Senate Minority Leader on Bush Iraq Escalation: ‘I Intend To Support Him’
Senate Minority Leader on Bush Iraq Escalation: ‘I Intend To Support Him’
Later this week, President Bush is reportedly planning to unveil his escalation plan that “could send 20,000 new troops to Iraq.” The plan has little support among the American people and faces strong and growing bipartisan opposition in Congress. “It’s Alice in Wonderland,” Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said last week. “I’m absolutely opposed to sending any more troops to Iraq. It is folly.” Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) said he would “stand against” Bush’s escalation plan.
This morning on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for his opinion on escalation in Iraq. “If the president recommends what we seem to believe he’s going to recommend,” McConnell said, “I intend to support him.”
Watch it:
Full transcript:
HUME: Let’s assume for the sake of discussion that the president comes out now sometime this week and he says he’s going to send something in the neighborhood of 20,000 troops, that’s the number that seems to be out there now, and additional troops, and that he would like something on the order of a billion dollars to spend on a jobs program in iraq. We’re hearing even from Republicans increasingly skeptical sounds about the continuation of the effort in Iraq. Gordon Smith from Oregon, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, all have said, have all expressed skepticism. Will Senate Republicans go along in your judgment?
MCCONNELL: Well, look, I think we need to keep in mind there the goal there is to win and the definition of winning is to have a reasonably stable government that’s an ally in the war on terror, that is stable enough to allow us to begin to draw down our troops, and clearly that’s not the situation at the moment in Baghdad. Senator Lieberman, for example, in the Democratic conference, believes that the surge is a good idea. I think to basically begin to withdraw before the job is finished is a mistake. If the president recommends what we seem to believe he’s going to recommend, i intend to support him.
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It’s the blind, leadin’ the blind.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:13 amDid he ever say ‘No’?!!
January 7th, 2007 at 11:13 amWhy do these people exist?
January 7th, 2007 at 11:17 amDid anyone expect anythng different? For the next 2 years I see everything going straight doen party lines.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:17 amMitch McConnell – one of the truly slimy people in the Rethug party. He’ll support Bush to keep in good with his whacko base, and the power brokers who resist campaign finance refomr and the business interests who need a water boy will always find a loyal (ly paid) subject in Mitch McConnell
January 7th, 2007 at 11:18 am“Why not support him, he’s an idiot and I’m and idiot!” – Mitch McConnell
January 7th, 2007 at 11:18 amDid McConnel ever said ‘no’ to Bush..?!! Today Senator Graham was saying that…sending more troops it may not not work..,but we need to win’….May not work..!! means lives lost..and we are in this war for 4 years..there is no room for error here…running war by ‘trial and error’ is not a sound policy…
January 7th, 2007 at 11:20 amI urge everyone to write or call Rep. Pelosi and ask her to stop the ne’er-do-well lamebrain from escalating the Iraq war!
Her email for non-constituents is:
sf.nancy@mail.house.gov
January 7th, 2007 at 11:20 amAnyone familiar with McConnell’s long time record of being a complete loser won’t be the least bit surprised. Quite the opposite: were McConnell to oppose Bush I would fall right out of my chair.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:21 amMitch McConnell – just another Republican “con artist”. This will be his doom – going against 80% of the wishes of the American people! Shame on him! He’s selling his soul right before our very eyes. Has he absolutely no shame? Has he no conscience? He’s obviously from the planet, Uranus!
January 7th, 2007 at 11:21 amYou just can’t take the rubberstamp out of the rubberstampee these days.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:21 amCheck that. Rep. Pelosi’s email for non-constituents is:
AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov
January 7th, 2007 at 11:22 amSieg Heil, you Bastard!!
January 7th, 2007 at 11:24 amThe real objective isn’t to win, which the neocons never intended anyway. If it had happened. great, but the only goal was to create conditions in which American oil companies could gain control of Iraq’s petroleum reserves. By all accounts, they are on the verge of accomplishing that.
