Whiners, eh? Funny thing about that...

With all of the talk about Phil Gramm's and by extension, McCain's campaign's comments about Americans being a bunch of whiners, most are focusing on the outrage as far as a reaction goes. But the truth is, there is a large segment of Americans that ARE whiners.

That segment would be, ironically enough, republicans.

Think of an issue - think of the incessant whining on right wing talk radio, think of the direction of the debate and discussion over the past decade (or even more), and we can see just how much Gramm's comments ring true.

Who can forget some of the classic whining moments that prove Gramm's point?

George W. Bush - Debate with John Kerry, 2004: It's hard work. But, again, I want to tell the American people, we're doing everything we can at home, but you better have a president who chases these terrorists down and bring them to justice before they hurt us again.

This was just one of 10 comments that whine about the "hard work" something is.

Trent Lott, 2005 - describing the "need" for the nuclear option: "I'm for the nuclear option, absolutely," Lott has said. "The filibuster of federal district and circuit judges cannot stand. ... It's bad for the institution. It's wrong. It's not supportable under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters, I'm perfectly prepared to blow the place up. No problem."

Republican activists complain of "voter fraud", which there have been very few cases, in pushing widespread voter disenfranchisement initiatives. John McCain complaining about Congress going on July 4 recess despite missing close to 400 votes in this Congressional session. John McCain complains about his treatment by the press despite having them ignore his gaffes, his misstatements, his blowups, his "McCain moments" and his flip flops.

Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern on "the gay agenda": The "homosexual agenda is destroying this nation....This stuff—it's deadly," Kern says, "and it's spreading, and it will destroy our young people. It will destroy this nation."

Bill O'Reilly's "War on Christmas": "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He then added: "[B]ecause if you look at what happened in Western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programs, like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage, because the objection to those things is religious-based, usually."

Rick Santorum - whining about "activist judges": "Should we look at situations where judges have decided to go off on their own tangent and disobey the statutes of the United States of America?" Santorum said. "I think that's a legitimate area for oversight, sure."

Of course, 7 of the 9 Supreme Court justices were appointed by a republican, as were more than half of the federal bench.

Scott McClellan whines about people playing the "blame game" about Katrina, while "Brownie" whines about Louisiana being to blame, and Brit Hume blames Gov. Blanco, despite thousands of pages of documents proving otherwise.

Thinking nothing of Swift Boating, lying and smearing opponents with whisper campaigns or outright leaking of classified information, Matthew Walter, spokesman for the New York Republican State Committee, whined about a privately financed exhibit that had mug shots of Bush, Cheney and others:

“It is simply inappropriate to have political attack in the form of egregious doctored photographs of the president and other high-ranking officials who have dedicated their lives to public service in a taxpayer-funded building frequented by schoolchildren and the general public.”

Republicans whine about how Democrats will raise taxes. Larry Craig complained about a "witch hunt", despite pleading guilty. Tom DeLay complained about "unfair partisan attacks" despite being knee deep in illegal activities. Republicans complained and tried to blame the Democrats for Mark Foley's sexual harassment of Congressional pages.

And of course, there is this "ace in the hole":

George W. Bush - 2006:"Five years after 9-11, Democrats offer nothing but criticism, and obstruction and endless second guessing," Bush said. He said the Democratic Party - the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman - has become the "party of cut-and-run."

This, despite overwhelming support for withdrawal from Iraq, the Bush administration's own "cut and run" from Afghanistan and a record of republican obstruction in the 110th Congress that is unrivaled by any Congress ever.

I could go on for days, but will leave it at these fine examples. So maybe Gramm does have a point - there are a lot of whiners in America. Thankfully, due to millions of Americans realizing how destructive the republican policies have been, the number of republican whiners has decreased over the past few years.

All that is left are a bunch of dead enders.