Rush Auctions letter from Reid

[xrayzebra]

I don't think anyone honestly believed that the U.S. military would not handily defeat Saddam and his army, but the fact that they didn't anticipate or prepare for what happened next makes the architects of this war utter failures at their jobs.

You can gloss over all the numbers all you like, but not many people will agree with you that the cost of American lives was worth it.

OG, I don't think anyone likes the idea of any of our young
losing their lives. So lets get that out of the way right
off. But how do you measure what is worth how many
lives? For the person losing a love one, I don't know. I
have lost friends and relatives and nothing at the time
was worth it. But this war in Iraq has been so damn
politicized and the demonized and every other name or
brand you can put on it and so many untruths have
been told.....the really sad thing is what it has done to
this country. We are in a war with some folks that have
to look at us and wonder how they can lose. Really,
if you were on the other side looking in, wouldn't you
have to wonder? The enemy in VN recognized it and
they won. And look what happened here. One of the
ones who helped them win, John Kerry, run for
President and damn near won. And everyone knew
he told lies to the Congress. Doesn't that tell you
something. Because this man is a U.S. Senator.

[Yonivore]

What would her motive be to do this?

Power. The motivation of all great Socialists.

“The only way to make a difference is to acquire power”

You weren't bothered by her suggestion the government confiscate profits from oil companies to fund government welfare programs? Maybe not. But, oil companies and their stockholders (not all of whom are wealthy) were.

“I prefer a ‘we’re all in it together’ society,” she said. “I believe our government can once again work for all Americans. It can promote the great American tradition of opportunity for all and special privileges for none.”

“Fairness doesn’t just happen. It requires the right government policies.”

“It's time to replace an 'on your own' society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity”

and my personal favorite:

“Many of you are well enough off that [President Bush’s] tax cuts may have helped you. We’re saying that for America to get back on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We’re going to have to take things away from you on behlaf of the common good.”

Yeah, she's a socialist.

She's proposing a socialist health care plan she's wanting to take money from you and me and give it people just for being born.

[ChumpDumper]

Please.

No battle plan ever survived first contact with the enemy.

There hasn't been a war where military mistakes haven't been made.

Let's suggest the the U.S. had gone in with overwhelming force and Saddam Hussein had used Chemical or Biological weapons. That would have been a mistake that would have far outweighed the one you now about.

Huh? Why throw in one variable that absolutely didn't happen and wasn't within our control? What if the US had gone in with the originally planned force level and secured the entire country?

I think history will show that many of our supposed "allies," including France, Germany, Russia, and the venerable Secretary General of the U.N. were actively supporting the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein, under the table, in a manner that undermined our preparation and run up to the invasion.

But it really didn't. The sad truth is the very buildup to Iraq made the invasion of Iraq inevitable.

I think history will show that Saddam Hussein's regime was actively engaged with al Qaeda in an effort to bring about just what happened after his regime fell. And, if he wasn't, there were certainly elements of the Ba'athist regime that were. How else do you explain the complicity between former regime members and foreign al Qaedans that rushed into the vaccuum?

If you don't remember, we had Saddam Hussein in our custody for six months. If there was something to learn about a connection to Al Qaeda, why didn't we get it from Saddam himself?

I think history will show there were alot of forces arrayed against us in our invasion of Iraq and, that in spite of it all, we prevailed. Iran, Syria, al Qaeda, and Iraqi insquabbling all conspired to defeat us...but, we will, in the end prevail.

I think you're full of . We half-assed the invasion and quarter-assed the occupation and allowed all of problems to occur.

No, there have been much worse mistake made in previous conflicts that resulted in a much greater loss of life. We don't fault military commanders for not being able to predict the unpredictable or for wrongly choosing from a myriad of possible outcomes and setting a course.

We fault the politicians who made all the wrong decisions that ed over our military men and women. Their blood is on Bush & company's incompetent hands.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Power. The motivation of all great Socialists.



You weren't bothered by her suggestion the government confiscate profits from oil companies to fund government welfare programs? Maybe not. But, oil companies and their stockholders (not all of whom are wealthy) were.







and my personal favorite:



Yeah, she's a socialist.

She's proposing a socialist health care plan she's wanting to take money from you and me and give it people just for being born.

So I guess it's about power. Power for who? her? if she wins it will only be for 8 yrs max? so who will have this 'power'?

[Yonivore]

So I guess it's about power. Power for who? her? if she wins it will only be for 8 yrs max? so who will have this 'power'?