I hope the oil companies lose 50 people for every American soldier killed in Iraq. Every oil company employee in Iraq will have a life expectancy of about a week unless we expend American military lives to protect them. I predict that the increase in American troops in Iraq, if we don’t depose King George and Unclew Dick, will be used to promote military security of the oilfields.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:27 ammust not jepordize Elaine Chao’s position!
January 7th, 2007 at 11:35 amDo you think these people just want attention?
I had a couple kids like that last semester. Negative attention was better than no attention…
You think Mitchie just isn’t getting enough attention from his mama?
January 7th, 2007 at 11:38 amMcConnell the lemming. He agrees to follow Bush over the cliff.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:39 amWhat he hopes to gain from unwavering support of the increasingly proven failure in the Oval Office is beyond me — People in Kentucky aren’t that stupid are they?
Another puppeteer becoming puppet.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:48 amI’m not surprsed at Norm Coleman’s lack of support. He see that the future of the party, and therefore his own, does not lie with the neocons, at least not in their current overt incarnation. When Bush is lost, they will go underground and look for revenge on their opponents, but in the meantime, Norm will come around when he gets paid avisit by Uncle Dick. He doesn’t have the cojones to resist threats.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:48 amWhy did McConnell use this out of any other example of support.
Lieberman is an Independant and already has expressed his interest to side with Republicans on this issue.
How nice to see an expample of “The Job” even though the goal posts for these definitions will consistantly be moving.
What if we have a stable govt. but they want to stay out of the war on terror? Do we stay anyways?
January 7th, 2007 at 11:53 amB*tch McConnell would would clean Bushiva’s a*s (with his tongue)…
…in the middle of ANY Main Street in America…
…at high noon…
…this is a TRUE 30%’er…
…his whole state should be “purged”…
January 7th, 2007 at 12:03 pmNot a word of what iraqis want…
January 7th, 2007 at 12:04 pmWhere is it written that to be Rethuglican you have to have guts and a spine? Nothing more than acting like a jellyfish is required. These gutless wonders like McConnell are the ones who have gotten into this mess because they put their party before the people and went along, only to willingly with whatever the Bush crime family wanted. Well guess what Mitch? Those days are over. Obviously, being in the minority hasn’t hit home yet, anymore than doing the wll of the people has. Has this low-life ever worn the uniform of the United States?
January 7th, 2007 at 12:19 pmJust have a look at him.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:21 pmDoes anything he says mean a damn thing to anyone ??
. . . . .
I didn’t think so.
McConnel has to support Bush or his wife, Elaine Chao would be out of the job over at Labour folks.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:22 pmMcConnell is one partisan asshole. He votes 100% along party lines…death and destruction in Iraq means profits for the military industrial complex and oild companies, Mitch is there to do their bidding…as usual.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:39 pmGeorge Frankenstein wants to try a new experiment that involves 20,000 lives so, of course Igor wants to help him. No surprise here.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:45 pmNot a word of what iraqis want…
Comment by Juan C
I’m sure it wouldn’t even occur to McConnell to think about the Iraqis.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:48 pmOf course he would support Bush as long as his pockets are being lined with money. Look these guys could care less how many of our troops die, their concern is getting money for themselves. This is a war profiteers dream. Everyone knows Bush lied and is still lying. Iraq leadership is up for grabs. The change in leadership by Bush is all his yes men who will get paid to continue as Cheney was ordered by the Saudi King to stay the course. Americans will see hundreds of our soldiers die each month as the numbers will mostly reach 10,000 dead by June 07. Now Bush and his team will still look for more to die as they drill to steal the oil from Iraq. The only surprise will be when Iran/Syria have their man Sadyr take over leadership of Iraq. Yes Maliki is a Bush puppet and will fall as you noticed how the people Maliki picked to hang Saddam were cheering their support for Sadyr. Folks it’s all about the money Bush supporters are getting and we know elected officials will do anything for big bucks even let thousands of American soldiers die.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:59 pmWell, Mitch does have both Ft. Knox and Ft. Campbell in his constituency so he can’t be completely ignorant. But KY also has a lot of Bush/Cheney bumper sticker, Fox News watching people and he is probably just doing his job and speaking for them. The difference between doing what’s right and keeping your job can sometimes be hard for a Senator that could be an election away from a bigger chair and a gavel.
