Harry Reid reply to Bush speech

[WilliamPitt]

Received via email:

REID STATEMENT ON BUSH IRAQ SPEECH

Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following statement:

(Washington, DC) ³Tonight¹s address offered the President an excellent
opportunity to level with the American people about the current situation in
Iraq, put forth a path for success, and provide the means to assess our
progress. Unfortunately he fell short on all counts.

³There is a growing feeling among the American people that the President¹s
Iraq policy is adrift, disconnected from the reality on the ground and in
need of major mid-course corrections. ³Staying the course,² as the
President advocates, is neither sustainable nor likely to lead to the
success we all seek.

³The President¹s numerous references to September 11th did not provide a way
forward in Iraq, they only served to remind the American people that our
most dangerous enemy, namely Osama bin Laden, is still on the loose and Al
Qaeda remains capable of doing this nation great harm nearly four years
after it attacked America.

³Democrats stand united and committed to seeing that we achieve success in
Iraq and provide our troops, their families, and our veterans everything
they need and deserve for their sacrifices for our nation. The stakes are
too high, and failure in Iraq cannot be an option. Success is only possible
if the President significantly alters his current course. That requires the
President to work with Congress and finally begin to speak openly and
honestly with our troops and the American people about the difficult road
ahead.

³Our troops and their families deserve no less.²

[BayouBengal07]

1. Ohhh, I like it

"³The President¹s numerous references to September 11th did not provide a way
forward in Iraq, they only served to remind the American people that our
most dangerous enemy, namely Osama bin Laden, is still on the loose and Al
Qaeda remains capable of doing this nation great harm nearly four years
after it attacked America."

Niiiiice...

[FreedomAngel82]

3. My favorite part

The democrats are on the ball with replying tonight!

[lonestarnot]

26. Oh yeah! We're on it tonight!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. I liked, "Unfortunately he fell short on all counts." Nice one!

[ailsagirl]

2. Thanks for posting this

[Hand]

4. It's been said before and will be said again. However...

GIVE 'EM HELL, HARRY!!!!

:toast: :yourock: :applause:

Damn, it feels good to say that! :loveya:

[Snotcicles]

16. He should have add with all the

war time profiteering coming to light it now looks apparent not only was Iraq being looted, but this administration opened the vault door of the American Tax payers. America has a cancer and major surgery is needed. The tumor must be removed. The same old therapy is not working.

[KoKo]

5. I don't think he made it clear that Osama doesn't have ties to Iraq,

though. I guess he assumes his audience knows. :-( Sort of typical Harry Reid...but then I'm kind of biased...Think he's too hesitant in his speech. Guess this is good, if folks liked it.

Read North Carolina Party Chair Jerry Meek's "welcome to Bush" if you want to read an address that gets to the heart of what we wanted to hear from Bush. It's on DU's homepage, now...but here's the speech if you don't want to bother:

----------------------------

NC Democratic Party Chair Welcomes Bush to North Carolina

Raleigh--North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek made the following statement concerning President Bush's speech at Fort Bragg tonight:

"As Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, I welcome George Bush to North Carolina and to my home county, Cumberland County. Maybe during this trip, North Carolinians will finally get some honest answers.

"Maybe he'll tell us the real reasons we went to war and if the administration ever had a plan for winning the peace. Maybe he'll tell us how long we can expect to be in Iraq and how much we'll spend beyond the $200 billion we've already spent. Perhaps he'll tell us why Osama Bin Ladin -- the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks -- is still at large and never mentioned by his administration. Maybe he'll tell us why he pushed through tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans while our troops lack the armor they need to protect themselves. Maybe he'll explain why his 2006 budget slashes local impact funding -- money used by military communities across North Carolina to educate the children of our men and women in uniform. Maybe he'll finally tell us why thousands of North Carolina's veterans are on waiting lists to receive health care from the Veterans' Administration. Maybe he'll explain why he talks tough on homeland defense, yet refuses to adequately fund first responders -- the police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical providers upon whom we will rely in the event of future terrorist attacks. Maybe he'll tell us why, at a time when oil money funds so many terrorist activities, he has no plan to eliminate America's dependence on foreign oil, by working to build an economy based upon alternative, sustainable sources of energy.

"While we are unwavering in our support for our men in women in harm's way, their Commander-in-Chief's leadership is lacking.

"Yes, Mr. President. Welcome to North Carolina. North Carolinians are eager for honest answers."

Link to DNC Website for source of speech:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/06/nc_democratic_p.php

[AX10]

6. Good PR. Very balanced and statesman like.

[stevietheman]

8. MoveOn making it easy to write letters to the editor

MoveOn is making it easy to write letters to the editor re: Bush's speech... go to http://www.moveonpac.org/lte/?lte_campaign_id=23

Here's the letter I composed:

"With nothing new in his speech, and an apparent attempt to restate the same old things now known by a majority of American people to be outright lies, who does this President think he's kidding?

