McConnell rips Obama's 'flowery' security speech

[BlueJessamine]

Source: The Hill

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday called President Obama’s national security address “a big flowery campaign speech” that lacked specifics and put politics over security.

Speaking to a Senate press conference, McConnell (Ky.) suggested Obama was ignoring the Bush administration’s success in preventing a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and was dangerously close to putting his overseas popularity over America’s security.

“With all due respect to the president, what we need is not a speech but a plan,” McConnell said. “The plan is what was clearly missing from the speech today. What is driving this issue, in my view, is a quest for popularity in Europe more than continuing policies that have demonstrably made America safe since 9/11. Clearly these policies and practices worked.”

McConnell, more than any other Republican, led the charge that resulted in Wednesday’s 90-6 Senate vote against giving the administration funds to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The minority leader spoke out on the issue nearly 20 times over the past two months, leading a coordinated GOP strategy that eventually forced Democrats to backpedal over the issue of the funds.


Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/mcconnell-rips-obamas-flowery-national-security-speech-2009-05-21.html

[ShortnFiery]

1. Mitch McChin-less is irrelevant.

:eyes:

[bluedeminredstate]

3. He looks like a cabbagepatch kid.

And he sucks and blows at the same time.

[Catshrink]

4. Nope. He's Yertle the Turtle

[opihimoimoi]

2. Nit Picking Bully using the Disparage Card...typical move...make Negative comments

and watch...

Thats what Bullies do

Make troubles...

Fuck the Country First shit...these Pubs their POWER Back....no matter the cost....even though they gamble with their credibilty...

and LOST....

[JuniperLea]

5. Lacked specifics?

Oh, brother! He was incredibly specific! What an ass this joker is.

[Wapsie B]

6. So when does the media finally start ignoring the LOSERS?

Step aside Mitch baby.

[Judi Lynn]

7. You'd think someone like Mitch McConnell would go easy on people not blessed by nature

at birth, wouldn't you? After all, Mitch, not all of us are as perfect as you.

http://www.ditchmitchky.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/mitch-mcconnell-white-tux3.jpg http://dvmx.com.nyud.net:8090/mitch_mcconnell_leader.jpg

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.nyud.net:8090/archive/236/images/photo2/3843/original/original.jpg

Mitch, stop hiding those beautiful lips!

[CHIMO]

8. Dick Cheney's dangerous game

There are two issues at play in the intense, fascinating and potentially very dangerous debate taking place between President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Obama wants to move people beyond fear. "If we continue to make decisions from within a climate of fear," he said, "we will make more mistakes." Are the American people up to this? More to the point – and more depressing to consider – are Washington politicians? We will find out as this debate plays out.

In either case, this argument is a long way from being settled. Cheney will see to that. He'll stir the pot the moment he sees the contents settling. But he's really pushing it.

Let's cut to the chase: If, God forbid, there is another terrorist attack on America, Cheney has with this speech ensured that rather than uniting behind the sitting administration – as conservatives insisted we all must do eight years ago – this country will be torn in two. That's a very toxic and dangerous game, and it certainly won't make for a stronger country. Now who's playing politics with national security?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2009/may/21/obama-cheney-guantanamo-torture

[riverdeep]

12. I said at the time I was watching the Cheney speech,

that what we are seeing here is unprecedented. I have never in my lifetime seen a recently dethroned administration so blatantly and thoroughly blasting the new administration. It wasn't just minor critique, it was full on assault. The more I thought about it the angrier I got. Then I realized he's probably going to walk away scott-free, and that's when my head exploded. I now have no head.

[madamesilverspurs]

9. McConnell probably didn't even listen to Obama's speech.

Likely had his little snippet written ahead of time.

He's a one-man schmuckfest.

[elleng]

10. Heard some of his blather, wherein he dumps

on our European allies. Such a smart man. x(

'chief' repug spokesman thinks we don't need allies, apparently. We should KEEP this one as an indication of repug 'thinking.'

[MasonJar]

11. Mitch is a waste of space. Believe me I know; he has been (allegedly)

my Senator for way too many years...i.e. however many he has been there. I have thankfully lost count.

[The Wizard]

13. Now if Mitch

would only disclose the details of his premature departure from the army. Something about getting caught giving someone hand relief in the shower.

[gratuitous]

14. "Flowery"?

What's the matter, Mitch? Not enough "PH34R!!!" for your taste? You weren't wetting your pants in fright? I know that's how you and your buddies around the campfire roll, scaring each other with scary tales of terrorists. Go look at yourself in the mirror and hold the flashlight under your face. You'll get all scared, wet yourself, and things will be okay again.

Yerk.

[riverdeep]

15. Notice the language?

Mitch didn't write this rebuttal. None of them do. The talking points are written centrally and then distributed to make sure everyone, everywhere says the same thing, to 'create' a reality. He uses the word 'flowerey' and then references 'Europe'. Now, in the conservative's mind, these two things represent femininity, which represents weakness. It's subtle, but that's how it works. He's not going to come out and say 'Obama's a big Euro-fag!', but that's the subtext.

As far as what worked, even this article from Politico says otherwise:

CHENEY: “The intelligence officers who questioned the terrorists can be proud of their work and proud of the results, because they prevented the violent death of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people.”

The reality: This assertion can’t be verified based on the current record. And it may ultimately be unknowable.

Cheney didn’t cite any specific plots that were disrupted by aggressive interrogations. Bush did describe some in a speech in 2005. However, critics immediately seized on that address for portraying some fantastical plots as realistic. Also at least one major plot Bush claimed was “disrupted,” a plan to attack the Library Tower in Los Angeles, only came to the U.S.’s attention after plotters had been picked up abroad.

Cheney is seeking the release of CIA reports that purport to show information gained from the so-called enhanced interrogations. But the fact that suspects gave up information after harsh questioning doesn’t definitively preclude the possibility that they might have given up information through less physical forms of interrogation – which is one of Obama’s central points.

("Just the Facts")
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22831.html

Put aside that most salient intelligence was given up BEFORE interrogation, and it's still ridiculous to claim that he kept us safer. Conservatives love to point out how Bill Clinton really caused 911 because he did nothing about terrorism. Well, guess what? The case here is that the war on terror, the way it's been run, especially the decision to go into Iraq, has created more terrorists than ever before. The odds of a future attack, have increased not decreased thanks to Cheney.

[Vehl]

16. oh god...republicans talking about having "plans"

weren't these the same who came up with a children's pictorial of 20 pages when asked for a alternate economic model/plan?


lol

[Honeycombe8]

17. I guess it's flowery because O didn't use the word misunderestimate?

hahahahahahaha!

They wish they had an orator (and someone with a brain) in their party. Guess that's why they dragged out Cheney from his undisclosed location; at least Cheney can put a sentence together.

They're so jealous, it's almost embarrassing, watcing them flail around, not knowing how to deal with someone like Obama.

:evilgrin: