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The LiberalOasis Blog DON'T STAND FOR THE LIES: Help Dems fight back. The DNC says every dollar donated by midnight will be matched. Give now. August 31, 2004 PERMALINK [In] the first week of the administration, Dr. [Condi] Rice asked for the ideas that [Richard] Clarke had in mind, or the previous policies of the previous administration. But we wanted to go beyond that. We didn't feel it was sufficient to simply roll back al Qaeda. We pursued a policy to eliminate al Qaeda. I don't think you can win it [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world -- let's put it that way. [Emphasis added in both above quotes] Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos have already noted that Bush's proclamation that we can't win the war on terror is a massive flip-flop from all the times he said we would. John Kerry's blog did too, and John Edwards led an aggressive Dem response to capitalize on it, saying, "This is no time to declare defeat." (which seems to have helped shape some media coverage.) On CNN, Bush surrogates in the convention hall were tied up in knots trying to spin their way out of this. For example, here's WH Communications Director Dan Bartlett, talking with Wolf Blitzer and Judy Woodruff: BARTLETT: When he said we can't win "it," what he is saying is that this, "it," Al Qaeda, is not a conventional enemy, not one that's going to sign up to a treaty and say we surrender. What he's talking about is we've got to get to the root causes on the war on terror. And that's what spreading freedom and hope and liberty is all about. WOODRUFF: But when he was asked that almost identical question on CNN just a few weeks ago, the same question, can the war on terror be won, he said absolutely it can be won. BARTLETT: That's what I'm saying. WOODRUFF: So which is it? BARTLETT: Exactly... Of course, you can read the original Bush quote above and know he was not merely saying the war could not be won by conventional means. He was saying it could not be truly won. The comment must have been made too late for Rudy and McCain to strip out lines like these from their convention speeches: GIULIANI: When President Bush announced his commitment to ending global terrorism... GIULIANI: We will see an end to global terrorism. I can see it. I believe it. McCAIN: My friends in the Democratic Party...assure us they share the conviction that winning the war against terrorism is our government's most important obligation. I don't doubt their sincerity...And they should not doubt ours. But now we have even more reason to doubt Bush's sincerity, based on his own revealing unscripted words. They are more than just a flip-flop. They reveal why Bush shifted resources away from fighting Al Qaeda and into Iraq. They reveal why Bush's so-called democracy initiative actually props up friendly dictators with taxpayer dollars. Because deep down, the Bushies don't believe you can end terror, and don't believe you should spread freedom. Hell, they don't even believe in really going after terrorist organizations. They believe "state sponsors" like Iraq (and Iran) are the real game, still not accepting what non-state terror groups can accomplish on their own. They only believe in the power of the military to push bloodshed elsewhere ("Our military is confronting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and in other places so our people will not have to confront terrorist violence in New York, or St. Louis, or Los Angeles.") And even then, only most of the time. ("You can never protect against every attack of terrorists, you just can't.") Which also explains why they don't bother to spend what it takes to secure our borders, ports, and cargo. They don't believe in comprehensive strategies that cover offense and defense -- military, economic, and political. They believe a military component is enough to (brace yourself, Iraq War lovers) "contain" radical Islamic terror. They mocked the notion of "rolling back" Al Qaeda when they needed a talking point to smear Richard Clarke. But at their core, they are gloomy Hobbesian pessimists, and a roll back is the best they think can be accomplished. John Kerry is not one of them. And since the Right always accuses Dems and liberals of appeasing terrorists and given them incentive to attack (as was implicitly done last night), it is fair to ask: Is telling the terrorists they can't truly be defeated showing the dreaded weakness that you always insist they feast upon? QUICK HIT So Many Lies, So Little Time Allow LO to debunk just one of the lies and distortions Rudy slung at Kerry last night. In Rudy's flip-flop rant (geared towards peeling off some Jewish vote for the GOP), he said: In October of 2003 he told an Arab-American Institute in Detroit that a security barrier separating Israel from the Palestinian Territories was a "barrier to peace." OK. Then a few months later, he took exactly the opposite position. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post he said, "Israel's security fence is a legitimate act of self defense." But here's what the Jerusalem Post reported this past February: Sources inside the Kerry campaign said Kerry's position on the fence was misconstrued after the October speech. While he has objected to the route of the fence – as has Bush – Kerry has never opposed Israel's right to build the barrier for security reasons, they said. When Kerry said, "We don't need another barrier to peace," he meant a barrier that deviates from the Green Line and makes peace talks harder, the sources added. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said he sees no contradiction between Kerry's two statements... ...Steve Rabinowitz, a Democratic strategist in Washington, said he sees no contradiction. "Kerry's position is no different from Bush's," he said. August 30, 2004 PERMALINK See if you can figure out what Dubya's position is on so-called independent 527 groups, from what transpired on the Sunday shows. Here's Sen. John McCain on CBS' Face The Nation: If we can get the Democrats to join us [Bush and McCain] … that we will force these 527s -- not to be banned, not to be outlawed -- but live under the same rules that everybody else does. In other words, they should [funded by] hard money contributions, the same campaign contribution limitations that all of us have. And for pundits to say, "We're suppressing free speech," speak all you want to but play by the same rules as everybody else has. Basically, McCain says that the Bush position is it's the unlimited, unregulated soft money contributions that's the