It sure is.
So, what kicked it off? Appropriately enough, a hearty dose of stupidity from John Kerry:
Kerry: Netanyahu was a huge supporter of "invading Iraq. We all know what happened with that decision." http://t.co/6Iovj4F3E8
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@joshtpm Oh, so he went there.
— Very legal and very cool (@Samizdat24) February 25, 2015
He went there, all right:
Kerry was later asked to address Netanyahu’s criticism of a hypothetical deal with Iran as a threat to Israel.
“The prime minister was profoundly forward-leaning and outspoken about the importance of invading Iraq under George W. Bush,” Kerry replied. “We all know what happened with that decision.”
Yeah, about that …
Um. RT @joshtpm: Kerry: Netanyahu was a huge supporter of “invading Iraq. We all know what happened with that.” http://t.co/02mfkmUf6s
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) February 25, 2015
Geez, Kerry VOTED for it. MT @joshtpm Kerry: Netanyahu was huge supporter of "invading Iraq. We all know what happened with that decision."
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) February 25, 2015
Kerry too! RT @joshtpm Kerry: Netanyahu was a huge supporter of “invading Iraq. We all know what happened with that.” http://t.co/wigl4tXSEk
— Seth (@dcseth) February 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/BenK84/status/570674344789192704
https://twitter.com/KeviKev10/status/570665839369723905
Guess not. Sucks to be him:
https://twitter.com/MHY607/status/570674542303191040
@AceofSpadesHQ @joshtpm @charlescwcooke Listening 2 Kerry's speech, it doesnt sound like he was 'faking' his support https://t.co/XfFQimtW4w
— ClassicalLibMOT (@CygnusA81) February 25, 2015
Recommended
Don’t worry, though, Mr. Secretary. Hackery loves company, and you’ve got a friend in Josh Marshall:
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/570669756338065408
@charlescwcooke Comparing Kerry's support to Netanyahu's is abt on par with comparing Kerry's to Bush's. If u were there at the time, etc.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@joshtpm Relative vehemence to one side, do you think Kerry can credibly level this charge?
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) February 25, 2015
@charlescwcooke I don't care one way or another. But yes, he can. The difference goes far beyond 'vehemence'.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
At the risk of reviewing the obvious, in late 2002 thru a mix of belief in the importance of nat unity & simple political cowardice many 1
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
Senate Dems voted for the Iraq war resolution, explicitly stating their support as contingent on Saddam's refusal to allow inspectors 2
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
back into the country. Bush ignored that and went to war even though he did. There's a very good argument that Dems knew or shld have 3
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
known that that was exactly what Bush wld do. But to say a Dem like Kerry supported the Iraq War the way Bush and in this case Netanyahu 4
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
did is silly. Kerry, Clinton, et al all ended up hoisted on their own poor judgment and cowardice. And they shld be called on that. But to 5
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
say they supported Bush's war shows you either weren't paying attn or are just lying now. 6
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
that's true. he was for it before he was against it. @joshtpm
— Christian Vanderbrouk (@UrbanAchievr) February 25, 2015
@UrbanAchievr fun joke. but what i said is true. and you know it.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
.@joshtpm @charlescwcooke Had anyone said then that Kerry didn't *really* support the war they'd be accused of questioning his patriotism.
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) February 25, 2015
@karol @charlescwcooke fascinating hypothetical. and yes, war hawks probably wld have since they were never honest. doesn't change the point
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@charlescwcooke @joshtpm This is a preview of the "Hillary didn't *really* support the Iraq War" argument. http://t.co/4VXGkTjIpA
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 25, 2015
@baseballcrank @charlescwcooke simply the reality of what happened at the time Dan. saying she was a coward is hardly a defense. and in 1
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@baseballcrank @charlescwcooke in any case, her position was significant different from Kerry's. she was more of a genuine supporter. 2
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@joshtpm @charlescwcooke What's the point? Kerry didn't really support the war though he said he did and he voted for it?
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) February 25, 2015
.@karol @charlescwcooke I don't know what yr point is. I was responding to Charles questions.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@joshtpm @kampeas Both @JohnKerry and Hillary supported invading Iraq. Perhaps you could have noted that info: http://t.co/9sdbVqNx8w
— Mark Jacobs (@mr_markjacobs) February 25, 2015
@mr_markjacobs @kampeas @JohnKerry I believe we may. Will also add context which avoids perpetuating the falsehood you seem intent on.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@joshtpm I guess it comes down to whether it's worse to vote for a "bad" war because you believe in it or b/c it's politically convenient
— Christian Vanderbrouk (@UrbanAchievr) February 25, 2015
@UrbanAchievr they're both quite bad. though it's important to note that there was a legitimate position to making the threat of force 1
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@UrbanAchievr credible to get inspectors back into the country. That was a reasonable position. The problem is that it was or should have 2
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@UrbanAchievr been obvious that President Bush and the main war supporters were simply lying abt inspectors. Invasion was a foregone 3
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
@UrbanAchievr conclusion. Until you admit what different people were talking about, supporting, etc. you can't actly recreate what happened4
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
Re Sharon's opposition to iraq war. Like Rabin, Sharon was actl general, not just a pol like Netanyahu, had much deeper grasp of the region
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
We need those who ran the Iraq War media campaign to remind supporters that inspectors/wmd were a just a political cudgel w/no significance.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 25, 2015
We need those who subscribe to historical accuracy to remind Josh that the truth doesn’t disappear just because it’s inconvenient.
@joshtpm Nonsense. Either you vote for war or you don't. You don't get to place conditions on the President that aren't in resolution.
— SunsetLament (@SunsetLament) February 25, 2015
@joshtpm @charlescwcooke And really, "but Saddam agreed to inspections!" is the weakest possible argument here. Nobody's that gullible.
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 25, 2015
I think @joshtpm is saying Kerry & Hillary vote for wars the same way Obama stands up for Traditional Marriage @charlescwcooke
— Ursus, Director of Weather and Banana Programming (@AceofSpadesHQ) February 25, 2015
i think he's saying we all know these are gutless cowards who frequently cast votes on war for political expediency @joshtpm @charlescwcooke
— Ursus, Director of Weather and Banana Programming (@AceofSpadesHQ) February 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/JohnRiversToo/status/570672363781677058
https://twitter.com/OrwellForks/status/570672837566054400
@seanmdav @KevinNR @joshtpm it's like he doesn't realize he's communicating with educated adults. Weird.
— Dbright21 (@Dbright21) February 25, 2015
@charlescwcooke @joshtpm pretzel logic at its finest; keep trying josh!
— Mike Tyworth (@mtyworth) February 25, 2015
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