Anti-Climacus

QUOTE: The Bull Moose speaketh!

"War is Hell. The Moose observes that we now know that we are capable of fighting two wars at once - as long as one of them is a class war.

Last week, General Karl "Guts and Glory" Rove pledged to the assembled troops at a gathering of the National Federation of Independent Business that, "This is a war, and we need to make an ongoing commitment to winning the effort to repeal the death tax." Finally, all of those Bush Administration and Republican officials who missed the opportunity to fight in 'Nam have a good war in which they can enlist.

All those "fighters for freedom" such as Lott, Armey, DeLay and Gramm can now have their chance to take the hill for the heirs of the comfortable. Like we watched in Braveheart, with faces painted, these free-market warriors will march into battle oblivious to the potential paper cuts and the threats to their vocal cords. Freeeeeeedom is their battle cry.

Sound the bugle, muster the troops, this time we must make the world safe for trust fund heirs! No doubt, soon the draft will be revived to ensure that we have sufficient resources to defeat both Osama and Senator Dorgan. After all, this is K Street's version of Yorktown, Gettysburg, and D-Day all rolled into one. Visualize a crack lobbying equivalent of SEAL Team One repelling down the side of the Capitol clad in specially designed Brooks Brothers camouflaged-patterned suits.

Just think of all the battle ribbons and medals that are to be won. The East Room will be the site for the awarding of the Heroic Medal of Cloture to some brave lobbyist. Imagine the purple hearts that will be issued over heartburn episodes at the Palm and the Monocle. Will the K Street cabal be eligible for Veterans Benefits?

Forgive the Moose for being a Conscientious Objector in this war on behalf of trust fund heirs. The Democratic alternative that was rejected by the GOP would have protected family farms and businesses from the tax by raising the exemption to $4 million and $8 million for couples. Will some wise Democrat point out that the GOP voted to raise taxes by rejecting this alternative? Yet, Commander Rove is not deterred to storm the beaches on behalf of the super-rich beneficiaries of less than one half of one percent of all estates.

Who said idealism is dead?

The President made a mighty fine speech on Friday at the Ohio State University commencement. He eloquently said, "Patriotism is expressed by flying the flag, but it is more. Patriotism means we share a single country. In all our diversity, each of us has a bond with every other American. Patriotism is proven in our concern for others -- a willingness to sacrifice for people we may never have met or seen. Patriotism is our obligation to those who have gone before us, to those who will follow us, and to those who have died for us."

Isn't patriotism also about those who have benefitted so much from this great land to contribute to the cause of its defense? In past wars, the rich have had to pay more for the defense of nation. Why is this war so different? If the President wants to demonstrate that national unity was more than flowery words, why can't he ask those, like himself, who have benefitted from being born in the right family to give a little more?

The Moose suggests that the President should also tell his top political adviser to be a bit more careful about employing the rhetoric of war on behalf of the trivial. Real soldiers are in harm's way defending our real lives and liberty. The Moose realizes that defending the rich has become a theological cause for the modern GOP. But it is not the crusade that concerns the American people.

Run that up the flag pole, Mr. Rove."