This was then...the GOP double standard
Remember when, back during the days of the Clinton Presidency, American forces were involved in U.S. campaigns in Kosovo and Iraq? Listening to Republicans today, we hear that it's unpatriotic to criticize the war in Iraq. By opposing the war and favoring a withdrawal and a timeline for leaving, we're "playing partisan politics".
It's an absurd argument, but let's jump past that for a momemnt. Here's the icing on the cake: read these statements from Republicans who criticized President Clinton for directing U.S. forces into military campaigns abroad:
Who's playing partisan politics? It's the GOP.
Where's the skepticism and cynicism towards Bush's actions abroad? It doesn't exist. It's difficult to find Republicans who don't wholeheartedly support the war.
How ironic is it all? Well, just take Santorum's quote...and replace Clinton's name:
"President Bush is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
That's right - unjustified preemptive warfare does not make for a sound foreign policy. The Bush administration is destroying the fiscal health of this nation by wasting billions upon billions of dollars in the debacle that is the Iraq conflict.
The adminisration refuses to plan for a resolution to the conflict, which leaves us mired in Iraq for the forseeable future, until we get a change of leadership.
It is time to bring our troops home. We do not have to abandon Iraq completely, but we need to conceptualize a plan for leaving, and execute it! And if Bush will not lead, then the Congress must.
If we Democrats retake Congress in 2006, one of the things we must do is to refuse to put a single penny more into Iraq until Bush produces a withdrawal plan. And if he ultimately won't, the Congress should approve a budget that includes money for leaving but not continued operations, and force Bush to veto it.
The Republicans are good at campaigning and winning elections and terrible at governing. They are the party of double standards. They love to accuse us of "playing partisan politics", but oddly enough, that seems to be the only thing they're good at.
All we need to do is simply become better at telling voters what we stand for and show them that we share their priorities, and we'll get the sane governance America deserves.
It's an absurd argument, but let's jump past that for a momemnt. Here's the icing on the cake: read these statements from Republicans who criticized President Clinton for directing U.S. forces into military campaigns abroad:
"The suspicion some people have about the president's motives in this attack [on Iraq] is itself a powerful argument for impeachment," Armey said in a statement. "After months of lies, the president has given millions of people around the world reason to doubt that he has sent Americans into battle for the right reasons."Conservatives cannot deny it - these quotes are real.
- Rep. Dick Armey, former GOP Majority Leader
"It is obvious that they're (the Clinton White House) doing everything they can to postpone the vote on this impeachment in order to try to get whatever kind of leverage they can, and the American people ought to be as outraged as I am about it," Solomon said in an interview with CNN. Asked if he was accusing Clinton of playing with American lives for political expediency, Solomon said, "Whether he knows it or not, that's exactly what he's doing."
- Rep. Gerald Solomon (R - NY)
The foregoing review of the Clinton Administration's prevarications on Kosovo would not be complete without a brief look at one other possible factor in the deepening morass. Consider the following fictional situation: A president embroiled in a sex scandal that threatens to bring down his administration. He sees the only way out in distracting the nation and the world with a foreign military adventure. So, he orders his spin-doctors and media wizards to get to work. They survey the options, push a few buttons, and decide upon a suitable locale: Albania.
- Sen. Larry Craig, U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee
Paul Weyrich, a leading conservative activist, said Clinton's decision to bomb on the eve of the impeachment vote "is more of an impeachable offense than anything he is being charged with in Congress."
"I cannot support this military action in the Persian Gulf at this time. Both the timing and the policy are subject to question."
- former GOP Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott
"President Clinton is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
-Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
"No goal, no objective, not until we have those things and a compelling case is made, then I say, back out of it, because innocent people are going to die for nothing. That's why I'm against it."
-Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/5/99
"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy."
-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)
"You think Vietnam was bad? Vietnam is nothing next to Kosovo."
-Tony Snow, Fox News 3/24/99
"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"
-Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99
"Bombing a sovereign nation for ill-defined reasons with vague objectives undermines the American stature in the world. The international respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly."
-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)
Who's playing partisan politics? It's the GOP.
Where's the skepticism and cynicism towards Bush's actions abroad? It doesn't exist. It's difficult to find Republicans who don't wholeheartedly support the war.
How ironic is it all? Well, just take Santorum's quote...and replace Clinton's name:
"President Bush is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
That's right - unjustified preemptive warfare does not make for a sound foreign policy. The Bush administration is destroying the fiscal health of this nation by wasting billions upon billions of dollars in the debacle that is the Iraq conflict.
The adminisration refuses to plan for a resolution to the conflict, which leaves us mired in Iraq for the forseeable future, until we get a change of leadership.
It is time to bring our troops home. We do not have to abandon Iraq completely, but we need to conceptualize a plan for leaving, and execute it! And if Bush will not lead, then the Congress must.
If we Democrats retake Congress in 2006, one of the things we must do is to refuse to put a single penny more into Iraq until Bush produces a withdrawal plan. And if he ultimately won't, the Congress should approve a budget that includes money for leaving but not continued operations, and force Bush to veto it.
The Republicans are good at campaigning and winning elections and terrible at governing. They are the party of double standards. They love to accuse us of "playing partisan politics", but oddly enough, that seems to be the only thing they're good at.
All we need to do is simply become better at telling voters what we stand for and show them that we share their priorities, and we'll get the sane governance America deserves.
