Think Tank Fires Fellow For Criticizing Bush
Think Tank Fires Fellow For Criticizing Bush
Last month the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, fired John Hulsman. Heritage refuses to say exactly why they let him go, but the New Republic reports the “reasons for Hulsman’s departure†are “perfectly evidentâ€; he criticized the Bush administration’s foreign policy. Hulsman previously had kept his dissent to himself, but “years of insurgency, civil war, and general chaos†in Iraq led him to speak out.
In an essay last year for The National Interest, Hulsman took issue with Bush’s policy in Iraq:
[N]eoconservatives, through their policies of expending blood and treasure for problematic gains such as Iraq, are significantly retarding America’s ability to act against the true barbarians at the gate - Al-Qaeda and Islamist extremists.
And Hulsman criticized the Bush administration’s refusal to talk to regimes it dislikes, specifically Iran:
America, on the other hand, having determined the mullahs in Iran were evil, disdained to engage them. But we cannot only conduct diplomatic relations with Canada; I have always naively thought a major reason for diplomacy was talking to those one didn’t agree with, in an effort to modify their behavior to suit one’s own national interests.
These critiques may seem mild, but as Chris Preble of the Cato Institute explains: “At Heritage, anything that smacks of criticism of Bush will not be tolerated.”
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Shoot the messenger, kill the message, is that it?
The recent Harris poll from late last month shows conclusively that we're still seeing O'Brien's Fifth Finger. The sad part is, O'Brien's not holding up any fingers and we're deluding ourselves about Iraq and virtually everything else without the GOP's help.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:27 pmUnfortunately for the radical neocons who make up the Heritage Foundation, they can't fire everyone in the US who has a bad opinion of our draft-dodging, budget-busting ChickenHawk with Delusions of Grandeur
Especially since us Bush Jr bashers are now the majority of the population
August 7th, 2006 at 6:27 pmI hope this "Think Tank" fires anyone who thinks, that'll get them real far (not).
Getting harder to find "thinkers" that back the bad conservative party.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:28 pmKeeping him on would not have made news -- firing him creates BAD news for the Heritage Foundation and good news for the United States. The more these organizations are outted by their own bad decisions, the more the people of the United States will see them for what they are.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:33 pmWhen the Cato Institute is defending Bush critics, you know the @$%& has hit the fan.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:42 pmwell, i can name at least one person that fears seeing this headline:
clinton think-tanks fires staff for not towing the party-line: attacks zionist attacks on lebanese civilians, and, refuses to support moderate democrats who are pro-war.
lets be honest...think tanks are think tanks because their daddy pays the tab...whether the daddy is bush or clinton.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:44 pmwell, i can name at least one person that fears seeing this headline:
clinton think-tanks fires staff for not towing the party-line: attacks zionist attacks on lebanese civilians, and, refuses to support moderate democrats who are pro-war.
lets be honest here...think tanks are think tanks because their daddy pays the tab for intellectuals to find arguments that support their policies...whether the daddy is bush or clinton.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:46 pmHOW LONG would TP continue to employ Judd, Nico, Faiz, Amanda, et al if they jumped off the progrssive reservation and praised George Bush or any cnservative Repub? They have the right to promote the philosophy of their choosing - as evidenced here....
August 7th, 2006 at 6:48 pmwell, i can name at least one person that fears seeing this headline:
clinton think-tanks fires staff for not towing the party-line: attacks zionist attacks on lebanese civilians, and, refuses to support moderate democrats who are pro-war.
lets be honest here...think tanks are think tanks because their daddy pays the tab for intellectuals to find arguments that support their policies...whether the daddy is bush or bill and hillary clinton.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:48 pmPoor fellow, why would they fire a regular fella?
August 7th, 2006 at 6:53 pmHis problems are rationality and realism.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:54 pmNot very long at all Mighty, now any comments about the actual topic?
