That little gem is courtesy of William "Bill before I got an NYTimes columnist gig" Kristol.
His callous, unthinking and cold-blooded politicization of the non-partisan military is typical of the true colors that the Republicans have been showing as of late.
You want 'last throes'? Just watch the GOP over the next few days.
The final days of this grueling, two-year long election season are about to demonstrate exactly what 'last throes' are all about.
It kind of reminds me of horror movies, like when the hero tosses holy water in the face of the creepy lookin' old guy and he melts, revealing his true nature as the Big Monster.
These young soldiers and marines can testify eloquently to the success of the surge that John McCain championed, and to the disaster and dishonor that would have followed Barack Obama’s preferred path of withdrawal.
Success? Victory? These words are regurgitated day after day by GOP hawks still living in alternate-reality world. Do we not still have 150,000 troops in Iraq? By your own claim that immediate withdrawal is impossible, doesn't that prove that Iraq is not yet stable enough to stand on its own two feet? Aren't there still daily car bombings, IED attacks and dead soldiers?
When you’re in a hole, stop digging. McCain could order his campaign to pull all negative ads, mailers and robocalls.
Yeah. Even Kristol has to qualify that remark with a 'could.' Is there anybody on this side of the reality divide who thinks GOP is going to just step back from its Lee Atwater lie-through-your-teeth attack strategy?
Of course not.
Lying about religion, Communism, terrorist ties and other bullshit (I wish someday the traditional media would use the only word appropriate for the stuff coming out of the McCain camp) is the only way they are even in this game.
Let me blunt: the GOP of Watergate, ratfucking, win-by-any-means Karl Rove, swiftboating, that GOP is still very much with us. More often than not, it breaks through to the surface to shatter the myth of 'compassionate conservatism' or 'strong national security' that the party tries to cover up with.
Even when the poor bastards lose dozens of seats in the House and Senate, and of course, control of the White House, we will still be left with the monster's decomposing husk, taunting with fake ads and attacks blaming Big O for the financial crisis. It's tragic. But at least they won't have filibuster power.
As for Mr. Kristol, I just ask this question:
What about the 4,000 dead soldiers who won't be able to make it to John McCain's speech? What do they have to say for McCain, W, the GOP and all the neocons who plunged this nation into a destructive, useless and false war?
Now that's an endorsement I'd like to hear.
Leave the troops out of this Mr. McCain. Don't take credit for their heroic sacrifices. Don't score the cheapest of political points by bandying their images in your campaign.
You've already succeeded in destroying the GOP. Don't tarnish your tattered reputation any further. Don't stain their reputations with your ugly, vengeful and divisive campaign.
Just lose, and let the country move on.