Reid: President’s Flawed Iraq Strategy Distracts Us From Effectively Fighting An Emboldened Al Qaeda
“Despite what the President would like us to believe, it has been established that Al Qaeda had no active cells in Iraq when we invaded, and we have long known that we were not attacked from Iraq on 9/11. Saying otherwise does not make it so. The Administration’s own National Intelligence Estimate reported last week that the war is Al Qaeda’s most effective tool for recruiting terrorists and raising money. Meanwhile, Al Qaeda is growing stronger and Osama bin Laden operates freely along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border nearly six years after the Sept. 11 attacks. (emphasis mine)
Senator Reid demonstrates how to get on the right-wing hit list. Just speak the truth. The truth is the Right’s biggest enemy and the reason we have the r-w noise machine – Fox News, The Washington Times, the AM radio shock jocks, the conservative newspaper columnists and the beltway mentality typified by Matthews and Russert. The hope is they throw up enough dirt that people can’t see the truth – GOP picks a villain: Harry Reid
Senate Republicans are preparing to take aim at Majority Leader Harry Reid over the August recess for being “all talk but no action” and helping drag the Democrat-led Congress’ approval rating to a historic low, according to a document distributed to caucus members.
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, is meeting with members yesterday and today to disseminate a message critical of Democrats for endlessly debating the Iraq war, stalling judicial nominations and squandering time on at least 300 investigations of the Bush administration.
“We really ought to be asking why this Democrat leadership won’t allow Congress to move forward on serious policy debates,” Mr. Kyl said, when asked about the talking-points memorandum he is circulating.
As The Carpetbagger points out it is Kyl and his hypocritical brethren in the Senate, aided and a bedded by the media that are obstructing any progress. Want more sunshine and less unnecessary autocratic secrecy in government, Kyl was there to stop reform of the Freedom of Information Act. Most Americans think the president should adhere to laws passed by Congress including FISA laws in regards to domestic surveillance, Kyl was there to obstruct the vote on issuing subpoenas – in other words he did his best to obstruct justice. It is Kyl among most other Republicans that are blocking legislation from even coming to a vote. What are Republicans afraid of – apparently the will of the American people, GOP Gets Desperate, Hits Harry Reid Over Debating Iraq. If this was just politics as usual one could almost be thankful for Republicans engaging in such blatant dishonesty, but their maniacal intent on continued failure in Iraq is costing lives everyday. Senators like Kyl will likely pay in the 2008 election cycle, but in the perverse world of the Right they see themselves as martyrs for the cause. The righty spin masters might have turned up the volume too soon, a bit of premature false outrage. The public has plenty of time to sort out the facts and since the NASCAR dads and soccer moms have been lied to so often in the last six years about everything from WMD to falling skies a few might just be checking the actual records of the dead enders like Kyl and look at the Democratic record,
Democratic Accomplishments in the 110th Congress: Leading America in a New Direction
Less than six months into the 110th Congress, Senate Democrats have made significant strides in passing important, common-sense legislation that reflect the priorities of the American people. After nearly a decade of Republican control, Democrats have worked to restore fiscal responsibility in Washington and pass key legislation on Iraq policy, homeland security, troop readiness, veterans’ health care, economic competitiveness, ethics reform, the minimum wage, health care, education, energy independence, stem cell research, and Gulf Coast revitalization.
Sure they could do better, but Democrats have to deal with Bush’s sudden discovery of the veto and Republicans who will not let important legislation even come up for a vote. This was the same party that when they were the majority threatened the “nuclear” option on the filibuster. How quickly the worm turns.
Most Americans are outraged at the spectacle of a man we have as Attorney General. Part of me finds Alberto Gonzales morally repugnant, yet part of me is fascinated by the spectacle. Gonzales as the flashing neon light of Bush administration corruption, This Guy’s Still Here?
“Good,” Gonzales says, which he must immediately regret, because it’s a trap. After some whispering from the row of aides sitting behind him, Gonzales says that he “did misspeak” at the June press conference, “but I went back and clarified it with a reporter.” Which reporter? More whispering. “Dan Eggen, at the Washington Post, two days later.” Schumer presses. Gonzales repeats, “I clarified my statement to the reporter.” Then, after more questions and more whispering, “I didn’t speak directly to the reporter.” There’s an intake of breath around the room, and it’s not just from the women wearing pink whose hats and banner and mouth tape read “Fire Gonzales.”
“What did your spokespeople say to him?” Schumer asks.
“I don’t know,” Gonzales answers.
This is either a petty hunt or precisely what is wrong with Gonzales as attorney general. He says one thing, then he says another; he tries again, then runs over himself. “If you want to be attorney general, you should be able to clarify yourself,” Schumer scolds him.
What is bothering me and many Americans is the lack of shame and the lack of effort to tell a plausible lie. By his actions Gonzales is saying in so many ways that his boss has assured him as is this administration’s custom that it will stand by its inept cronies no matter how corrupt. In this case it makes sense because Alberto just did what Bush/Rove told him to do.
“Isn’t it sad, beleaguered, and familiar?” – Emily Bazelon
The Long Goodbye 