Stein on Supporting the Troops

Why are liberals AND conservatives mad at Joel Stein for his comments in the LA Times yesterday? I mean it, I really want to know.

I do have a theory, however. Stein is SOLIDLY on the left, and has basically stated that it is impossible to "support the troops" while simultaneously calling the war immoral, unjust, evil, and claiming that the troops are engaged in mass murder.

The problem liberals have with this darling of their own ilk is that he pointed out the obvious truth about their war position. You cannot say to someone, "we think what you are doing is evil, murderous, and genocidal" while saying out of the other side of your mouth "but we support you."

What if you had a child about to compete in a sporting event, but for some bizarre reason, you wanted them to lose. Try to imagine sending them a message of "support" while simultaneoulsy telling them "I hope the other team wins." Gee dad, thanks. I really feel the support.

If your postion is "I like them personally, but I don't like what they are doing," that makes sense. But YOU DON'T SUPPORT THEM.

How do you support someone while loathing what they are doing? Most of them actually believe that they are doing something good. I know that's hard to understand for most on the left because they think believing in something is tantamount to being "close minded," one of their favorite insults to throw.

He says he feels sorry for soldiers who signed up to fight terrorism after 9/11 and then were "tricked" into going to Iraq. But then goes on to say that they should have known that joining the Army might put them in this position.

Another throw away line was this one:

"Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it's Vietnam."

News flash, Mr Stein. Some Americans actually think that stopping genocide in Iraq is equally as valuable. Apparently only certain ethnicities and demographic groups deserve protection from the United States. Kurds and Shiites don't count, right?

It is actually the conservatives I don't get on this one. They should be happy, because a liberal commentator in a major US newspaper finally told the truth. They don't support the troops. Because they hate the mission. In other words, they want us to fail in Iraq. It's a simple equation really:

I don't want you to succeed=I don't support you.

That's good news, because it will cause the liberal politicians to lose votes and become even more marginalized and out of the mainstream than they already are. Remember folks, the Democrats have not had a major victory since 1996. They become more and more out of touch with regular Americans almost daily.

I support the troops. I support the mission. I want to win. Thank God I do not have to walk a tight rope of ambivalence caused by the knowledge that my position is impossible to explain. That's because it would be political suicide to say "I don't support the troops." The truth is, they don't--and now we all know it.