a potential bridge to those who are still on the right in the wrong
By Winter Patriot on 11/20/2005, 12:05pm PT  

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Robert Parry's Consortium News has recently posted a beautifully-written piece by William Frey, M.D., called "Confessions of a Repentant Republican".

Dr. Frey is a former Bush supporter who has torn himself away from the propaganda and re-engaged with reality. And now he's writing about it. He can really write, too. Look at this:

I supported George W. Bush in the presidential election in 2000, believing then that he best reflected my love for America and for our tradition of liberty. I supported the war in Afghanistan. In March of 2003, I believed that the invasion of Iraq was justified based upon pre-war revelations presented to Congress and to the American people. Accordingly, the indictments contained herein apply, first and foremost, to myself.

Many Americans whom I know and love, including many current supporters of President Bush, remain conflicted over both his ultimate intentions in Iraq as well as domestic curtailment of civil liberties.

Many have given the benefit of the doubt to President Bush, and, in a misdirected spirit of unity, have supported, as did I, Administration policies that conflict with our essential values.

This essay explores many of the issues that led me personally to the recognition that the policies I was supporting in Iraq were not consistent with the justifications made for the invasion in the spring of 2003, that implicit in our post-invasion actions was the goal of permanent occupation, which would ensure endless war and the resultant degradation of our liberty, our security, and our moral authority.

For me, recognizing that I could no longer support the President for whom I voted, and the occupation of a land we had invaded, remains personally painful.

I have learned that while it is difficult to admit being wrong, such recognition is a prerequisite for redemptive action, necessary both for individual growth and for the healing of our nation.

It is in this spirit that I submit these reflections.

A great introduction, is it not? Who could argue with such a reasonable presentation?

The same is true of the entire piece. It's completely reasonable, all the way through. And it explains, in a very clear and dispassionate way, what is wrong with the foreign and domestic policies being followed by this administration. I love it for that.

I love it for including this quote from Eisenhower, too:

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without."

and these from James Madison:

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy" .... "We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties."

But above all, I love this essay because it gives us a potential bridge to the 30 or 35 percent who still say they support the president. What are they thinking? What are they reading? Maybe it would help if they were reading "Confessions of a Repentant Republican".

The BRAD BLOG sometimes gives an award when it finds an intellectually honest conservative, and I'd love to give one for this essay. But I'm not the proprietor, I'm only the concierge. My job here is simply to help ruin the blog; I can't give away any awards. But I can make a nomination.

So here it is: I hereby nominate Dr. William Frey for one of the coveted BRAD BLOG Awards for intellectually honest conservatives.

If you haven't already set a bookmark at Consortium News, consider this a friendly reminder.

The Whispering Campaign has a high opinion of this essay as well, and is in the process of making short excerpts available for easy printing and distribution. The following one-page excerpts are now posted:

Confessions of a Repentant Republican
Eisenhower Warned Us About This
Concrete Speaks Louder Than Words
How Has It Come To This?
The Price Of Believing The Prevailing Myths
We Must Confront Them With The Truth
With Us Or Against Us

Others may be coming soon. Please help spread the word.

And please share "Confessions of a Repentant Republican" with all your right wrong-leaning friends.

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