posted by Damozel |
I've already said my piece here. I've complied a set of my favorite comments from other bloggers (many found via Memeorandum), These are mostly comments by liberal blogs.. I'd have liked to include more reactions from the right, but the rightward-tilting blogs I usually read haven't (yet) taken a position. You can see how it would be a bit of a challenge.
At Swampland, Karen Tumulty says: "As a presidential candidate, George Bush promised over and over again that he would be guided by "sound science." But almost from the outset, his Administration has come under repeated accusations that it has distorted or quashed science in favor of political or ideological considerations. (The Surgeon General's Report; links in original) Yes, this is what's so magical about the Bush Administration: It says one thing, does another, and doesn't give a damn if you point out the difference, because its advocates all stick their fingers in their ears and go "LALALALALALALALA I can't heaaaaaar you!!!"
At Donklephant, Justin Gardner says: "As much as I don’t agree with it, I can understand politicizing the hiring and firing of US attorneys....However, politicizing the Surgeon General? And turning him into a partisan hack?..Does Rove have ANY strategy besides “make it more partisan!”? Seriously, it’s kind of sad to see this ship sinking under the inept leadership of Cappy Rove, who doesn’t seem to have any other plays in his book besides party loyalty." (Controlling The Messenger; links in original) That's what's so amazing: that when its erstwhile crew explain why they abandoned ship, the White House just sends its mouthpieces out to blink at them in surprise and consternation. Tony Fratto was merely "disappointed" that Dr. Carmona felt silenced by the Administration and didn't make better use of his opportunities.
Which is exactly the point made by The Carpetbagger Report: "Carmona tried to engage in important public health advocacy, was blocked and berated, and received orders from the White House that politicized his office to an unprecedented extent. As far the Bush gang is concerned, it’s Carmona’s fault that he failed to utilize his position....Bill Hall, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, added, “It has always been this administration’s position that public health policy should be rooted in sound science.” It looks like Hall made the comment over the phone — so reporters wouldn’t have to see him struggle to keep a straight face." (Why would you want to help those people?’) One thing you have to give them credit for is the way they don't even try to explain the obvious (to people who aren't covering their eyes and singing "LALALALALALALALA!") discrepancy between the word and the deed. They just pretend they haven't a clue what people are complaining about
The Carpetbagger Report continues: "I do have one question, though. After years of heavy-handed politicization, why didn’t Carmona resign as soon as he realized how pathetic the White House is?" (Why would you want to help those people?’) It's a question I imagine that the Administration's dwindling base will very soon be raising. Right now I imagine they're still reeling from the multiple shocks and their inability to turn the national conversation back to terror and the necessity of being afraid of one thing and one thing only: terrorism.
At Poliblog, Dr. Steven Taylor discusses the ramifications of the Administration's policy of politicizing science and medicine.
"This is disturbing because it fits an overall pattern wherein this administration sees every aspect of government as being political in a partisan sense (see: the Justice Department).....Such behavior is not appropriate from an office such as the Surgeon General’s. Ultimately politics in this sense is about power, and not about anything else. Do we really want all aspects of government to be driven simply by power, regardless of any other consideration?....
To have a position like Surgeon General, who is supposedly acting as “the nation’s doctor” and then tell him what he can or cannot say is to see the position not as one of learned adviser, but instead as simply a prop who will use the appearance of science to promote a specific political agenda. That is essentially using the office as a propaganda tool." (Politics and the Surgeon General.)
Dr. Taylor points out that Carmona was not in fact the only Surgeon General to complain that the Administration tried to push its agenda on him; so did the other SG's (Clinton's and Reagan's)---though, I'd interject, to a lesser degree. Dr. Taylor suggests that the office of Surgeon General may be dispensable, unless it can be made independent of the Administration once the position is appointed.. (Politics and the Surgeon General)
At Right Wing Nuthouse, Rick Moran discusses the reasons Why the Politicization of Government is Wrong. He begins with this good (and eminently fair point): "There are many disturbing aspects to the Bush Administration that historians will examine and perhaps, if they are charitable, chalk up to an overreaction to the 9/11 attacks or perhaps a zealotry for securing the United States from another, bigger catastrophe." I do think that liberal bloggers tend to lose sight of the fact that if we were to ride a mile in the Administration's tank, we might be able to see how the Administration ended up reducing everything to the simplest possible categories. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish the politics of fear from the politics of oppression because the outcomes end up looking very similar.
