Author: Eric Johnson

The guy on the right is Andy Rosenberg, who is running for Congress in the Virginia 8th District. He’s competing for the Democratic nomination with Rep. Jim Moran, possibly the sleaziest man in Congress. Why is he sleazy? Let’s see…
• He exploited his young, dying son to win re-election;
• When he divorced his second wife, she accused him of beating her up, which he did not contest in court;
• He has been in at least two physical fights in the Capitol building;
• He accepted “interest-free loans” from a person with business in front of his congressional committee;
• Two of his lovers showed up simultaneously at 2 a.m. to “help him celebrate his birthday” — but they didn’t know about each other, and they proceeded to get into a screaming, hair-pulling fight until the Alexandria police arrived (that’s my favorite Moran anecdote); And
• He started screaming at a priest at Blessed Sacrament parish who tried to correct him about some matter, and had to be restrained. (Blessed Sacrament was one of the “problem” parishes in the Arlington Diocese, at least until they sent in Father Creegan, a no-nonsense pastor who went into the priesthood after retiring as a Marine lieutenant colonel.) Do I even need to mention that Moran is pro-abortion?
Those are just the things I remembered off the top of my head. Moran is in trouble now because he said it weren’t for those meddling Jews, we wouldn’t have invaded Iraq. Rosenberg’s primary challenge arose from the backlash against that silly comment.
Though I didn’t know anything about Rosenberg, I considered voting for him in the primary, figuring he couldn’t be worse than Moran. I was wrong. At least Moran voted against partial-birth abortion. Rosenberg is all for it. I guess that’s what comes when you are a legislative aide to Sen. Kennedy for three years.
Below is a message I sent to Rosenberg after reviewing his opinions on the issues.

Months ago, some advisor told John Kerry to be as “macho” as possible when he is interviewed. Every answer he gives is overly aggressive, in the manner of someone uncomfortable in his own skin. Clearly, he prefers the quiet, dismissive arrogance that endeared him to Massachusetts voters; acting like He-Man doesn’t quite fit.
Senator Kerry, caught in a web of his own words about whether he threw his medals over the White House fence a third of a century ago, has decided to criticize President Bush’s military service. He sputtered, “This comes from a president who can’t even show or prove that he showed up for duty in the National Guard.”
Actually, the original criticism to which he responded was from Karen Hughes, not the president, but leave that aside. I think the whole Medalgate episode is uninteresting in itself: he was a strident anti-war protestor, which everyone knows, and you’ll think that was admirable or disgraceful according to your political beliefs.
What’s interesting is a couple of things: first, that despite his initial reluctance to be “above the fray,” Kerry abandoned that stance when his attacks on Bush have gone nowhere. (Why do we have to revisit the whole Guard thing again? Bush served honorably, and the pay records prove it beyond question.)
Second, I’m totally confused by t Kerry was supposed to have done or said or thrown. I bet most people are, too, if they’ve paid any attention. The relevant datum is that Kerry doesn’t remember what he has said over the last 33 years because it’s changed so much — yet he can’t escape his own words because his statements were recorded. Instead of just saying, “Look, I may have been unclear in the past, but here’s the truth: I did ______, and if I said anything contrary to that, then I apologize for misspeaking.”
Instead, Kerry lashes out at the interviewer and Bush and everyone else involved, because he can’t show weakness or humanity. The whole incident makes him look as personally insecure as Algore, and as mendacious and slippery as Bill Clinton. Probably not the best combination in a general election.

I’m thinking the answer to the question in the headline is “no,” but before you answer, read this screed, and pay attention to this paragraph:

There is a lot of talk amongst Bush’s opponents that we should turn this war over to the United Nations. Why should the other countries of this world, countries who tried to talk us out of this folly, now have to clean up our mess? I oppose the U.N. or anyone else risking the lives of their citizens to extract us from our debacle. I’m sorry, but the majority of Americans supported this war once it began and, sadly, that majority must now sacrifice their children until enough blood has been let that maybe — just maybe — God and the Iraqi people will forgive us in the end.

This has all the earmarks of Michael Moore since he decided to join the freakshow Left: self-righteousness, blatant anti-Americanism, with a little blasphemy thrown in for good measure. His mendacity has been chronicled in many other places (for instance, lying to get an interview with Charlton Heston). He’s not real good with the facts — I didn’t know the U.N. had citizens, or maybe that’s just sloppy writing? — and he’s probably not worth anyone’s attention.
Still, if I saw him in person, I would be strongly tempted to punch him. In the passage above, he’s basically saying, “The rest of America is so f—– up because they don’t agree with me, so I hope a lot of Americans die.” What kind of man wishes death on innocent people from a disagreement? Why do we keep having to read about this disgusting person?
Moore, unfortunately, speaks for a loud sliver of the American population that genuinely hates America. I know it’s gauche in polite circles to question other people’s patriotism, but when you’re gladdened by the deaths of Americans, what else is that but anti-Americanism? In any situation, they know the U.S. is wrong, so it’s just a question of figuring out what evils it is perpetrating.
When I’ve conversed with, or read about, an anti-American person, I’ve strongly suspected that they really hate themselves and are directing that hatred outward. I’ve never heard of a calm, self-confident America-hater.
I know, I know. Pray for your enemies.
(Ten points if you can write a Thomistic article on the question in the headline.)