Have you left no sense of decency?

As I have spoken about before, I like the sense a narrative in politics. I like tying in stories that people remember and that resonates with them.

Popular stories include the emperor’s new clothes, the boy who cried wolf, and perhaps Pinocchio. However, there is another story that I like to talk about, which I don’t think is getting enough attention.

On June 9th, 1954, Joseph Welch confronted Senator Joseph McCarthy, asking him, “Have you left no sense of decency?”. As an aside, for a transcript, and a wonderful recording of the interchange, please check out: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/welch-mccarthy.html

The recent advertisements by Swift Boats for Bush raise some interesting questions. To what extent were the activities illegally coordinated? What role should 527s have in the political process? However, the most important question to ask of Swift Boats for Bush is, “Have you left no sense of decency?”

Yesterday, I received a message concerning the College Republicans. They are encouraging people to grow their chapters through Young America's Foundation's 9/11: Never Forget Project. Needless to say, the College Democrats have criticized the CRNC for Politicizing 9/11.

The Washington Post writes:

Young America's Foundation suggests, among other things, holding a moment of prayer at home football games to mark the anniversary and will provide free posters, buttons and other materials. But it's in no way, shape or form political, Patrick Coyle, director of campus programs, assured us.
"We're using this in a way to get the members active," he said. "The reason why we started this program in the first place is that a lot of schools weren't doing anything for the anniversary."
This year, the foundation Web site says, its 9/11 speakers include Dave Bossie, a certified Bill Clinton antagonist who has written a book called "Intelligence Failure: How Clinton's National Security Policy Set the Stage for 9/11." A nonpolitical title if we've ever heard one.

This too raises the question, “Have you left no sense of decency?”

Posted by Aldon Hynes at August 25, 2004 11:35 AM | TrackBack