Achievements of Republican Government.

We do a lot of griping around here about the Republicans.  It's time we showed how big and broad-minded we are by acknowledging some of the achievements they've managed, especially in the warm glow of national unity following the State of the Union speech.  After all, since they have controlled all branches of our government for several years now, they must have something to show for it. I offer a few minutes for positive vibes across the aisle, below the jump-- focussing on national security, which we all know is where the Republicans have their greatest strength.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT

They lost New Orleans.
They lost Iraq.
And they lost the World Trade Center.

They let Osama bin Laden get away, to live freely and mock the United States.
They let Ayman Zawahiri get away, to live freely and mock the United States.
They built Abu Musab al Zarqawi up from a local punk to an international superstar of terror -- and then let him get away, to live freely and mock the United States.

They let insurgents grab a treasure trove of explosives at al Qaqaa.
They let the black market filch a horde of uranium waste at al Tuwaitha.
And they gave the terrorists a vast new playground to perfect their skills in killing us.

They put our soldiers into harm's way with inadequate body armor.
They sent them into battle with insufficient humvee armor.
They served them polluted water.
And they chided the rest of us for not supporting the troops.

They let North Korea become a nuclear power.
They let Pakistan sell its nuclear technology to the highest bidder.
And they went to war -- so they told us -- to keep Iraq from becoming a nuclear power -- but found only some ten-year-old junk buried in a garden.

They have decimated our Army.
They have plundered and demoralized our National Guard.
They have squandered the victory our troops achieved, tied down our army like Gulliver in a quagmire of their own making -- and proclaimed that they have no idea, no guess, no hint as to how long our soldiers will remain trapped there.

They have convinced our allies that we are a rogue nation.
They have persuaded our critics that we are a torture state.
And they have insulted and provoked a billion Muslims against us.

They lost New Orleans.
They lost Iraq.
And they lost the World Trade Center.

BUT AT LEAST THEY ARE STRONG ON NATIONAL DEFENSE.

This was largely inspired by this great diary by Armando.  I wish that every Democrat from here on in running for any office would read out a litany something like this.  How in the world could any Democrat conceive of ceding national defense to the Republicans?  The word "failure," the word "incompetence" are much too small to indicate the disasters Republicans have wrought on those issues.  We should hammer them on national defense, over and over again!

I have put this into a convenient pdf format here, for convenient printing and posting on a bulletin board where you know there are people who vote Republican "only because they'll keep us safe."  If you do this, you may need several copies, because wingnuts will not bear to have it up!

But regardless, please give credit where credit is due. The Republicans have actually got a lot done.

(Some background on body armor (more here); poisoned water (more here); strain on Army; al Qaqaa; and al Tuwaitha.)