It's now time for a phased withdrawal of our troops. It's time to start withdrawing and also thinking of a new plan to make amends to Iraq and the entire world for our naked aggression. Let's be clear: Our nation did wrong. However, despite possibly being called a "Blame America First" person, people like me are really "blaming the Bush administration first". Bush and his cohorts committed horrific wrongs in our name!

We the people are not stupid. We know Bush shifted the rationale time and time again regarding why we went to Iraq, before and after the conflict began. We know the Bush administration fixed the intelligence around their pro-war policy before approval from Congress. And we know that the Bush administration and the Blair government began bombing campaigns well before Congress took up the war resolution.

The only acceptable speech from Bush at this time would be to apologize to the Iraqi people, the American people, and the entire world for what wasn't merely poor judgment, but outright lies and most likely, war crimes."

[AlwaysQuestion]

9. What?! Run that by me again, Mr. Reid

Good grief. Is that all there is?

American and British kids are dying over there and thousands of Iraqis are dead or living a pitiful existence--all on account of exceedingly flawed American foreign policy before and after the invasion of Iraq. And Mr. Reid can only utter effetisms such as "adrift" and phrases such as "nor likely to lead to the
success we all seek." C'mon, adrift? No, Mr. Reid, Junior's policy is not adrift; it can be plainly tracked and it's criminal. And please, sir, what the hell kind of success are you referring to that "we all seek"? How would you identify "success." How would you recognize it? What success are you talking about? Iraqi capitulation? Withdrawl of troops? What's "failure"? Cut the double-speak and clue the American people in. Cut the crap and talk to the electorate as if you believed them to be intelligent beings. Speak, man, speak.

Sorry, but all this gentleman has done is throw some words on a sheet of paper hoping that by some fluke they might land on the page as complete sentences with meaning. Oooooo, now that's a concept. Mr. Reid..........hel....looooo, anyone home?

Obviously not.

What I want to know is where are the American orators who could have given Bush a run for his money. Those are the ladies and gentlemen I want to hear provide a substantive debate or comment--not some third rate speaker who couldn't possibly qualify to be part of any American college's debate team.

[MadisonProgressive]

18. Holy crappola! Yes, where are the inspiring speakers?

[sandnsea]

23. Where's the Canadian orators?

Haven't heard many of them around.

Plenty of people have more than given Bush a run for his money. If you honestly give a shit about Iraq, go find the words of Feingold, Clark, Kerry, Kennedy, just about ANYBODY, and spread that instead of this lame bullshit.

[AlwaysQuestion]

29. Oooooo, did we hit a nerve?

Huh? Maybe I misunderstood. I thought we were critiquing Reid's response to Bush's speech this evening. Perhaps you can explain to me why the democrats didn't choose a more suitable orator to make the response. Do you think you might be just a tad touchy. Try to keep in mind that according to many of your countrymen you guys are the best in the world at just about anything you care to mention. If indeed this is so, why the need for such defensiveness? But if perhaps you have your doubts then I can certainly appreciate why you're taking the offensive. Not to worry. We here in Canada are used to skewering our politicians--with gay abandon I might add. It's a Canadian sport, but then we don't hold up our politicians as icons to be protected from criticism. We actually open our eyes and ears and see them for what they are. And what we see too often doesn't impress us much. And I confess we're not all that keen about your crop of politicians either.

But I go to your question about where our the Canadian orators are. Actually, it's a good question. Trudeau used to be good, as was leftist Tommy Douglas. Harper's not bad but then I don't agree with his politics. If you want orators who speak exquisite English, go direct to the U.K. Overall, they are bar none, the best. But then again, English is THEIR language!! They OWN it. You don't happen to remember how George Galloway successfully went for the jugular of one of your senators--masterful to be sure.

[sandnsea]

31. Oh, so it's skewer Reid time

Just Canadian fun and games, is that it? Kind of like ranting about the US environmental policy while mowing down your own virgin forests? If we waited around for Canada to do anything about Bush, we'd be waiting a long damned time.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[GiovanniC]

40. That's Out of Line

And I think you damn well know it.

[Telly Savalas]

41. What the fuck?

[AlwaysQuestion]

30. Oooooo, did we hit a nerve?

Huh? Maybe I misunderstood. I thought we were critiquing Reid's response to Bush's speech this evening. Perhaps you can explain to me why the democrats didn't choose a more suitable orator to make the response. Do you think you might be just a tad touchy. Try to keep in mind that according to many of your countrymen you guys are the best in the world at just about anything you care to mention. If indeed this is so, why the need for such defensiveness? But if perhaps you have your doubts then I can certainly appreciate why you're taking the offensive. Not to worry. We here in Canada are used to skewering our politicians--with gay abandon I might add. It's a Canadian sport, but then we don't hold up our politicians as icons to be protected from criticism. We actually open our eyes and ears and see them for what they are. And what we see too often doesn't impress us much. And I confess we're not all that keen about your crop of politicians either.

