Frank J. Gaffney Jr., president of the far-right Center for Security Policy and a columnist for the conservative Washington Times, wrote a column this week blasting congressional lawmakers who support a non-binding resolution on Bush’s escalation policy. Gaffney’s piece led with this quote:
“Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged.” — President Abraham Lincoln
War supporters pounced. One far-right blogger said, in reference to congressional Democrats, “Lincoln’s prescription for this type of conduct should not be forgotten.” Another conservative, who frequently equates dissent with treason, said Lincoln’s quote “should be on every conservative website as a reminder to America why the Dems are not to be trusted with our national security…. If you oppose the Democrat [sic] plans to surrender Iraq, post this quote someplace.”
Now, my first thought was that use of Lincoln’s quote sounded vaguely threatening in this context. Dems and dozens of Republicans are now “saboteurs” for supporting a non-binding resolution against a misguided war strategy? Which of the three punishments — arrest, exile, or hanging — does the right have in mind?
But as it turns out, Gaffney and his friends have flubbed another one. As Roger Ailes explained, the quote is bogus.
Lincoln didn’t speak or write like a third-rate blogger with his pants around his ankles after watching 24. The quote is entirely fabricated, and it originated in another Moonie rag, Insight. And these morons didn’t even spend the two seconds needed to confirm the quote is bogus.
But the facts don’t really matter to these types. They lied to start the war, they lie to keep the war going and they’ll still be lying after the war is ended.
It’s been that kind of year for conservative blogs, hasn’t it?