Gone Too Far?

While on the highway yesterday, I spotted this bumper sticker. For those of you not interested in making the jump, the sticker said "George W. Bush is a lying sack of shit." No need to mince words obviously.

I laughed at first and then I started thinking about it. While empirically all the evidence does, in fact, point to Dubya having a problem with honesty, I am not altogether certain that I don't think this particular sentiment for a bumper sticker might be taking the whole thing a bit too far. [This coming, of course, from the woman with a Wanker sticker on her own mode of transportation, so as with many things a grain of salt is advised.]

Why, do you ask, does this self-proclaimed liberal thing this might be too much? Well first let's start with the fact that I have my doubts that this type of sticker would have even existed 10 years ago. Prior to the right developing a strong hold on talk radio in the 90s after the Fairness Doctrine wasn't passed into law in the late 80s. As the conservatives came to dominate radio and Fox News came into being we seemed to evolve into a culture of anything goes. Gone was the gentility associated with news and information in the time of Murrow and Cronkite and we welcomed in an era of yelling from the likes of Limbaugh and O'Reilly. 

My point is that the right was so excited to be able to trumpet their opinions, without restrictions, that they started lowering their standards and in an effort to keep up the left has on more than one occasion gone along with them in their spiral down towards Jerry Springer land. And thus we get the aforementioned sticker.

Secondly, I don't think we the left do ourselves any favors by sinking to this level. I guess I buy into the theory that sometimes the best way to get back at the school yard bully is by ignoring them (although this hasn't always been the best route for the left—John Kerry and his swift boating torpedoers—would be the most obvious case in point).

Finally, believe it or not I am a big believer in manners and etiquette. While this bumper sticker isn't a lie and it does amuse me, it ain't exactly polite.

I have been ruminating on all this FISA nonsense, as well as the public funds debate that McCain currently has his knickers in a twist over. More on that later.