August 7th, 2006 at 6:57 pmDLC is no different, especially when it comes to questions like:
1. Who was responsible for scheduling multiple war games and terror exercises involving aircraft for Sept. 11th
2. Who moved "Global Guardian" normally scheduled for October to September?
3. Who designed the war games to involve 'hijackings'?
4. Who planned and scheduled the movement of Airforce aircraft north to Canada, Alaska and Greenland?
5. Who planned the terror exercise at the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) involving an evacuation in response to threat from the air?
6. Who was "hands-on" responsible for coordinating all the war games the morning of September 11th?
7. Who would have been responsible for turning off the war games to enable a timely real world response to the attacks?
8. How were as many as 21 false radar blips or possible targets (per Jane Garvey) inserted into FAA radar screens?
9. Who was responsible for the identification of ghost flight 11 which allegedly continued to fly south past Manhattan and which may have caused NORAD's Langley intercept jets to vector North toward NYC rather than D.C.? * [NOTE: John Farmer of the 9/11 Commission said to me personally that the 9/11 Commission was never able to identify the individual for this information--to resolve this anomaly.]
10. Why was there no reference to the pattern of 9/11 Commission cover-up including that of Able Danger as revealed by Capt. Scott Philpott?
=================
August 7th, 2006 at 6:58 pm11. The bottom line question that corporate media refuse to answer and which the 9/11 Commission ignored is who, specifically, would have been responsible for creating the circumstances that led to the confusion or fog the morning of 9/11 and who should have immediately ceased any and all war gaming activity and deceptive radar data?
and would this esteemed blog hire a conservative republican... ya know in the interest of "diversity"?
August 7th, 2006 at 6:58 pmwould any ultra-liberal entitiy keep a conservative around?? be honest now!
Think tanks came into being because most Universities and credible educational institutions disagree with the bad conservative party. So with the right amount of money, you can get "intellectuals" to agree with the bad conservative party.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:59 pmand would this esteemed blog hire a conservative republican… ya know in the interest of “diversity�
would any ultra-liberal entitiy keep a conservative around?? be honest now!
Comment by Liberals Heart Stalin — August 7, 2006 @ 6:58 pm
Honestly, Hell no!
Next.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:01 pmfor once, for one singular occassion, the mighty a-- has spoken truth.
\checks to see if hell has frozen over\
for truth, isn't the intellectual honesty of think-tanks, generally, 'on-topic'???
August 7th, 2006 at 7:02 pmLooks like the Heritige foundation hires and fires for the same reasons as the federal government.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:02 pmwould any ultra-liberal entitiy keep a conservative around?? be honest now!
Comment by I Hate Liberals — August 7, 2006 @ 6:58 pm
Why do you let me find and ultra liberal site, and I will ask them.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:03 pmHe obviously forgot the Bushco marching orders:
"Play ball with me or I will shove the bat up your ass."
When will they ever learn?
August 7th, 2006 at 7:03 pmCriticism of der fuhrer will not be tolerated.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Rove's Ministry of Disinformation makes Joseph Goebbels Propaganda Ministry look Bush league by comparison.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:07 pm"Thank goodness that our friends and allies did not desert us in our civil war"-comment by Mighty Aphrodite-August 4, 2006.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Stalinist Conservatives-- I don't believe it !!
August 7th, 2006 at 7:14 pmoh now, come on... think progress and its parent is no different...
think tanks are funded and exist to promote the agenda of its contributors.
that is simply the way it is...anyone posting here over the past month has seen ample evidence of that...
August 7th, 2006 at 7:20 pmoh now, come on... think progress and its parent is no different...
think tanks are funded and exist to promote the agenda of its contributors. and truly honest ones, should they exist [?] on the planet, would admit as much. but the ones on the left are as dishonest about their daddy as the ones on the right.
that is simply the way it is...anyone posting here over the past month has seen ample evidence of that...
August 7th, 2006 at 7:21 pmNorth Viet Namese Army HO - Seeing as you're so much older than me - and "men" like you generally have shorter life spans, it will be easy to outlast you... do your own homework....
