Cut and Run

Saw this on Bartcop. Another of only a few sights I frequent regularly, and recommend. I thought this was good.

"Perhaps the RepugnantCons don't really know what "Cut and run" means when they
attempt to use the phrase as an epithet against Dems. The expression is nautical in origin
and refers to a situation when the ship's anchor can't be broken loose from the sea bed.

In order to protect the vessel, the anchor rope is severed to free the ship so it may avoid imminent
disaster. This is akin to an animal trapped in a steel trap that knaws off a limb in order to save it's life.

Knowing this, and incorporating the metaphor of "Ship of State," there seem to be few expressions
more appropriate to the circumstances in Iraq than the need to "Cut and Run" so we might salvage
from total ruin what remains of our State Ship."

A Ross
Los Angeles

disaster! Maybe the admin should rethink their talking points! :)

and cut your losses. Whoever said W was a good poker player is nuts.

I just love his site.

it uses their own catchphrase.

"It's the only moral response to an immoral war" would be a highly useful, honest, and direct statement...if dc dems were willing to use it. There are any number of good responses to cut and run...should be easy to talk about Iraq and Iraq misdeeds in an honest and productive manner (I don't believe pointing out that cut and run is actually a good nautical term is one of them). It really isn't that difficult. Some are starting to do it, but overwhelmingly you stll hear more about cut and run and about weak dems and about Iraq turning the corner and about 260000 Iraqis ready to start policing themselves and about Murtha smears....and when the administration announces some minor pull back of troops later this summer and declares victory these sound bites will take on even more strength.

Just look at how they've managed to change the perception of the word "timetable." Timetable now has some sort of vague, bad connotation. Without thinking deeply about it, people now associate timetable with failure, weak dems, and surrender. It's just in the air...we allowed the gop to define it without countering....so much so that many dc dems have to disavow belief in a timetable.

The GOP knows how to manipulate stories to maximum benefit. They are much better at it than are we, and up to now we've lost the debate on Iraq. I'm encouraged by some things I've heard lately and I hope it is not too late to engage on the issue and make it clear that dems generally feel that going to war was a mistake and the occupation has been incompetently managed from the start.

However, I fear that we're just seeing the same pattern of token resistance from DC dems in which a few of them take the lead in voicing opposition and the others sit back and vote with pugs or simply disappear from the debate. This is what they historically do in every policy area. The overall effect is that the pugs are allowed to frame the issue.

Regardless of what dems individually think about pullout schedule, the words immoral, disaster, incompetence, wasteful, wrong, blunder, un-necessary, and Halliburton must be used over and over by all of them.

picked up a figurative meaning, in this case by the mid 1800s.

'Stay the course' became figurative a bit later.

No anchor left in the one, no horse left in the other.

Who cut and ran while I lay bleeding in Vietnam.Like J.Dennis Hastert speaker of the House five times asked five time cut and ran
www.john06.com

very few instances when I am in disagreement with bc's comments. Hall's great article shows another instance, such as the delay legal fundie site that actually thought Colbert was a legitimate rethug, and used him to promote their cause.:dunce:
quickesst

Cut the anchor and save the ship. Precious.

SS Bushco, Set sail in Iraq without checking historical or current maps.
SS Bushco, Wouldn't take direction from experienced Sailors about the alien dangers inherent in embarking on Iraq.
SS Bushco, Deaf to calls by veteran seamen on the and amount of sailors and equipment needed to embark on Iraq.
SS Bushco, Refused to take direction from experienced sailors once they set sail in Iraq.
SS Bushco, Won't admit they are anchored to a rocky shore in choppy seas for the foreseeable future.
Time to cut anchor and get out.

They cut and ran from New Orleans
They cut and ran from a balanced budget
They cut and ran from our veterans
They cut and ran from the constitution
They cut and ran from our children
They cut and ran from a grade school, to fly around in a panic all day on Sep 11th, until the fuel ran out, forcing them to land.

They cut and ran from...you get the point, and could go on forever.

We'd make good campaign speech writers, IMHO. ::-):

before he got wiped out by the great white whale.

and the Democrats must not allow themselves to tarred with a term without putting up a response. If they don't stop this kind of slandering it will be just as bad as when Dukasis allowed LIBERAL to an become dirty word and we are still suffering because of it. :mad:

But claimed he was "staying the course" by strategically redeploying our troops.

Nixon cut and ran from Vietnam after fucking it up badly.

Poppy Bush cut and ran during the first Gulf War instead of helping the Kurdish and Shia uprisings as promised.

Eisenhower cut and ran from Korea with the armistice.

Many neocon war hawks cut and ran when they should have served.

Cut and run is something Republicans are very familiar with.

Olberman needs this, Kerry/Feingold need this. Reid needs it

I feel a LTTE coming on.........

Hey quickesst, your name reminds me of mine. I didn't copy you, honest.:hi:

"cut and run" is getting as hackneyed as "let's touch base" or "I'm giving you a heads up about.." or "playing phone tag". But those are just office work cliches, it's far worse. "Cut and Run" is far worse, because it regards the lives and safety of our troops.

"If a captain of a smaller ship encountered a larger enemy vessel, he might decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and so he would order the crew to cut the lashings on all the sails and run away before the wind. Other sources indicate "Cut and Run" meant to cut the anchor cable and sail off in a hurry."
http://www.fortogden.com/nauticalterms.html

Or from Wikipedia:

Cut and run - When wanting to make a quick escape, a ship might cut lashings to sails or cables for anchors, causing damage to the rigging, or losing an anchor, but shortening the time needed to make ready by bypassing the proper procedures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_nautical_terms#C-F


Unfortunately, these definitions are more in line with the Repug talking point.