January 7th, 2007 at 1:02 pmAs for The Job, it almost implies that there was a “plan” which seems apparent that there never was one other than, get there and protect the oil wells.
McConnell the lemming…i>
…and so is Boehner, Hastert, (was) Frist and many others in the GOP who have no principle, no spine and no guts of their own. They’re Republican bottom-feeders, blissfully constrained and controlled by their financial apparati. They’re only reason for being in Washington is simple: greed and profit at the expense of the Constitution, civil liberties and the well-being of everyone else.
January 7th, 2007 at 1:28 pmImage for one minute that your brothers and sisters in Iraq do want a stable government free of terrorists. Does it sound plausible? Imagine there are government leaders and volunteer soldiers on you planet who are willing to step up to assist in that goal. Does that sound plausible? Could it be that those leaders are the current leaders?
Let’s keep our minds open just in case it’s not about profiting from war and oil as at least one has tried to state as fact. Also, let’s not wish an increase in deaths as another has hoped because of that belief.
January 7th, 2007 at 1:58 pmMM is one of those “fight ‘em there so we dont have to fight ‘em here” dipshit bigots. What a meathead.
January 7th, 2007 at 2:21 pmanyone notice how fax calls him a “republican leader” in the caption box as opposed to “minority leader”? seems that some at fox are just having trouble accepting who’s in the minority now…
January 7th, 2007 at 3:33 pmHappy New Year!
Back to the same even more intense nonsense.
January 7th, 2007 at 3:39 pmPeople like McCon-Eeel and his republican friends
are a waste of good oxygen.
I keep trying to find a place to get honest discussion. But most of the bloggs are like this…name calling, insulting, arrogant. I DO have a son in Iraq…and the ones on the ground actually putting their lives on the line happen to support Bush and Rumsfeld. But none of you care what is REALLY happening over there…your hatred of Bush and republicans for outshadows any decency or civil conversation. The DEMS are the ones that ran the Vietnam war…they did such a wonderful job of it too. But you actually think that the Dems got the majority over the WAR!!!??? The ones that were elected were CONSERVATIVE Democrats…you want a different direction with no plan but every time a republican offers a plan your answer is “NOT THAT DIRECTION”…The democrats are responsible for the butchering of South Vietnamese by denying funding when they desperately needed our help and if they do the same this time, they will be responsible for the worst bloodshed in Iraq that will make sadam look like a pansy. Contrary to your liberal sourses, the guys actually IN Iraq KNOW that the iraqis want us there and feel we need to finish the job. You have your little name calling party…you don’t do anything but give your party a black eye and reinforce most conservative views of your party. My best friend is a Democrat but she wouldn’t dream of the name calling that is going on here. And she happens to support our troops…your ignorance of the real world appalls me…but I guess you’ve found your little spot that you can reinforce each other’s nasty attitude toward the “other side”, you know, those of us that aren’t worth the air they breath? Surprise…70 percent of the military are Republican and Libertarian. They’re fighting for your right to be jerks. So have fun…I’ll keep looking for alternate view points that are actually articulate and civil…but I tell ya, I’m having a tough time finding them among the Democrats I find online.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:10 pmVickie,
First, I woiuld like to comend you and your son on his service. I am an active duty Marine and have served 2 tours in Iraq. It is also well know on this site that I am pretty conservative. As someone that has been the, I can honestly say that what we have been doing is not working the way we would like. SOMETHING needs to be done, but what?
There is a lot of debate here and sometimes it does get ugly. But there are very few around here that do not support the troops. Most are frustrated with the way things are going right now and have a hard time seeing what we are doing over there and how we will ever be able to leave.
I hope your son stays safe.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:26 pmCould this weenie even tell one end of a rifle from the other? He probably would jump on a chair at the site of a mouse, yet this coward is willing to send more young people into the “make money for Bush’s friends” meatgrinder. Coward.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:33 pmVickie- the problem is there are NO good plans. Only a series bad alternatives. There is no way in hell, that me or anyone else is going to forget who put us in this terrible position. Supporting the troops also entails making damn sure the reason that they are putting their life on the line is a sound one. Not a pack of lies conncocted by Bush and the PNAC.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:37 pmhellinabucket — Lieberman is in the Democratic caucus, as McConnell notes — if he wasn’t, McConnell wouldn’t be the *minority* leader.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:48 pmSen. McConnell is the most corrupt member of the Senate and must be forced to resign or voted out of office whenever he comes up for election!
