Sunday, April 01, 2012

Ryan v. Dempsey

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/paul-ryan-says-he-misspoke-on-military-budget/2012/04/01/gIQAlwi2oS_blog.html?hpid=z4

The Republicans may have learned a lesson from the circumstances of General Shinseki's testimony and backed off very quickly. This factor and General Dempsey's almost immediate, strong response to Rep. Ryan pushed Ryan to withdraw from the type of slashing rhetoric endemic on the Right. Though this situation is more subtle than what General Shinseki encountered, Ryan may have intended to pander to or stimulate a political coup from within the Pentagon, present and past. I believe it was in 2007 when general officers began to speak out against the Iraq war and President Bush's handling of it. Ryan may have been soliciting a similar reaction in support of the Right from a broader group of military elite.

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