August 7th, 2006 at 7:34 pmA conservative with a conscience and a brain. It will sit well in his resume.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:38 pmcorrection; my bad, had to look it up to be sure.
my apologies for the 4 August date.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:39 pm(i am living through a corollary of that wrong thinking by being banned by think progress for shining a light on the hypocrisy of their underlying agenda and relationships with special interest groups as evidenced by their lack of coverage on the lebanese genocide and on other matters where they refuse to admit their own intellectually dishonesty... and, their lack of courage is shown in their unwillingness to debate the subject. if say, judd, were to awake tomorrow and have some sort of epiphany and dare express similar sentiments, we would not see posts by him soon thereafter. honestly, could you imagine seeing an anti-hillary or an anti-aipac/zionist posting???)
August 7th, 2006 at 7:40 pm(i am living through a corollary of that wrong thinking by being banned by think progress for shining a light on the hypocrisy of their underlying agenda and relationships with special interest groups as evidenced by their lack of coverage on the lebanese genocide and on other matters where they refuse to admit their own intellectually dishonesty... and, their lack of courage is shown in their unwillingness to debate the subject.
example: if say, judd, were to awake tomorrow and have some sort of epiphany and dare express similar sentiments, we would not see posts by him soon thereafter. honestly, could you imagine seeing an anti-hillary or an anti-aipac/zionist posting??? err, not in this lifetime!)
August 7th, 2006 at 7:43 pmMighty Moron, talk about the pot calling the kettle black! YOU SHOULD DO SOME HOMEWORK. PUT UP OR SHUT THE F*CK UP!!! PRESENT YOUR PROOF OF "OUR FRIENDS AND ALLIES WHO DID NOT DESERT US DURING OUR CIVIL WAR" OR OWN UP TO IT. DO NOT TRY TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT!!! BE A MENSCH FOR ONCE.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:44 pmThis is the Iraqi Liberation form of conservatism. Blast anyone who doesn't agree with you and you guarantee creating an enemy who will live for nothing else than to work for your downfall. You know Mr Hulsman will spend the rest of his life demonizing BushCo, the republofascists, and the Heritage Foundation. I pray he has actual talent and gets another high profile job, contracts for media pieces, TV interview airtime.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:57 pmJohn Hulsman, former fellow at the Heritage Foundation:
That's what ya get for thinkin'!
August 7th, 2006 at 9:14 pmnot:
What alternative blogs would you recommend? Due to TP deleting pretty much every single one of my posts today, I'm shopping.
August 7th, 2006 at 9:23 pmHulsman! Get back in there and fight for your supreme leader and party doctrine, you, you... Cut 'n Runner! There's a government to destroy and endess war to profit from! Who do you think you are, an individual who can make up his own mind? Have you been talking to Democrats, 'cause someone has obviously brainwashed you, Hulsman! Report to reprogramming, stat!
August 7th, 2006 at 9:32 pmIf people's lives are being destroyed because they speak out against OBVIOUS wrong doings of the ruling class, doesn't that sound fascist to you?
August 7th, 2006 at 9:38 pmMighty Moron: It figures that you don't have the balls to admit not only you are wrong, but make shit up. Rather than own up to it, you avoid answering.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Just like you guys stripped the blacks of their culture!
Comment by Emperor Palpatine
I never hear the left talking about race except when people are being harmed...
The right has racial points of view for everything... sort of like gay sex ... they think about it WAY too much....
And then they PROJECT that out on others and think OTHERS are sick racially and with gay sex like they themselves are.... right Emperor?
August 7th, 2006 at 10:51 pmWelcome to reality Mr. Hulsman. I'd want to distance myself too if I were a republican. Those people ain't no republicans.
August 7th, 2006 at 11:50 pmAnother neo-con forced to walk the plank of free speech right off the side of bubble boy's rapidly sinking ship. =)
Hey Hulsman aren't those think tanks supposed to be non partisan?