January 7th, 2007 at 6:03 pmVicki,
January 7th, 2007 at 6:08 pmI hope your son remains safe in Iraq.
One reason we are so opposed to Bush and Company is because they have put our youngest and best in an unnecessarily dangerous predicament.
There are many, many reasons why we believe Bush is the worst president in our nation’s history, and we believe he has made our country far less safe during his tenure, but unlike as in the time of the Viet Nam War, we do not harbor anything but hope and best wishes for our servicemen.
Nice to see that he is the MINOR character he has truely been all along.
January 7th, 2007 at 7:40 pmSicko.
Mitchell totally, TOTALLY, creeps me out – always has. {This is not to say he is.} He looks to me like a child molester, pedophilic, you name it – he’s it – slimy….
…..Jezzus! Even looking at him, I feel the need to cleanse every cell of my body.
January 7th, 2007 at 8:31 pmVickie,
If you must know, the United States gave the South Vietnamese government resources to fight the war. Their politicians gave the resources to their cronies. America should never have been in Vietnam to begin with.
As the latest polls have shown, the military is ready to come home in the next six months.
Finally I would point out that real libertarians are antiwar. Go to the web site antiwar.com or lewrockwell.com to see for yourself. You cannot be anti-state and pro-war.
January 7th, 2007 at 9:19 pmTo big papa: when you said:
were you suggesting mass murder? I hope not. Please check with your conscience and let’s pray that you don’t influence anyone to act so hatefully.
January 7th, 2007 at 9:22 pmSeveral suspicious and even dangerous statements have been made on this topic. If you have a credible source for these statements, please share them.
Jeffery Stewart wants readers to believe that McConnell said:
gogreen said:
big papa said:
Jackie said:
Jackie also said:
January 7th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I’d like to hear his explanation for why we should support this. The Administration has only been wrong about EVERY SINGLE DECISION they’ve made. Let’s see…they said the war would last less than 6 months, the oil money would pay for the reconstruction, the Iraqis would greet us as liberators, the insurgency was in its last throes, etc…and that’s just off the top of my head.
WHY should ANYONE believe them now when they say a surge will improve the situation? They haven’t even been correct ONCE, let alone enough to actually have a respectable track record!
Imagine going to your job and botching every single project that your boss gives you. You’d be fired! Why doesn’t this happen in politics??
January 7th, 2007 at 10:24 pmOutraged in Louisville, But you also have to hold responsable all those tht have continued to support(fund) this war after ALL the intel came out. There is plenty of blame on both sides.
Every time and Emergency Funding measure came up, every “Yeh” vote = acceptance and approval of the war.
YEs, Bush is the “Ultimate” responsable party, but you have to hang all the enablers too.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:12 pmOutraged in Louisville,
1) Did any Dems vote for the war?
2) Have Dems voted to continue to fund the war?
3) Have Dems voted for troop excelations in the past?
If you answer to any or all of these then they own it too. The House and Senate were not 100% GOP controlled.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:28 pmIF YOU LOVE HILLARY CLINTON AND WANT HER TO WIN KEEP POSTING
Think tanks
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tanks
Think Tank Town -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/ content/ linkset/ 2006/ 04/ 03/ LI2006040301493.html
The Left Coaster: Matt Bai on the Center for American Progress
http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/000699.php
Study Finds First Drop in Think Tank Cites
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2897
Center for American Progress
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/1023-09.htm
The Center for American Progress (CAP) describes itself as “a nonpartisan research and educational institute†aimed at “developing a long-term vision of a progressive America†and “providing a forum to generate new progressive ideas and policy proposals.â€
Robert Dreyfuss reports in the March 1, 2004 edition of The Nation: “The idea for the Center began with discussions in 2002 between [Morton] Halperin and George Soros, the billionaire investor. … Halperin, who heads the office of Soros’ Open Society Institute, brought [former Clinton chief of staff John] Podesta into the discussion, and beginning in late 2002 Halperin and Podesta circulated a series of papers to funders.â€
Soros and Halperin recruited Harold Ickes — chief fundraiser and former deputy chief of staff for the Clinton White House — to help organize the Center. It was launched on July 7, 2003 as the American Majority Institute. The name was changed to Center for American Progress (CAP) on September 1, 2003. The official purpose of the Center was to provide the left with something it supposedly lacked — a think tank of its own.
