Steve Gilliard threw together his list of "Ten Worst Americans" in response to a Rightie list that included Bill Clinton. Here's his list:
1) Benedict Arnold
2) Father Coughlin
3) Jefferson Davis
4) Nathan Bedford Forrest
5) George Wallace
6) Jesse Helms
7) Dick Cheney
8) Richard Nixon
9) Joseph McCarthy
10) DC "Steve" Stephenson
I'll confess I had to look up numbers 2, 4 and 10 on wikipedia. Bad guys to be sure. Coughlin was sort of the original televangelist—except the anti-Semitic supervillian version. Forrest is a Confederate general who started the KKK. And Stephenson was a brutal Klansmen from the 20s. All evil dudes to be sure, but the fact that I'd never heard of them, means I gotta pull 'em from my list.
I'd have to have George W. Bush on my list.
And I'd like to see Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth and James Earl Ray in as a special 3 for the price of 1.
I'll go with Col. John Chivington as number 10. The Calvary commander responsible for the Sand Creek Massacre. I can't say he was the worst particular guy regarding the mistreatment of Native Americans, but he gets to represent 'em on my list.
Narrowly cut? Fred Phelps, Karl Rove, Richard Mellon Scaife, Timothy McViegh.
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6 comments:
I will say, that putting Bush on the list is a tough one. First, it is the flip side of the coin to the Rightie having Clinton on his list, and therefore predictable. I do however think that history will judge Bush pretty harshly, and he is the conduit to a whole host a evil shit being done by the people around him.
He's worthy more for his destructive contributions and the damage his Administration will do to this country, than himself as a man.
I'd take out Benedict Arnold, as "America" wasn't really America yet, and replace him with...Kevin Phillips. Sure, he has now written three books that are critical of Bush, Bush's family and this whole conservative-churchy thing we have going on here right now....but Mr. Phillips was apparently one of the principle architechts of this mess. So sure, write books that say "that's not what I meant," but you sure rode that fucking gravy train in the 70's and 80's, didn't ya, Kevin...
I still love reading his books, though. He's right. This is outta control. But YOU helped start it, man....
How come blogger is only shoing my comment if you get here, but isn't registewring that I made a comment on your blog?? Damn blogger.
Yeah, that non-comment was happening yesterday as well.
I'm with you on the Benedict Arnold, he also contributed some major military victories as well.
on what grounds do we consider someone a "bad American?" If they lead the country into a military quagmire? Or if we are just ashamed that they share our right to citizenship.
I agree that Nathan Bedford Forrest was a bad guy, as well as John Wilkes Booth, but I would not put them on the list. Is that wrong of me?
Is that wrong of me?
Nah. As I said, I never heard of Forrest before Steve G's list. Though the guy who started the KKK is about as big a shitheel as you could ask for... I'm throwing Booth on the "Assassin 3-Fer" though he's probably more infamous than actually evil. Killing Kennedy and MLK at the stages of their lives when tey were cut down was worse for the country then when Lincoln was shot.
I think.
Frankly, with my grasp of US History what it is, I probably have no business even posting about this...
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