You know, Bush always talks it up, Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood? And to think this cat, Hulsman, got canned for a such a un-Democratic thing as speaking his mind.
Way to Go Heritage Mental Institute!
August 8th, 2006 at 12:03 amThrow another one for the Gipper!
Thomas Paine from The age of Reason:
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.

It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and in order to qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury. Can we conceive any thing more destructive to morality than this?

Sort of OT, but nowadays, it seems to sum up those who claim to see success in GOP/neocon/Bush and his admin's policies, as well as their lapsed followers and proponents, who, at this late stage in the game, with the effects of the cool aid wearing off, recognize the reality of who we have put in charge of our country.
Neocon talking point: We all know that Patrick Henry was a traitor to his country (Note: don't mention that the country was Britian).
August 8th, 2006 at 12:46 amAwww - the monster turned on him and devoured him? Feel sorry for him like you feel sorry for Richard Viguerie (not at all) - these people worked as hard as they could to foist the Dear Leader on us, and now are surprised that the creature is trashing the village. Idiots. They should all lose their jobs.
August 8th, 2006 at 8:28 amNeocon-highnoon will brook no dissent from Lord Mush's (sic) , nay, the neonuts agenda, namely, take America into an ideological battle against Israel's enemies and bog them down till Israel emerges hegemonic in (sic) with its patron, nay puppet, the American foreign policy establishment. Think: Perle. Feith, Ledeen, Abrams, and other nutjobs! They are living proof we are animals depsite are thinkability!
Tippersnore
August 8th, 2006 at 11:22 amTokyo
After reading the posts on this site for several months there seems to be some consistency as to the feelings of the “bloggersâ€........let me summarize......because somewhere in my following list you (yes, you the wacko “progressiveâ€) will find an answer to ALL of the problems that America faces today….or at least the person/persons that are responsible for such a miserable existence that we must trudge through in America…..America the damned!!! Each of the items below are just a snippet of what “think progress†stands for….so…in your words….
Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate…
Fox News is Hitler’s SS version of propaganda...
The Democrats are waayyy too conservative and right-leaning....
The Republicans (gulp...I said the word Republicans) work for the Devil...
Lieberman is a Bush crony that never accomplished anything for the state of Connecticut…
Did I mention that Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate?
The War in Iraq was certainly for the oil and making rich people richer!!!
Halliburton? Planning the war(s) for years before 9/11…
9/11? Bush not only knew exactly what/where/when/how…..he helped to plan it…..
9/11? The towers were not taken down by airplanes…American C-4 explosives were strategically placed to “take ‘em downâ€â€¦.
Bush planted the C4…along with the help of Cheney and Rumsfield…
The War in Iraq was certainly a follow-up to papa Bush….and his “failure†in removing Saddam…..
Terrorism is not that big of a deal…it should be monitored and controlled by our police agencies….not the government….
OBL is not that bad....hell, America created him!!
Saddam is not the bad...hell, America created him!!
Did I mention that Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not that bad….he does not want nukes for weapons…its all about the fuel baby!!!
Problems in the Middle East...Americas fault...
Darfur? Bush and Cheney are not fully responsible for the genocide---but at least 78%....
Did I mention that Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate?
Try to resolve the problems in the Middle East??---Why does America feel it should stick its nose in others business...
Israel...America’s puppet....
Israel is the cause of most of the problems in the Middle East….Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization---they were “elected†into a position of power in a democratic government!!!
America did the worse job of evacuating its citizens from Lebanon…Denmark did the best…Denmark is #1!!! Denmark is #1!!!….
Did I mention that Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate?
American flags are made for one purpose….to burn!!!!!!!!
The primary run off in Ct proves that the American people want an immediate withdrawal from Iraq….
AIDS in Africa killing scores? Bush’s Fault….well, maybe 82% responsible…
Socialism #1…Communism #2….Dictatorship #3…Democracy #4…as ranked by the bloggers on “Think Progress†as best form of govt….
