In defense of drunken sailors

Mish gets taken to task for likening out-of-control spending politicians to drunken sailors:

Mish,

I can’t take it anymore. I need to take a stand. Right here. Right now. Lately, so much hate and vitriol has been directed at drunken sailors.

Why has it become so chic in the blogosphere to make the analogy that the Congress, the States, the Municipalities all spend like drunken sailors? Why the sudden urge to besmirch, dare I say libel, drunken sailors?

I assure you, a drunken sailor is a harmless creature. I speak from experience. I have been a drunken sailor. Many of my best friends have been drunken sailors.

Whereas from my perspective, all flavors of government inflict great harm. To infer a resemblance between a politician and a drunken sailor should be actionable!

When pulling into a foreign port after many weeks or months at sea with the world’s finest navy, I always looked forward to sampling the native’s libations. Yes, I got hammered.

However, when I ran out of money I STOPPED DRINKING! I didn’t club the patron on the bar stool next to me over the head and rob him so I could continue drinking. I didn’t call me wife and ask her to cash in the kids college funds so I could continue drinking. I didn’t write my unborn grandkids an IOU so I could continue drinking. I just stopped and stumbled back to the liberty launch for a cheeseburger. I knew I’d have some cash next payday and I could hit the bars and clubs in the next liberty port. [emphasis added]

So please, no more comparisons of deficit spending politicians to harmless drunken sailors. Drunken sailors have feelings too.

I guess we could liken politicians to whores, but the whores, er, "sex workers" could probably make a similarly good argument against such a comparison.