I was not aware that Vice President Cheney has recently been slandering former Senator George McGovern,
…but today in the Los Angeles Times I saw a rebuttal of sorts from McGovern. Actually, it’s more like an ass-kicking, something that I think the old Senator might still be capable of in person if Cheney ever dares show his face when George is around.
I’m not going to analyze the story. You can read it here, and you’d better hop to it before it disappears behind the news-for-money firewall at The Times.
But for younger readers. let me just say that George McGovern was the Democratic presidential candidate who lost the 1972 election in a landslide to the corrupt, unbalanced Republican incumbent Richard Nixon. It was an era of civil unrest, anger and alienation. Then as now, our government was involved in a war overseas with a small sovereign nation (Vietnam) which had not threatened the U.S. Like our current Iraq adventure, we were there on false pretenses fabricated by powerful corporate interests who are always the ones to profit from the slaughter. It seemed that the war would never end, and anyone who said it should was labeled a traitor or a defeatist. Sound familiar?
McGovern was not the first national figure to speak out against the war, but he was the one who mounted a real challenge to the snake-pit in the Pentagon and the White House, and he captured the imagination and the loyalty of a generation of disaffected youth, not to mention all the leftover pacifists from the fifties and the sixties.
Of course he had to be crushed, and the Nixon stink machine raised dirty campaigning to a new and slimy art form. McGovern’s defeat that year was a heartbreak that I still haven’t gotten over, and to think that the certifiably evil Dick Cheney (I certify it myself!) has now reached back into history to vilify this honorable man…
just
makes
me
SPIT!!
Go read the article. If you’re already in the choir, you’ll enjoy singing along. If you’re not, how do you sleep?
Dick Cheney must be a in a lot of pain. I get really cranky when i feel bad. I think he does too. I mean, how in the hell does an old guy like McGovern threaten him or any of Bush’s minions at this point. Itnt McGovern something like 85 or so?
Thanks for the post.
As usual, you warm my heart.
I was in third grade during the McGovern – Nixon election. As a sweet innocent child, I was heartily against the war and wore my “Vote McGovern button with pride. My parents voted for Nixon. Every once in a while, when I’m feeling particularly evil, I remind them of their error. Fortunately, they learned from the experience and are actively against this war.
Now, I’m off to read the article …
Love you!!!
I remember being on the playground and defending McGovern. The American public in 1972 made a huge mistake. Cheney is of course betting that they haven’t recognized it yet. He’s probably right.
Steve – Yeah, I feel sorry for poor ol’ Dick myself. Let’s impeach him and put him out of his misery.
Theresa – Your parents admit it? I haven’t met anyone who will cop to voting for Nixon, even though apparently most people did.
Vikkitikkitavi – I believe the McGovern campaign changed American politics, even though he lost the election. In his article he says he never felt like a loser, because of the good things that happened as a direct result of his candidacy. Maybe Cheney doesn’t care because he is reaping the profits from his war and other policies, but history will view him as a scoundrel.
McGovern knows a good idea when he sees it–impeachment!
My dad was a Nixon-hater back in the “pink lady” days–the man was corrupt and evil from day fucking one. Thus, we watched the Watergate hearings in my parents’ house–I was going to say “with glee,’ but that wasn’t quite right, given the travesty that the whole thing was. And, somewhere, I still have a McGovern campaign button. Also, McGovern was the commencement speaker at my college graduation.