How out of touch is Bob Beckel?
16 June 2007 11:11 pm by Taylor Marsh
 |
This is the funniest thing I have ever heard about Majority Leader
Senator Harry Reid.
RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, my readers didn’t go quite
as ballistic as I did. I, I was, I was truly angry about that, because, I
mean, I think that there is a time and a place to, to talk about the way things
are going. But that kind of name-calling, and the only reason he used that
kind of language was because he was on a private phone call with liberal bloggers.BOB BECKEL, DEMOCRAT STRATEGIST: Well, that’s the thing that’s
amazing to me. There’s no such thing as a private phone call, anyway,
let alone with a bunch of bloggers. There’s something about Harry Reid
and the left of bloggers that has gotten, there’s a marriage gone on
there. I mean, frankly I think they got much too much influence over him.
And the idea that he thought he could get away with saying that and it’s
not going to get out is crazy.Democrat
Strategist: Liberal Bloggers Have 'Much Too Much Influence Over' Harry Reid
A “marriage” with Harry Reid? Is he kidding?
Oh, and by the way, it almost didn't get out, because the bloggers on the call
didn't report it. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Because when the majority leader of the U.S. Senate calls the top military man “incompetent” in a general sense, that's news.
But don't hang Reid's comment about Pace — or his non-comment if you're one
of the people who actually believe Reid wasn't smacking Pace — around the neck
of “liberal bloggers.” This one is on Reid. He's all alone, as far as I'm concerned.
After the story broke on Politico.com, Reid and his office left the entire
blogosphere, minus the bloggers on the call, hanging out to dry, choosing not to respond to numerous requests
for comment, confirmation, or clarification. We. Got. Bupkis. So not to belabor
the point, but I didn't provide Reid any cover whatsoever for his comments about
Pace, because he didn't deserve any. Yes, many others did, but on the premise that he wasn't really criticizing
Pace, or that criticizing military leaders is justified. That second point is an
entirely different issue. As for criticizing the military, I've been on Tommy Franks ever since Tora Bora, but that's a specific charge. Again, as far as I'm concerend anyone can criticize specific acts or plans of
action, but let's get serious, shall we? Reid is not the messenger to deliver
the “incompetent” lecture.
Besides, former Donald Rumsfeld put Myers, then Pace into
the job because he wanted men at the head of the Joint Chiefs who knew how to
take orders. Reid knew this and so did everyone else in Congress. Rumsfeld systematically
dismantled Goldwater-Nichols during his reign, so why is it that Reid is just
now getting around to saying something about the leadership at the JCS? Talk
about late on the draw.
In addition, I'm simply not impressed with Reid telling Pace he's “incompetent,”
when Reid folded on the supplemental because we didn't have the votes. You don't
vote for something that's wrong just to provide cover for the politics involved
and because you want to make sure everyone knows you “support the troops”
before a holiday.
But getting back to Beckel, obviously, he doesn't know what he's talking about,
because any relationship Reid has with so called “left of bloggers”
is about protecting and supporting Harry Reid. He has no intention of becoming
cozy with the blogosphere, which Beckel would know if he knew anything about the subject. Reid and his office does only enough to keep from getting creamed, though their efforts don't have much impact around here. Unfortunately, many decided that Reid deserved to be defended,
even when he and his office remained silent all day on a subject that is of
great importance to many of us: military affairs and national security.
So, here's a message for Bob Beckel. Not everyone is carrying Reid's water,
and he's certainly not carrying ours. If Reid cared about a relationship with
the progressive community his office would have returned emails after the “incompetent” comment blew through the web.
Next thing we'll hear from Beckel is that Democrats should debate on Fox. Pimping for a paycheck is understandable, but it can also be embarrassing.
