Please excuse me for using the title of an Al Franken book to describe the behavior of the liberal Democrats in our legislature this year. I felt it was appropriate and a bit ironic that the title of a liberal Bush-basher's book would so accurately describe the Democrat leadership in our Senate. What am I so upset about? Mainly the behavior of Senators Reid, Kennedy, Biden, Durbin and Kerry, but to a smaller degree the Republicans who seem content to let them rail on about what they call deceit and treachery, without nary a retort or explanation as to why the railing is wrong and traitorous.
I feel it is because the President's poll numbers are down that these partisan hackjobs are so emboldened to spread their lies. Now that they see W's blood in the water (Libby's indictment, dissatisfaction with the war, big oil's big profits, the Katrina debacle, etc.), they are like sharks surrounding the wounded.
First of all, it is a given that there is NO truth to the claims that Bush lied to the American people or the congress about the reasons for going to war in Iraq. If, as Ted Kennedy has said, "What was said before does matter. The President's words matter", then I presume that what Ted has said before also matters. I will not trot out all of the quotes of Durbin, Reid, Kennedy, Kerry and Pelosi to prove the fact that all of them said much the same things about Hussein and Iraq as was said by George W. Bush prior to the Iraq War. Most of you have seen it before. Perhaps, though you could remember Hillary Clinton's words the next time some liberal tells you that there was no connection between Hussein and Al Quaeda, "In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological-weapons stock, his missile-delivery capabililty, his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists including al-Qa'ida members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons...I can support the President because I think it is in the long-term interests of our national security". This quote indicates that all of the intelligence suggested that Hussein was not only holding chemical and biological weapons, and developing a nuclear program, but that the world intelligence community believed, rightly, that he would use them. NO LIES!
What brought about the change of heart for these Democrat senators? Well, that's a toughie. Because it is hard to say when these people are being truthful and when they are dissembling (I know, just watch their lips!). I mean, was Senator Clinton being truthful when she declared that she knew that Saddam had all these weapons and it was right to go to war against him? Perhaps, as Clintons are won't to do, she had consulted the polls and found that Americans were solidly in favor of backing the President in his decision to go to war. This fact, make no mistake about it, was more important to her than any grandiose ideas of Truth or Patriotism.
Now we see the polls have changed. Blame it on the non-stop liberal leaning media efforts to discredit the President or on the lack of backbone in the Republican congress to ignore polls and do what is right, but the fact is the country is swinging against the war. What used to be said by only socialist dingbats and Michael Moore, is now becoming regular Senate floor dialogue, "Bush lied", "No war for oil", etc. Because of this, and because Bush has not been as responsive to his base as he should have been, not only are his enemies ("the smile in your face" back-stabbers like Hillary and her friends) saying these things, but even his friends (Republicans) are either distancing themselves from him or at the very least not fighting back when these things are said.
It was high time for Bush to start fighting back when he made the speech last week, saying the folks I'm talking about here were "deeply irresponsible". Of course he was being too kind. They are treasonous. Where are the others in the Republican Party when the president needs him? I'm not talking about blindly following the President's views on every decision. Heck, I applauded the membership when they criticized the Harriet Miers pick and I've been very critical of many things Bush has done and not done. To hear these hypocrits lie about Bush everyday and not at least try to set the record straight, though, is reprehensible! This is a time when the party membership must stand up for their leader and back him! Start pointing out the statements these people made during the Clinton administration, before the war and during the preparations for war. Remind the people that the intelligence was largely inherited from Clinton. Remind people that WMDs were found in Iraq and that Saddam probably spirited much of his cache in Iran and Syria before the war. Repeat these things as often as possible to as many news agencies as possible. Nothing is off limits when Senators are standing up in the senate and calling the President a liar. This behavior is unprecedented and requires strong admonition.
When the President was sporting a seventy percent approval rating, these Republicans would knock their mothers over in an effort to have their picture taken beside him. With the poll numbers down now, do any of them have the balls to stand up for him when he needs them?
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