Sarah Huckabee Sanders, please tell me—I earnestly wish to know…
Are you completely daft?!
• Have you no honor? • No self respect? • No backbone? • No shame?
• No concern for your future career? • No concern for sexual assault victims?
I mustn’t be unfair.
Let’s recall a bit of recent history…
Five days ago, in the wake of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony before the U.S. Senate, President Trump showed sympathy toward Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Regarding her claim of attempted rape by Brett Kavanaugh—and her fear of being killed by pressure to her mouth— Trump acknowledged that she was “very credible” and that she is “a very fine woman”.
What a difference 5 days makes!
Shortly after Dr. Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh testified in an open Senate inquiry, Republican Arizona Senator Jeff Flake was cornered in an elevator by two woman survivors. This led him to announce that he would not confirm Kavanaugh unless the FBI was given orders to investigate claims of alcohol fueled violence toward women.
If you live in the United States, and have not been squirrelled away on a camping trip, Buddhist retreat, or secret skunkworks project, then you already know this. It’s yesterday’s news. But today, Trump railed into Blasey Ford, making her out to be a liar and a political operative. At a red state political rally, he attacked this “fine woman” by mocking her memory, claiming that she recalls having one beer, but forgets where, when and with whom she was with at the time of the alleged attack. Trump goes on to claim that she remembers only having a drink and nothing else.
In fact, Dr. Ford recalls the names of others present, what she was wearing and very specific details of the attack. But, beyond the flat-out lie, Trump pretended to be Dr. Ford, by shrieking and whining in the first person—just as he did while flailing his arms in mockery of a handicapped reporter during his election campaign.
Nothing can be said about these low points in American politics other than to note that we are surviving a period in which the Oval Office is occupied by a child, a bully, a liar and an ignorant human being.
But this post is not about Trump. It is about Sarah Sanders, articulate and passionate defender for a dunce.
Now, let’s go back further than 5 days
— Let’s turn back the clock 15 years
Who remembers Tariq Aziz? He was Iraq’s deputy prime minister and then foreign minister, under Sadam Hussein. His early military and political careers weren’t notable to anyone living outside of Iraq. But you couldn’t help to marvel at this guy during and after Operation Iraqi Freedom, the US led an invasion—first to find weapons of mass destruction—and later to find Sadam himself. Throughout the war, Aziz was thrust squarely into the spotlight as spokesman and poster boy for Sadam’s regime.
With the veracity of a broken cuckoo clock, Aziz insisted that the American dogs were being defeated in a string of bloody battles; that Allied soldiers were scurrying like mice, and that no Iraqi had been affected by the imperialist aggression. If it weren’t for news from hundreds of reporters (and photos through the bomb sites of coalition planes), you could almost believe him. But ultimately, the facts demonstrated the opposite of what he claimed. The schism between facts and fantasy revealed Aziz to be more than a lackey. He became a court jester and fodder for late night comedy.
As the Iraq army crumbled, troops deserted, Sadam’s sons were shot to death and Hussein ran into the forest to hide. Throughout it all, Aziz could have focused on the immorality or questionable legal basis for the American invasion. But he didn’t. Instead, he continued to make fun of Allied operations and insisted that American’s were losing. With conviction and character, he said that American’s were scared, retreating, deserting and on the run.
If the war weren’t so bloody, the Aziz diatribes would be comical. But, it was bloody—thousands of Americans and a half million Iraqi soldiers and civilians among the dead.
There probably weren’t any weapons of mass destruction—and history may ultimately condemn USA for initiating war when we should have focused ISIS terrorists and on finding Osama bin Laden. But, what made Tariq Aziz both memorable and laughable was his incredible loyalty to a dictator. He defended and distorted whacky behavior with passionate fervor.
Getting back to Sarah Sanders…
I won’t draw out the comparison, but for one minute, consider the similarity between Tariq Aziz and Sarah Sanders. They are in the same business: Putting lipstick on a pig. Defending the indefensible!
And today, Sarah defended the mockery of a sexual assault victim, the bullying by her boss, and the lies of a man who has no shard of credibility. Why? Can she find no other employment?
Sanders is saddled with the world’s worst job. It must be horrible to be in her shoes. She must defend and justify behavior of a child who commands a once great nation. She must explain misogyny, xenophobia, abject ignorance, mockery of the handicapped and of victims, and a continuous stream of lies. She must defend “sh*thouse nations” reneging on trade agreements and nuclear treaties, rude behavior toward a chancellor and crude behavior in the presence of a Queen. At some point, any reasonable person must ask “Why, Sarah?!!” Why defend the indefensible and distort the obvious. Is it out of a sense of loyalty? Out of patriotism? —Or out of sheer ignorance? Have you always stood firm with bullies and blamed victims?
When Sean Spicer was Whitehouse spokesperson, one could easily overlook his daily Daffy Duck pronouncements. Let’s face it: He was sort of a goofball from the very start. With no history, no pedigree, and no reputation to protect, it was easy to dismiss his absurd excuses. He was just a marionette in the oval office—a ‘Mini Me’ to Dr. Evil.
But when Sanders stepped up to the podium, I was impressed. She was educated, articulate, impassionate and with an apparent capacity for critical thinking. She didn’t appear to be a pushover—not for the press and not even for the president. For a few weeks, she convinced me that she was part of the checks-and-balances offered by a critical staffer.
Alas, our hopes for a reasonable liason to the chaos in Trump’s head were dashed. And now, they are dashed more than ever.
Sarah: Have you no moral compass? Have you no shame? In what capacity will you work after a Trump presidency?