Hollowed Ground

Weigel examines how Republicans have carved out the meaning of 9/11 for themselves:

Between the Palin/Beck event in Alaska, the launch of a new war-on-terror documentary (America At Risk: The War With No Name) produced by Newt Gingrich in Washington, a rally against the Park51 Community Center in New York City, and the made-for-cable idiocy in Florida, there is something new about the way the 9/11 anniversary is being played in 2010. ... [Rick Lazio's] commercial on the topic is as subtle as a bazooka, with imagery of the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center as the background for his plea that "New Yorkers have been through enough." He's not dropping it as the holiday approaches, and he is one of many politicians holding events and fundraisers tomorrowas if Sept. 11, 2010, were just another Saturday. If there's been a backlash, no one's noticed it.

How did we get from 9/11 as sacred day-of-no-politics to this? With a lot of hard work. For nine years, supporters of an aggressive approach to terrorism as a response to 9/11 worked to make sure that they owned the anniversary.

No party or faction or clique should own this anniversary - or exploit it crassly for political means. One reason this small government conservative cannot identify with the GOP is this kind of disgusting, dangerous, despicable demagoguery.

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan