Spay the Course (Mary Lyon)

  By Mary Lyon, From The Left -- World News Trust

  There they go again. ANOTHER story they can’t keep straight. “Stay the course” is outta' here. Never heard of it. SO yesterday. Of course, yesterday is roughly when the Bush machinery decided to ditch that beloved Iraq War buzz phrase -– or so they’d like you to think, at least. Like an army of grimly earnest veterinarians bent on enforced pet population control, they now behave as though they feel it’s paramount to neuter that ol’ “stay the course” bitch to stop her from breeding. And thus is born another political eunuch.

   It’s been amusing to see Tony Snow practicing the “Texas Two-Step” so shamelessly. No, Mr. Bush never said that. Well, yes, he did, but he isn’t saying it anymore. And whenever it was that he did or didn’t say it, he certainly didn’t mean it!

  It’s been amusing to see the news coverage about this, still somewhat spotty but in evidence nonetheless. There are a few anchors and reporters now replaying multiple clips, as recent as the end of August, wherein Bush was still clinging to his “stay the course” chew toy. Some of these same newsfolk have more collections of clips of various republi-CON candidates and incumbents mindlessly barking the same refrain over the past couple of years, even while they deny it now. It’s as though they took a sleek, long-haired date home from a bar and woke up the next morning realizing that date was literally a dog -– and they now have to get up with fleas. All that videotape sure is wonderful, quite literally the gift that keeps on giving.

  How long have we heard from our purported “commander-in-chief” that he consults with his generals before coming to any conclusions? How long has “the Decider” insisted that he relies on the front-liners on the ground in Iraq to help him successfully undertake all that “deciding”? How long has he asserted that he’s never made any mistakes, so he has nothing to regret or change? How long has he maintained, along with other among his true believers, that he operates under a near messianic anointing –- that God is speaking through him and he was placed in his position to carry out God’s will? That, by the way, is a pretty nifty get-out-of-jail-free card to play, too, since one dares not question or defy the will of God. Bush has never hesitated to pull that card out from the secret fold in his sleeve where he keeps it hidden, whenever he hears the dogcatcher’s truck coming up the street.

  So now, we have “stay the course” as pound puppy. That reliable slogan has formally been abandoned by the side of the road along with everything else Junior’s carelessly used up and tossed aside throughout his life. And here we thought it was serving him so well. The “stay the course” baloney was scattered everywhere like so much pet dander by people who’d never even seen a course, much less follow it across any battlefield. Every critter in King George’s animal shelter obediently did so, led as if on leash, slobbering for the next Milkbone as a reward for such mindless loyalty. And all they’ve accomplished is to help Dubya rid the country of some 2,700 lives (aside from who knows how much chaos and how many innocent Iraqi deaths), untold numbers of amputated limbs, lost eyes and hearing, hundreds of billions of dollars, our Constitutional rights, our self-respect as a nation, the value of our word in the foreign policy arena, the moral high ground and the status that lofty state of affairs bestowed upon us in the eyes of the rest of the world.

  Face it. Young George has NEVER listened to anybody. And I seriously doubt that, now, at this late date, having passed age 60, he’ll change and suddenly start doing so. You know that saying about old dogs and new tricks. It might appear, to some, that this is indeed the case. After all, just recently, the poor boy actually put in a weekend working session with his generals and military advisors, with Dick “the man who put the VICE in Vice President” Cheney looking in via teleconferencing technology. I’m sure Dick was there to make certain that little George DID “stay the course,” regardless what denials and slogan-adjustments would now be coming out of his little mouth. Strategically scheduled before the election (so it looks as though they really ARE open to change), they’ll be milking that perception for all it’s worth. They’ll tell you whatever they think will convince you to relax and go back to sleep. They’ll give you all the treats your tummy can handle so you’ll curl up in a nice little ball at their feet and doze off again. Then, they’ll tiptoe off to the “big” room where no dogs are allowed, and do exactly what they wanted to do in the first place. That’s how it’s been with the much-vaunted “compassionate conservatism.” That’s how it’s been with New Orleans after Katrina. That’s how it’s been with No Child Left Behind. That’s how it’s been with the faith-based facade. That’s even how it’s been with the war effort –- for our troops, for veterans, and for the anxious, neglected, and despairing families left back home. And that’s only a fraction of it. That dog won’t hunt anymore. Yeah. “Stay the course” -– that leads to NOWHERE.

  So, okay, fine. Nice new campaign slogan or tactic, maybe. To George and the rest of the republi-CONS, “stay the course” is still very much the phrase that pays (they hope). It’s actually what they want you to do on Election Day, keeping them comfortably and arrogantly in power so they can yank your leash straight down the garden path and out into the wilderness. They’re hoping like hell they’ve trained you thoroughly by now. If the voters can be sweet-talked into thinking George is “adjusting to win,” then we’ll let all his favorite pets stick around to spread fleas, kennel cough, and unwanted, unadoptable litters from coast to coast -– so George really CAN “stay the course.” Like any dog that won’t take its eyes off your dinner plate, he’ll be busy trying to figure out how to sneak this one past you, anyway.

  Too many people have died on all sides of the mess in Iraq. Too much has been lost. Too much has been wasted. This is no time to “stay the course,” or to pretend you’re considering a change. The pounds are desperately overcrowded. There’s not enough food, nobody’s keeping the shelters clean anymore, and the tails all stopped wagging a long time ago. It’s long past time for spaying and neutering –- and not just on some slogan. It’s Bush’s unchecked, utterly corrupted power, and that of the republi-CON rubberstamp machine that need it most.

  Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!

  And then go DO something about it.

***

   Mary Lyon spent the first 25 years of her adult life as a broadcast journalist, at Los Angeles radio stations KRTH-FM,KFWB-AM, KHJ-AM and KLOS-FM, the NBC, ABC, RKO Radio Networks,and KTLA-TV.  She retired from day-to-day broadcasting in 1996, after covering Hollywood for nine years in radio, TV, and print, for the Associated Press.  She wrote and illustrated "The Frazzled Working Woman's Practical Guide to Motherhood," and is presently at work on a new craft book for kids and friends.  A lifelong Democrat who began her political involvement in the Student Coalition for Humphrey-Muskie, and Tom Bradley's first L.A. Mayoral campaign, Mary currently is a weekly columnist for www.democrats.us -- from the Left.

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