Who’s Responsible For the $20 Million “Victory” Celebration?

by tristero

You’ve probably heard about the $20 million snuck into the fine print of some bill earmarked to celebrate the great military victories of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I’ll bet you don’t know who’s responsible for the legislation. Take a guess.

O, ye cynics! You think it was $20 million earmarked for Republican propaganda. Seriously, where has the idealism in America fled to? Here’s the real story behind the $20 million. It starts over 30 years ago:

“People came home from Vietnam and had to sneak back in and they were spit upon,” said Don Stewart, communications director for [the office of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican whip]. For Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, Mr. McConnell felt the troops should be able to “attend ceremonies, get awards.”

That’s right. Liberals opposed to the Vietnam War, who forced soldiers to slink home as objects of scorn, were responsible for the $20 million waste of taxpayers money on non-existent victory celebrations. Liberals, not small-government conservatives.

And check out McConnell’s truly compassionate conservatism. The awards and ceremonies are for the soldiers whether or not there is an actual victory of some sort in Iraq or Afghanistan. Forgive me, I’m gonna weep, It’s just like how they used to give out trophies to my daughter’s 4th grade soccer team, regardless of whether they won, but to bolster their self-esteem. it’s all sooooo touching.

[Note to rightwingers and others with cognitive impairments: The vast majority of the rank and file in the military are decent human beings who have been lied to by George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, but who nevertheless have served honorably and bravely. They deserve our respect and support.

Truly, the best way we can show them that respect is not with “victory” celebrations which they know are utterly bogus, having seen Iraq and Afghanistan for themselves. We show them contempt when we treat them like little children and manufacture celebrations that cheer for what they themselves know are not real victories.

We show the mean and women of the military the greatest respect by insisting that the truth of these obscene, pointless wars get told. We honor these soldiers by removing the scoundrels responsible for these ghastly disasters from power at the earliest opportunity and by seeing whether legal charges can be brought against all those responsible for the serial catastrophes and the exploitation of the American armed forces for spectacular pecuniary gain.]