republicans did not accept President Clinton’s eventual apologies for his misbehavior with Monica Lewinsky. Of course, Clinton engaged in consensual behavior, unlike Schwarzenegger.
But it is Schwarzenegger’s statements about Hitler that ring most ominously. In an interview several years ago, he said that he admired Hitler “…because he came from being a little man.”
How can anyone justify saying anything positive about the most evil person who has ever lived? The statement shows a serious lack of judgment in Schwarzenegger.
The public has the right to expect that its leaders will keep secret information to protect its employees. It should not have to listen to mindless drivel from the likes of Limbaugh. And it should demand better candidates for governor than weak-brained ones like Schwarzenegger. The United States needs professional leadership and right now the Republicans are playing like a bunch of “Bush leaguers.”