Then Moran continues:
But there is one facet of the Bush Presidency that historians will universally and roundly condemn; the politicization of governance that, top to bottom, has interfered with many of the vital functions we expect the government to carry out. From the office of the Attorney General, to the Environmental Protection Agency, to NASA, to the National Park Service and more, politics has intruded into what traditionally has been non-political or apolitical functions of government. Science issues seem to be a favorite target of the Bushies for political massaging but other important government operations have also seen the heavy hand of politics interfere with public policy decisions – decisions that affect the health, safety, and security of the American people....[T]to believe that reports and studies that would have an immediate impact on the health of American citizens should be held hostage to some myopic political views promoted by the White House is outrageous....
Should conservatives care about this issue? Altering findings of scientific studies to bring them in line with an Administration’s political agenda is not only dishonest but makes for very inefficient government. It’s a waste of taxpayer’s money to ask a government agency to study a problem and then alter the findings to suit the politics of the moment. Besides, there are legitimate safety and health issues at stake and if the government politicizes these questions to satisfy industry supporters, it stands to reason that the American people will be put at risk for the sake of politics. No responsible conservative can possibly countenance such practices. (Why the Politicization of Government is Wrong).
Moran thus addresses the ways in which the Bush Administration's insistence on subverting every single department under its wing to its own political agenda violates the interests of conservatives as well as liberals. It's a misuse of taxpayer "dollars" for the Administration to spend money suppressing information that the taxpayers ought to have or to force on them a view of science or medicine that is contrary to the facts.
At Down with Tyranny!, DWT points out that Dr. Carmona was discouraged from attending the Special Olympics because of its ties to a "very prominent family" and that this very prominent family is, in fact, the Kennedys. "“I was specifically told by a senior person, ‘Why would you want to help those people?’ ” Dr. Carmona said." (Carmona Not Glue) Of course: why help the Kennedys help the people who benefit from the Special Olympics? Because charity is only a good thing if it serves the interests of the Administration.
The Rude Pundit ("Proudly Lowering the Level of Political Discourse") was rude about Dr. Carmona as well as the Bush Administration. "Let's not give too much credit to Carmona here.....Someone who cared less about his own hide would've said, "Kiss my Vietnam vet ass, Karl Rove," and spoken for science, and not the World According To Bush. Fired or quitting after that, at least he'd have some self-respect and not be like every other career-fearing demi-loyalist who stayed in the administration because - why? Because they thought they could do good?...C. Everett Koop finally told Ronald Reagan to suck his Amish beard and sent out the HIV/AIDS pamphlet to every household in America. Yeah, it was a few years too late, but at least Koop decided not to be a liar." I don't care to be rude myself but, um....somebody had to say it. (24 Hours of American Liars:)
If you're curious about how discussion of this issue might be framed from the right, see NewsBusters.Org (Exposing and Combatting Liberal Media Bias). Ken Shepherd frames the whole controversy as a mere resurrection of a favored liberal meme: "President Bush hates science." (Managing the News: Bush Hates Science Meme Raised Again by MSM) While I don't think that's the theme of the articles at all, it's an interesting reframe.
As those who support the Administration invariably do, he suggested that Clinton did the same thing. He also queries whether the office of Surgeon General is really needed. " If the office of surgeon general is to be retained, is it really such a big deal that a president would want an appointee in that office, who serves at his pleasure, to avoid certain controversial matters that would place the surgeon general in the position of advocating something that expressly contradicts the policy of the presidential administration? But it seems those questions were not what the spin doctors in the media ordered." (Managing the News: Bush Hates Science Meme Raised Again by MSM)
If I were conservative, I'd be a bit bemused that the president's own hand-picked man had these complaints (tending to suggest that the problem is real and that it isn't simply a partisan nitpick), but maybe that's just because of my liberal bias coming out.... Though if I were Republican, I think I'd do as my own mother did and just admit disappointment with Bush & Co. and move on.... The Republican party used to be something quite "other," as she says, and if I were a Republican I'd put my energies into restoring it to its former status.
RECENT BUCK NAKED POLITICS POSTINGS:
Ex-Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona: "Muzzled." (Updated!)
If I were conservative, I'd be a bit bemused that the president's own hand-picked man had these complaints
This is a legitimate point, and one not always honed in upon in discussions of these issues. The USAs who were fired, many of whom later publicly criticized the administration for being political were also hand-picked by the administration. One would think that that fact would lend more credibility to the complaints that we are hearing from these individuals.
Posted by: Steven Taylor | July 11, 2007 at 06:29 PM