Global Warming is a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive......
The short-comings of American schools...a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive......
The short-comings of Health-care....a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive......
Oil?....ever since man has been able to process it into a usable fuel....all the problems have been.....a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive......
Wal-mart=Capitalism=Bush cronies=Conservatives=devil
Did I mention that Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate?
Mexican Immigration problem? No problemo…
Katrina?....a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive......not the response---the actual cause of the hurricane...a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive
Katrina…response to it?....Bush hates blacks.....it’s that simple......did I mention Bush hates Mexicans, Canadians, French, Italians, Spaniards, Russians, Irish, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Aussies, Swedes, New Zealanders, anybody that might be of south American persuasion, anybody that might be a mix bred, anybody from Africa-even if they “look†white, and of course…all Muslims….
Did I mention that according to this site that Bush hates gays? And wants them dead?
The economy----the worse it’s been in the history of America----....is a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive......
International relations? well---before Bush we were loved from china to south America...but now---America is hated all around the world and we need to kowtow to the Europeans and Islam so they like us…..we want other people to like us…we really want other people to like us………please like us…..please?
Homeless problem in a city/town near you?...a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive…
Abortion is good (million+ innocents a year)…Death penalty is Bad (handful of convicted criminals a year)….
(Did I mention that Bush and the Republicans are the devil reincarnate?
Lines at the super-market….. a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive…
Howard Stern being fined for foul behavior/language…. a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive….
Katrina “evacuees†in Houston or other cities committing hideous crimes?... a direct cause of Bush being the Chief-executive……
Christian groups are bigots and things such as “faith day†(at a ball park after the game) are nothing more than the radical rights attempt at “christian-izing†us….
America’s military is weak and the Draft is right around the corner…
“God†should not be in the Pledge….
“God†should not be on our currency…
“God†should not be……….
Cindy Sheehan should not be questioned nor debated…..her son died for her right to hang out in Crawford dam it!!!
America went to war unprepared….look at the hummers!! They have absolutely no armor….and its Bush’s fault…
Democrats and Republicans are all the same…evil…out for themselves…slave-masters (its in their family history)…sex addicts…and of course out to kill Americans in a fake war that was based on purposely fraudulent intelligence…
The (mass) media is covering up everything!!!
Good policing and investigative work is called---racial profiling!!!
“Minimum Wage should be at least $18.00 a hourâ€
“Progressive†reporters get kick out of all the neo-cons news briefings…
“My phones have been taped because I went to an anti-war rally!â€
“My cable has been on the blink and my phone has been making weird noises since I went to a anti-war Rallyâ€
Anybody that makes money and lives a successful life MUST be doing something that hurts the poor or crippled….
Taxes and more taxes are good for the economy…tax cuts/breaks only help the millionaires…
SUV’s were created by conservatives that wanted to help out their “oil buddiesâ€â€¦
People should not be expected to take care of themselves!!! That’s the role of government…
People should not be able to invest their social security account as they wish!! That’s the role of the government…
If I forgot a topic or an issue please just fill it in with the following…
“BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- WAA-WAA WAA-WAA WAA-WAA WAA-WAA..BUSH IS THE DEVIL BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA…REPUBLICANS ARE THE DEVIL… WAA-WAA WAA-WAA WAA-WAA WAA-WAA…AMERICA IS THE CAUSE OF ALL THE PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD…-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA- BLAH-DA-DOO-DAA…â€
IN CONLUSION::::::
I have posted this because it addresses nearly all the issues that “think progress†and its bloggers believe/state/dream about….in other words, this post can be placed on any of your blogs and it will make sense……thanks “think progress†bloggers for making this so easy….if you think my post is foolish….please remember---these are your words (with some editing liberties taken…oh I forgot---I should not mention anything about taking liberties)….dam America!!!
August 15th, 2006 at 1:58 pm