problem with 527s. And if they were solely funded with hard money -- contributions with limits from individuals -- that'd be alright. But here's Sen. Bill Frist on Fox News Sunday: We ought to do what the president has called for. And that is to address 527s -- to get them off the table, out of the system. Hmmm. Either Frist or McCain must be wrong. Because George W. Bush would never, ever take a mushy, flip-floppy stance on an issue. Let see what Dubya said last Monday: I'm denouncing all the stuff being on TV of the 527s...I said this kind of unregulated soft money is wrong for the process. And I asked Senator Kerry to join me in getting rid of all that kind of soft money, not only on TV, but used for other purposes, as well. Well that sounds like what McCain thought, that it's the funding of 527s that's the issue. But wait, a little bit later in that press conference, Bush also said: I don't think we ought to have 527s. I can't be more plain about it. Right. Plain. Then three days later, he announced he would join McCain's lawsuit to ban activities funded by soft-money. So you can see how Frist and McCain each got their impression. Well then, what's Bush real position on 527s? Let's go to Sen. Russ Feingold for the answer. Looks like he revealed it on Friday to Wisconsin's Capital Times: Feingold said Bush tried to protect [527] groups when he signed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill two years ago... ...Bush told reporters last week that he didn't know the McCain-Feingold bill didn't cover 527 committees and he promised to work with...McCain...to limit their activities. [But] Feingold said Bush is "flat-out distorting the truth when he tries to pretend he thought the bill addressed 527s." He said Bush even objected to the bill's regulation of "phony issue ads," which look like regular campaign ads but don't tell voters directly to vote for or against a candidate. "So it is completely disingenuous for the president to now pretend -- as a way to protect himself against the criticism for the Swift boats -- that he somehow didn't know this."... ..."I'm glad the president has finally joined the fight. But the president didn't say a word about these 527s until it was a political problem for him, and that's just the reality," he said. [emphasis added] So Bush's position is merely that he'll hypocritically and disingenuously do whatever helps him at a given moment. That clears everything up. One more key 527 point. On FTN, McCain had this exchange with Time's Karen Tumulty about the soft money lawsuit: TUMULTY: But what good does going to court do? The court almost certainly will not act before the November election. In the meantime, these Swift Boat Veterans have $2 1/2 million they'll be putting on the air. George Soros has more than that. McCAIN: Yeah. I say, shame on you, Mr. Soros, and shame on all of the people who are funding these, both from the Republican side as well as the Democrat side. Well, shame on you McCain and Tumulty and most of the media. For not explaining that under the current law, after Sept. 2 (60 days before Election Day), 527s can't use soft money any more. So this is a moot point after Thursday. But what isn't a moot point is that the Swift Boat ads lie, and the Dem 527 ads don't. All politicians have a moral obligation to denounce slanderous ads. And even though soft money is a problem, they do not have an obligation to denounce ads simply for being funded as the current law allows. QUICK HITS Lies Lies Lies Yeah Here are the lies from the GOP surrogates that were completely unchecked by their interviewers yesterday. -- Gov. George Pataki, on ABC's This Week: President Bush has called for them all to stop, whether it's the Swift Boat Veterans, or MoveOn.org, that have spent tens of millions of dollars for months, distorting our President. And we haven't heard that from Senator Kerry. He criticizes the ones that attack him, but he's silent about the ones that attack the President. Apparently, this Kerry statement counts as silent: I agree with Senator McCain that the [MoveOn.org] ad [on Bush's National Guard service] is inappropriate. This should be a campaign of issues, not insults. -- Mayor Rudy Giuliani, on NBC's Meet The Press: You can't ignore the fact that President Bush did what no one else had done, which is to support stem cell research. As LiberalOasis noted earlier this month, it was Bill Clinton who signed the first executive order supporting stem cell research. -- And more Giuliani: I agree that John Kerry is a hero...I also think we shouldn't emphasize just those four months of his life, however. Uh, try four years. (See JohnKerry.com and Atrios) |
The Blog Wire MyDD has infiltrated the convention Polling Report posts new ICR poll, Kerry leads by 3 ("likely" voters, w/Nader), up 3 pts from 2 wks ago Truthout has a video interview of Code Pink's Medea Benjamin, who was briefly arrested today Air America's The Majority Report (7-10 PM ET) is live from The Tank, liberal Blog Central at the convention Skimble: CEOs at companies doing the most outsourcing get avg. raise of 46% Bush on Rush: I guess it depends on what your definition of "win" is Air America's Randi Rhodes (3-7 PM ET) has Del Sandusky, Scott Ritter and Rep. Chris Shays Blog For Victory reports from inside a Bush rally: "A rally ... that only draws 2500, with lots of empty seats? Makes you wonder." War and Piece: "Why are Larry Franklin's defenders trying to portray him as a desk grunt?" Cosmopolity is the go-to place for liberal blogs covering the convention from NYC************** REVIEWS "Among the best ways to [pay close attention to the grass roots] is logging onto Web sites like Liberal Oasis." "indispensable" "bloggeriffic" "something interesting" "quite well reasoned, almost scholarly" "one of the sharpest political minds around" "must-read liberal mega-site" "unsurpassed political commentary" "wonderful" "one of my many must-read-every-day sites" "it's what our site would be like [if we had] more time" "smart new weblog for us lefties" "always-excellent" "consistently interesting" "If you're one of the few who has not been to Liberal Oasis, get on over there for great blogging, sharp humor and activism" "It's like a freakin' candy store!" "Liberal Oasis is so good I ought to print it out and mail it to my Senators." "Excellent commentary" July 26, 2002 "Left-wing twits" "The parallel dimension in which supporters of Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein and various and sundry other shitheels live." "Pathetic site" July 29, 2002 |
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