Wait a minute, can we agree she's a socialist first. Then I'll give you a lesson on how she intends to consolidate her power and enjoy the fruits beyond 2016.

[ChumpDumper]

Wait a minute, can we agree she's a socialist first. Then I'll give you a lesson on how she intends to consolidate her power and enjoy the fruits beyond 2016.

Just like Bill did.

I mean he got his own library!

[Yonivore]

Quote Quiz

[ChumpDumper]

A blog!

[xrayzebra]

Just like Bill did.

I mean he got his own library!

Library or massage parlor. I understand it looks
like a double wide. He still trolling with those hundred
dollar bills.

[jochhejaam]

I'm sure there are fools out there that blindly buy into Reid's shenanigans (step up and identify yourselves), but for the most part he's little more than a hypocritical laughingstock.



I haven't heard, has Reid taken up Rush on his challenge to join him in matching the winning bid?

[ChumpDumper]

I don't really care one way or another, but the man writes $4 million letters.

Keep 'em coming!

[PixelPusher]

I don't really care one way or another, but the man writes $4 million letters.

Keep 'em coming!

A nice chunk of change, but not nearly enough to retire on.

[jochhejaam]

I don't really care one way or another, but the man writes $4 million letters.

Keep 'em coming!

It good to see there are people out there willing to turn Reids' negative into a positive, but it's a bit silly to suggest that continued libelous, defamatory attacks would generate the same results.
Condemnation for the shameless, laughable Reid.
Commendations for the generosity of Casey and for the innovation of Limbaugh.

[George Gervin's Afro]

I'm sure there are fools out there that blindly buy into Reid's shenanigans (step up and identify yourselves), but for the most part he's little more than a hypocritical laughingstock.



I haven't heard, has Reid taken up Rush on his challenge to join him in matching the winning bid?

speaking of blindly buying into shenanigans of a hypocritical laughingstock how do you deal without hush each weekend?

[Yonivore]

speaking of blindly buying into shenanigans of a hypocritical laughingstock how do you deal without hush each weekend?

I still find it amazing that you're persisting in comparing the behavior and antics of an entertainer to those of the majority leader of the United States Senate.

[Yonivore]

And what about the phony media that abets the phony Democrats in their assinine antics?

The New York Times brings its characteristic passion for accuracy to the story on the auction. In the very first sentence of its story, the Times misreports:

After Rush Limbaugh referred to Iraq war veterans critical of the war as “phony soldiers,” he received a letter of complaint signed by 41 Democratic senators.

The Times gets the "41 Democratic senators" right, but it is incapable of a fairly reporting Rush's remarks. It regurgitates the Hillary Matters lie maintained by the 41 Senate Democrats who signed the letter to Clear Channel condemning Rush.

The auction of the letter for the benefit of the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Fund was of course Rush's ingenious response to the Democrats' impugning his support for the armed forces. It was his way of embarrassing the senators who, while absurdly attacking him for his lack of support for the armed forces, have not hesitated to undermine our efforts in Iraq, for example, by declaring defeat. The Times is nevertheless happy to let Harry Reid make the auction a sort of joint venture with Rush, quoting Reid on the floor of the Senate yesterday:

“I strongly believe that when we can put our differences aside, even Harry Reid and Rush Limbaugh, we should do that and try to accomplish good things for the American people,” he said.

The Times could have served a useful purpose if it had been able to disclose precisely how Reid put aside his differences with Rush and attempted to accomplish something good for the American people. Did it include seeking to have Rush muzzled? (Rush responded to Reid on his show yesterday: “It wasn’t your letter that raised this money. It was your abuse of power that is responsible for raising this money.”) Did Reid send the Democrats' letter to Clear Channel as a charitable act? Did the Senate Democrats pitch in with a contribution to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Fund?

Before we leave the subject, I want to revisit a few of the Democrats' greatest hits expressing support of our armed forces. They provide useful context for the phony "phony soldiers" controversy orchestrated by Hillary Matters and executed by HM's dutiful Democratic poodles. Here are a few statements previously made by signatories to the letter attacking Rush:

Harry Reid (on "the surge"):

Now I believe, myself, that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows: that this war is lost, that the surge is not accomplishing anything.

Oooops.

More Harry Reid:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday that he told liberal bloggers last week that he thinks outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace is "incompetent."

Durbin (on Guantanamo):

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

Hillary Clinton (to General Petraeus):

[T]oday you are testifying about the current status of our policy in Iraq and the prospects of that policy. It is a policy that you have been ordered to implement by the president. And you have been made the de facto spokesmen for what many of us believe to be a failed policy.

