This afternoon I got to thinking about the diary Steven D posted about how Col. Bob Pappas Thinks Liberals Are Cowards. His central thesis is that if “liberals” had been in charge in 1776, the American Revolution would never have happened because “liberals” are too cowardly to stand up to tyranny and injustice.
Ahem.
Well, the entire screed is a crock of dingoes’ kidneys (except for the first sentence, as I point out in a comment in that diary), but it got me to start thinking: What if various figures in the current administration had been in charge 229 years ago?
If George Bush had been Commander in Chief of the American forces in 1776, he would have sent them south to invade Florida instead of fighting the British.
If Donald Rumsfeld had been in charge of the American forces in 1776, he would have downsized them to make them leaner, meaner and more responsive, and they still wouldn’t have had the equipment, uniforms and supplies they desparately needed. Early in the war, or ever.
If Condoleezza Rice had been our chief diplomat in 1776, she would have angered the French so much that they would never have weighed in on the American side.
If Rush Limbaugh had been alive in 1776, he would have been shouting at the top of his massive lungs in the center of Boston, blaming the Sons of Liberty for the abuses being heaped on the colonies by King George.
If Karl Rove had been alive in 1776 he would have had no qualms revealing the identity of Nathan Hale if it had been in his own interest to do so.
If Jonah Goldberg had been alive in 1776 he would have been calling for people to support the war for independence, while at the same time refusing to pledge his own life, or his fortune, or his sacred honor.
And if Col. Bob Pappas, USMC (Ret.) had been alive in 1776, he would have seen that those who fought for independence believed in freedom of thought and freedom of action. He would have seen that their actions were motivated by a desire to free the common man from intellectual slavery. He would have seen that the patriots who created the United States of America were more interested in the common good than they were with making themselves rich off the status quo.
He would have seen that they were, in fact, liberals.
And I suspect he would be using whatever soapbox he had to denounce those who were disloyal to the Crown. In fact be might even call them cowards. But I suspect he would be doing so from somewhere in Canada.
