The Charlotte Observer has a great piece today by Jim Morrill and David Perlmutt with feedback on "the surge" from most of North Carolina's elected officials in Washington. Surprisingly, Republicans Howard Coble and Walter Jones are consistent in their opposition to the war and have come out against the President's, as yet, unannounced plan.
Opposing the President on Iraq isn't new for Walter Jones or Howard Coble, though Jones has received more attention for his reversal. Mother Jones magazine ran a piece in Feb. '06 by Robert Dreyfuss outlining the events that brought about Jones' "conversion" from a pro-war to an anti-war Republican.
There aren't many anti-war Republicans. According to the Observer article, Jones and Coble were only joined by two other congressional Republicans in sending a letter to the President encouraging him not to send more troops. Of course, that doesn't mean that every other Republican will support the plan, but after six years of rubberstamping and lapdogging I intend to expect the worst from them.
I won't steal all of The Observer's glory (or their work), but I will share a few quotes. Make sure you stop in to read the entire piece.
From Elizabeth Dole:
In Congress, some Republicans offered cautious support. "I am certainly not alone in saying that I am not satisfied with the current situation in Iraq," GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina said. "But I strongly believe that we must win."
Oh, Liddy, and that works because all along we've had such a clear definition of what "winning" means.
From BlueNC's very own favorite, Robin Hayes:
Rep. Robin Hayes, a Concord Republican, said he supports a buildup that forces Iraqis to bolster their own defense."The Iraqis themselves need to step up their commitment to securing their own country," he said, "and (I) want to see a plan that uses our troops to ensure this happens at a faster pace."
Flipper, Flipper, Flipper! Just how is this accomplished? It's one thing to say it, but where is the plan? Oh wait, I forgot, you do have a new plan. All our boys and girls will be carrying their Bibles, crosses and pictures of Jesus.
My friend Working for Change has said C-Span will have the best coverage and may have an open microphone like they did after the State of the Union last year. No talking heads, but plenty of pushback.
Comments
Once again you are sharing a mind with someone else.
I'm glad to see that our Congressmen are against the escalation, however, that still doesn't mean they are on the right side, n'est-ce pas?
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it.
- Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
If you knew how many pieces I've trashed this week......
tired of wasting my time.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
Similar the piece Thomas wrote
but with a little more to it, so going to leave it up for now.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
absolutely leave it up. why not, more the merrier.
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it.
- Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
And it's such an important issue
We need more discussion. I happened to see glimpses of the talking heads yesterday on CNN and MSNBC and you would hardly know that only 12% of the population favor what we know of the Bush plan.
All I heard was win/lose rhetoric (as in escalation means win, anything else means lose). From their attitudes you wouldn't know that Saddam is out of power (much less dead). You would think we were uncovering WMDs every day (not that they were never there). And viewers without memories would have no idea that this administration fought like hell for years to keep the troop numbers down against all advice.
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.” So enjoy the Drama.
We must have been watching different MSNBC's
I spent the better part of yesterday on the couch in the living room, attempting to drive off whatever bug this is in my head. When I wasn't vegging out to Prime Time in the Daytime, I had MSNBC on. I heard a lot of Talking Heads trashing the Prez's alleged plan. All a matter of perspective, I guess.
What really bothers me, though, is so many of the politicians who were for the attack, for the war, are now saying things along the lines of "This isn't our war. The Iraqis have to do something about their civil war."
Ummmm....and just how did that civil war start? No one will acknowledge that this is our fault. The US invaded Iraq.
::rant off::: sorry. must be the drugs.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
I hope you feel better
Lots of folks sick this year and while a lot of it isn't serious it sure is tough to shake and that "hit by a truck" feeling stinks.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
Thanks, SD
Hit by a truck just about describes how I've felt for the week. Ugh.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
I was in and out all day
I'm glad it wasn't as bad as what I saw. Pat Buchanan was amazing to behold.
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.” So enjoy the Drama.
Buchanan!
What a joke! There were definitely some Bushite kool-aid drinkers talking, but I was impressed with the balance I saw.
Tonight should be interesting.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
I'm trying to decide
if it's best (for my blood pressure) to ignore the mainstream media altogether (particularly broadcast). Or should a well-informed person keep up with what multi-national corporations want the multitudes to think/know?
I do admire your bravery to have stomached a whole day of it. And it's slightly encouraging to learn there was actually some balance . . .
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.” So enjoy the Drama.
I switched between news and Judging Amy
But really, it's best if you make a drinking game of it.
Every time a republican says "new way forward" or something that sounds like it, take a drink.
Every time a democrat (or other responsible individual) calls them on their b.s., raise your glass in salutation, and take a drink.
As for Bush's speech, every time he makes that little frown - you know, the one that makes him look constipated, take a drink. Every time he wets his lips with his nasty little tongue, take a drink.
You'll get through it just fine.
For a really good time, play the game watching Faux News. :)
Of course, it works best if your beverage is some sort of fermented adult drink, but I suppose it could work with kool-aid just as well.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
And meanwhile in a firefight in Iraq!
hey pop! Im doing good..crazy here got some good video for you I will send it to
you as soon as get better internet service. Ive been doing some cool shit
..stuff I never thought I would do !! I got transfered to th 1st Calvery D I
like it better tell u more more later..Im ok just tired as hell..ill send ya
more emails later Gotta run for now ...And GMTFOH. love XXXX
Robin "alzheimer" Hayes
As i said before, the dude is going off the deep end. Now he believes in having Iraqi's do more of the work by sending more of our guys in?
Dear Robin, does that make any sense?
Hellooooo???? (echo)
Left on 49
Cabarrus Democrats
Yeah....but Iraqi's will step up
because they know the story of Jesus' birth.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
Oh...and I should clarify
Both Coble and Jones voted for the war.....by "consistent in opposition to the war" I meant.....more recent opposition. I get in the "they'll know what I'm talking about so I don't have to explain myself - mode" I'm so used to you folks being able to read my mind after a year, I fail to fully explain myself at times. I"ll have to watch that.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
Coble's position on the War
Coble was the first GOP congressman to publicly express concern about the lack of a "post-entry strategy" in Iraq. Since January of 2004, he has called for troop withdrawal to be "on the table" when discussing options for Iraq. However, he does not believe it can be accomplished quickly. In October of 2006, he stated:
I will be curious to see if Coble holds to the party line - which he has done 95% of the time - or if he will support his Democratic colleagues when and if they begin to scrutinize the budget for Iraq and consider limits on the number of troops that can be deployed there.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
I really was surprised to see the two holding their own
I thought there might be some pressure applied to bring them into the fold so to speak. It will be interesting to watch.
I'm watching tonight's speech on C-span. I hope they do have "open mic night" so we can get some pushback from our favorite reps.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.