Despite what I view as your rather extraordinary efforts in your testimony both yesterday and today, I think that the reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief.

Edward Kennedy:

Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management.

John Kerry:

Education -- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.

More John Kerry:

And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the -- of -- the historical customs, religious customs.

Barack Obama:

We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there.

Charles Schumer (on "the surge"):

[L]et me be clear, the violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from al Qaeda said to these tribes we have to fight al Qaeda ourselves. It wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.

Sweet, sweet support for the troops...

[FromWayDowntown]

Sweet, sweet support for the troops...

Is total and unconditional acceptance of current military policies and strategies in Iraq the only way to show support for the troops?

As an aside, I find it terribly interesting (and quite curious) that so many on the right have taken to calling Barack Obama by his middle name; I've yet to see any basis, other than a shared name, to equate Obama to a cruel dictator. Then again, so frequently those on the right scream about divisive politics, only to engage in petty divisiveness like calling Barack Obama names like "Hussein."

[clambake]

it's usually the ones that cheer for war that are the most cowardly.

[ChumpDumper]

It good to see there are people out there willing to turn Reids' negative into a positive, but it's a bit silly to suggest that continued libelous, defamatory attacks would generate the same results.

If they are such, where is that lawsuit? Rush could sue for damages and give them to charity. If our resident lawyer says the letter is actionable, I'll accept that characterization, I won't accept fifth-hand neocon blog regurgitations.

Condemnation for the shameless, laughable Reid.
Commendations for the generosity of Casey and for the innovation of Limbaugh.

Commendations for all. They are all shameless, but charity got some money.

Do it again!

[ChumpDumper]

Is total and unconditional acceptance of current military policies and strategies in Iraq the only way to show support for the troops?

Acceptance is not enough. You must characterize this war as the best war ever. Otherwise you are a traitor.

As an aside, I find it terribly interesting (and quite curious) that so many on the right have taken to calling Barack Obama by his middle name; I've yet to see any basis, other than a shared name, to equate Obama to a cruel dictator. Then again, so frequently those on the right scream about divisive politics, only to engage in petty divisiveness like calling Barack Obama names like "Hussein."[/QUOTE]They're pussies who prey on people's fears and prejudices. They have already tried to pass off Obama as some kind of radically-trained Islamofascist sleeper agent; they use the middle name to keep the idea in others' minds.

[Yonivore]

Is total and unconditional acceptance of current military policies and strategies in Iraq the only way to show support for the troops?

Except for the erroneous quote about the surge failing the statemtents aren't about military strategy or even administration policy but, about the competency and veracity of individuals and the specific (albeit erroneously generalized) acts of individual military units.

I didn't even include the Murtha quote calling the Haditha Marines cold-blooded murderers. I wonder if he's apologized yet.

As an aside, I find it terribly interesting (and quite curious) that so many on the right have taken to calling Barack Obama by his middle name; I've yet to see any basis, other than a shared name, to equate Obama to a cruel dictator. Then again, so frequently those on the right scream about divisive politics, only to engage in petty divisiveness like calling Barack Obama names like "Hussein."

His parents called him that first. Or, did he change his name to that? I have no idea. But, it is his name.

And, I never equated him to Saddam Hussein. However, now that I think about, I suspect that if Saddam Hussein were still alive he'd be ing about how the U. S. Military was, "...just air-raiding villages and killing civilians...". What do you think?

Guess what, I go by my middle name.

[Yonivore]

Then there's Democratic Congressman Pete Stark who, any rational person would agree, went too far when he accused President Bush, on the House floor, of "just lik[ing] to blow things up," and of getting soldiers killed in Iraq for his own "amusement." And he wasn't done there:

"What are you going to do for that 200 or 300 billion bucks, folks, that you're spending to kill these kids when they grow up? You can't answer that, can you? You look at your shoes, look up here, you don't know," he said.

"So you don't even want to talk about 200 or 300 billion bucks to kill innocent Iraqis and young men and women. There is no member of this House that has an enlisted child over there. There is no risk for you guys."

This last claim is false, unless Stark is playing games with the meaningless phrase "enlisted child"; to take just one example of several, the son Congressman, John Kline, has flown helicopters in Iraq. And the al Qaeda members and other terrorists, many of them not Iraqis, who are being killed and captured by our forces in Iraq are hardly "innocent." But facts have never been important when it comes to left-wing rants on the House floor.

