Outraged By The Outrage At The Outrage

By now several better and more intelligent bloggers than myself have articulated the reasons why James Inhofe is an idiot. However, I'd like to draw attention to one his less glaring misstatements.

From Gen. Taguba's Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee:

SEN. JAMES M. INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: But I'm also outraged by the press and the politicians and the political agendas that are being served by this, and I say political agendas because that's actually what is happening.

I would share with my colleagues a solicitation that was made. I'm going to read the first two sentences.

"Over the past week we've all been shocked by the pictures from Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, but we have also been appalled at the slow and inept response by President Bush which has further undermined America's credibility."

And it goes on to demand for George Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld. And then it goes on to a time line, a chronology.

And at the very last -- and they say, "a solicitation for contributions."

I don't recall this ever having happened before in history.

Wittingly or not, Inhofe implies that the phrase "a solicitation for contributions" appears within the body of the Kerry e-mail he objects to. It does not. In fact, it appears no where at all in the document. What actually has the Inhofe so incensed is a tiny "donate now" link which appears at the bottom of every single Kerry, and also Bush, e-mail.

Additionally, no beneficiary of donations obtained by rewarding contributors with "Bush on 9-11" photographs, has any ground from which to lecture upon the scruples of fundraising.