But I go to your question about where our Canadian orators are. Alas, I'm not familiar with many today. Still, it was a good question notwithstanding that your tactic of asking the question in the context you asked it doesn't make for good debate. Still, I'll answer it. Trudeau used to be good, as was leftist Tommy Douglas. Harper's not bad but then I don't agree with his politics. If you want orators who speak exquisite English, go direct to the U.K. Overall, they are bar none, the best. But then again, English is THEIR language!! They OWN it. You don't happen to remember how George Galloway successfully went for the jugular of one of your senators--masterful to be sure.

[paparush]

10. It was a F#cking Death Pep Rally!

It was disgusting, sickening, worthless...Bush** is up there practically begging kids to join the military.

[madeline_con]

11. Kickin' it up a notch!

:kick:

[madeline_con]

12. Kickin' it up a notch!

:kick:

edit DUPE!

Anyone else having trouble tonight?

[paparush]

13. dup

[spanone]

14. Thank you Harry & Will.

[Algomas]

15. This is his best shot?

"Failure in Iraq cannot be an option"
Where the hell is the opposition party in this country. I hear this shit and it just makes me so sad. All the blood spilled in the creation of this great country was for nothing. We are headed right back to square one and there is nobody with the courage to dump the tea into the harbor.
We are going out with a whimper and it is pathetic.

[eridani]

35. WTF is "failure"? WTF is "success"?

That's the whole damned problem--no honest operational definitions.

If "success" is fulfilment of the PNAC plan to plant permanent bases there, I say fuck it. So does John Kerry, at least according to his email yesterday.

If "success" is avoiding a civil war and paying reparations for the harm we've done, I could go for that.

[understandinglife]

17. Simple question, my fellow Americans, "Why is Bu$h not already in prison?"

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Raiden]

19. Go Harry, Go!

Right On!!

[savemefromdumbya]

20. Average American family still duped by Bush and his 9/11 propaganda

How many times do we have to tell the misinformed Repub. voters (Bush has even said it himself) - there was no link to 9/11 with Iraq.

[lonestarnot]

27. Well rednecks are slow... what can I say...git 'er done... n all.

[Erika]

21. He's making a subtle reference if Bush can't win Iraq and

Afghanistan, he certainly can't keep us safe from terrorists.

He's now pretty well given OBL everything OBL had hoped for on 9/11. The Bushies are just now starting to realize it.

[Voltaire99]

22. Er, no, Reid. We don't "stand united" for "success" in Iraq.

Speak for your own Bush-lite, cliche-mongering, pro-war ass. We are for leaving Iraq.

Observe carefully, DUers, the manner in which the party leadership advocates essentially the same policy as the Bushies: interminable war.

Even in the face of growing majorities who oppose it!

"Failure is not an option." Good lord! Half-baked Tom Clancy dialogue--is this what passes for a party leader these days?

[JHBowden]

24. I'm starting to think the same thing.

I'm not against all military action, but my patience with this continued occupation is nearing an end.

[sandnsea]

25. NO, most Americans aren't

First, the Democratic Party DOES NOT stand for the same policy as the Bushies AT ALL; and it's those kind of stupid ignorant comments that leave people feeling confused or helpless to confront Bush and demand change. Or maybe that's your plan.

Second, 80% of Americans DON'T support just up and leaving Iraq and nobody but NOBODY has laid out a plan to do that either. So YOU should speak for your Green Socialist self and quit pretending to give a rat's ass about the Democratic party leadership because you aren't and never were a Democrat.

[lonestarnot]

28. Absolutely... Should be the fastest Pull=out in history... no pun intended

[Disturbed]

33. Agreement

There is a consensus on Iraq by the Dems and Repubs that get the most Corp money. Stay in Iraq until the oil is gone.

[Swamp Rat]

36. Stay the course... obey... procreate... consume...

[dxstone]

37. Oooohh...

NICE new one, Rat!...
d

[dxstone]

38. I don't know...

Sounds like another flat, flaccid response from one of our head dems again...
YAWN... how tepid can ya get?

See my post on how Nancy Pelosi was KICKING ASS on NBC right after the butch-babble at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3974064

We need more women stirrin' up the pot up there!... these guys just don't seem to have the balls for the work, imho!
d

[Tinoire]

39. failure in Iraq cannot be an option? Democrats stand united & committed?

Sheesh.

These guys are so totally out of touch, you have to wonder who they're really representing. Nobody can be that dim.

[Strawman]

42. I have to agree with you

I have liked alot of what Harry Reid has done so far, but I can't stand behind the obsession with "winning" and "saving face" in Iraq. The war was an immoral undertaking sold to the public on a bunch of lies. Our continued presence there is counterproductive to our own security and provides fuel to the insurgency in Iraq, further destabilizing that country. The reality is we are doomed to fail, we have no business being there, it's *'s fault, and our troops should no longer be asked to sacrifice their lives for the magical thinking that says if we just "stay the course" and keep doing what we're doing, or everything will be ok. That fantasy world also includes the idea that this war can be "won" under Democratic leadership. It can't. That's a lie too. Time to get the fuck out of there.

[Tinoire]

43. I'm disappointed in Reid

I don't know him as well as I know some others but I was disappointed. I had a different vision of him. I like the way you summed that up...