Stark's tirade was insane, but for some time afterward, not a single Democrat tried to distance himself or herself from it, while Stark was wildly applauded on the left (and equally crazed) side of the blogosphere.

This episode seemed to test the proposition that there is literally nothing that the leaders of the Democratic Party cannot stomach, but Nancy Pelosi finally stepped in with some mild criticism:

"While members of Congress are passionate about their views, what Congressman Stark said during the debate was inappropriate and distracted from the seriousness of the subject at hand - providing health care for America's children," Pelosi, D-San Francisco said.

Or, one might add, America's adults; the many of SCHIP recipients, in a number of other states, are adults, not children.

Still, if you look at the overall reaction from Democrats, such as the quote from Congresswoman Barbara Lee in the linked San Francisco Chronicle article, it appears that Stark's descent into lunacy was a welcome complement to the Democrats' political strategy.

These people aren't criticizing strategy or policy they're attacking individuals and impugning the U. S. Military as a whole.

[ChumpDumper]

Phony Democrats, part 2

The auction of the Senate Democrats' letter falsely attacking Rush Limbaugh concluded yesterday with a winning bid of $2,100,100 by Betty Casey of the Eugene Casey Foundation, to be matched by Rush, for a total contribution of $4,200,200 to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. The New York Times brings its characteristic passion for accuracy to the story on the auction. In the very first sentence of its story, the Times misreports:

After Rush Limbaugh referred to Iraq war veterans critical of the war as “phony soldiers,” he received a letter of complaint signed by 41 Democratic senators.

The Times gets the "41 Democratic senators" right, but it is incapable of a fairly reporting Rush's remarks. It regurgitates the Hillary Matters lie maintained by the 41 Senate Democrats who signed the letter to Clear Channel condemning Rush.

The auction of the letter for the benefit of the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Fund was of course Rush's ingenious response to the Democrats' impugning his support for the armed forces. It was his way of embarrassing the senators who, while absurdly attacking him for his lack of support for the armed forces, have not hesitated to undermine our efforts in Iraq, for example, by declaring defeat. The Times is nevertheless happy to let Harry Reid make the auction a sort of joint venture with Rush, quoting Reid on the floor of the Senate yesterday:

“I strongly believe that when we can put our differences aside, even Harry Reid and Rush Limbaugh, we should do that and try to accomplish good things for the American people,” he said.

The Times could have served a useful purpose if it had been able to disclose precisely how Reid put aside his differences with Rush and attempted to accomplish something good for the American people. Did it include seeking to have Rush muzzled? (Rush responded to Reid on his show yesterday: “It wasn’t your letter that raised this money. It was your abuse of power that is responsible for raising this money.”) Did Reid send the Democrats' letter to Clear Channel as a charitable act? Did the Senate Democrats pitch in with a contribution to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Fund?

Before we leave the subject, I want to revisit a few of the Democrats' greatest hits expressing support of our armed forces. They provide useful context for the phony "phony soldiers" controversy orchestrated by Hillary Matters and executed by HM's dutiful Democratic poodles. Here are a few statements previously made by signatories to the letter attacking Rush:

Harry Reid (on "the surge"):

Now I believe, myself, that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows: that this war is lost, that the surge is not accomplishing anything.

More Harry Reid:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday that he told liberal bloggers last week that he thinks outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace is "incompetent."

Durbin (on Guantanamo):

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

Hillary Clinton (to General Petraeus):

[T]oday you are testifying about the current status of our policy in Iraq and the prospects of that policy. It is a policy that you have been ordered to implement by the president. And you have been made the de facto spokesmen for what many of us believe to be a failed policy.

Despite what I view as your rather extraordinary efforts in your testimony both yesterday and today, I think that the reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief.

Edward Kennedy:

Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management.

John Kerry:

Education -- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.

More John Kerry:

And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the -- of -- the historical customs, religious customs.

Barack Obama:

We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there.

Charles Schumer (on "the surge"):

[L]et me be clear, the violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from al Qaeda said to these tribes we have to fight al Qaeda ourselves. It wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archive.../10/018805.php

The suggestive use of Obama's middle name is Yoni's added touch, but he stole that from someone else too.

[George Gervin's Afro]

I still find it amazing that you're persisting in comparing the behavior and antics of an entertainer to those of the majority leader of the United States Senate.

I am glad we both agree on the notion that entertainers are just that and shouldn't be taken seriously..

[Yonivore]

I am glad we both agree on the notion that entertainers are just that and shouldn't be taken seriously..

Those 41 Democratic Senators took him so seriously they tried to get him kicked off the air.