OUTLAWING CRITICISM

Atrios makes a great point about how our Democratic politicians in the Senate have made Gen. Petraeus infallible about Iraq and that led me to think that the GOP has been hiding its Iraq failures behind the military for some time. Many legitimate criticisms of the war have been spun as attacks on our troops, who presumably cannot be criticized, except when they disagree with the war. Then, they become "phony soldiers." This reminded of how Ann Coulter attacked when she perceived that the Democrats were hiding behind people:


LAUER. All right. On the 9-11 widows, and in particular a group that has been outspoken and critical of the administration: "These self-obsessed women seem genuinely unaware that 9-11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks only happened to them." "[T]hey believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony. Apparently, denouncing Bush was an important part of their closure process."
And this part is the part I really need to talk to you about: "These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, revelling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' death so much."
COULTER: Yes.
LAUER: Because they dare to speak out?
COULTER: To speak out using the fact that they're widows. This is the Left's doctrine of infallibility. If they have a point to make about the 9-11 Commission, about how to fight the war on terrorism, how about sending in somebody we're allowed to respond to? No, no, no, we always have to respond to someone who just had a family member die.
LAUER: But aren't they the people in the middle of the story?
COULTER: Because then when we respond, "Oh, you're questioning their authenticity."
[SNIP]
COULTER: But that is the point of liberal infallibility, of putting up Cindy Sheehan, of putting out these widows, of putting up Joe Wilson: "No, no, no. You can't respond." It's their doctrine of infallibility.