Regarding the new think tank proposed by Soros and Halperin, Hillary Clinton told Matt Bai of The New York Times Magazine on October 12, 2003, “We need some new intellectual capital. There has to be some thought given as to how we build the 21st-century policies that reflect the Democrat Party’s values.†She later told The Nation’s Robert Dreyfuss, “We’ve had the challenge of filling a void on our side of the ledger for a long time, while the other side created an infrastructure that has come to dominate political discourse. The Center is a welcome effort to fill that void.â€
Persistent press leaks confirm that Hillary Clinton, and not Podesta, is ultimately in charge of CAP. “It’s the official Hillary Clinton think tank,†an inside source confided to Christian Bourge of United Press International. Robert Dreyfuss notes in The Nation, “In looking at Podesta’s center, there’s no escaping the imprint of the Clintons. It’s not completely wrong to see it as a shadow government, a kind of Clinton White-House-in-exile — or a White House staff in readiness for President Hillary Clinton.†Dreyfuss notes the abundance of Clintonites on the Center’s staff, among them Clinton’s national security speechwriter Robert Boorstin; Democratic Leadership Council staffer and former head of Clinton’s National Economic Council Gene Sperling; former senior advisor to Clinton’s Office of Management and Budget Matt Miller; and others.
IF IT LOOKS LIKE A THINKTANK
IF IT SMELLS LIKE A THINKTANK
IF IT WALKS LIKE A THINKTANK
IF IT TALKS LIKE A THINKTANK
AND IF ALL THE PRESS CALLS IT WHAT IT IS
IT MUST BE A THINKTANK
DID I REVEAL SOMETHING UNKNOWN TO YOU TAU ?
IF YOU WANT HILLARY CLINTON TO WIN IN 2008 KEEP POSTING BY ALL MEANS
IF YOU DO NOT WANT HILLARY IN 2008 WHY HELP HER ?
SIMPLE QUESTION
January 7th, 2007 at 11:31 pmDear Vickie,
January 7th, 2007 at 11:47 pmI wish your son the very best. Unfortunately, you are incorrect about the troops supporting Bush’s decision to surge. Recent polls show that the majority of soldiers are AGAINST having more troops and that they themselves are desperate to return. Good sons have fought in bad wars from the dawn of time. It is not a reflection on the valor or the value of these brave young individuals. The cause of defending our country is a noble one, even if this war does nothing but undermine our national security, economy, position in the world, and ideals. I have nothing but respect for the young men and women who risk their lives for our country. But sadly, most of those who see what is happening up close are depressed, dismayed, and disillusioned by what they see. And many others have been corrupted by being put in brutal and dehumanizing positions, such as participating in torturing other, quite possibly innocent human beings at places like Guantanamo. It is a terrible crime to let our young people be killed in war. But it is another crime to have them be corrupted from their best selves by having them be put in that kind of soul-killing position.
you don’t do anything but give your party a black eye and reinforce most conservative views of your party.
Comment by Vickie #36
Vickie,
Don’t you DARE come on this board and try to chastise “THINKING PEOPLE” for using what God gave us…
…BRAINS!
…if you want to sacrifice your son for an illusion well that’s your business…
…I share NOTHING in common with brain dead idiots who believe in people who are USING them…
…the criminal Bushite junta represents the corporate special interests (super rich global investors in arms, oil and natural gas and various sundry capitalist schemes to defraud the human race for the profit and perpetuation of dominance by mostly WASP male sociopaths…)
…I realize that having spent so much time in your youth learning that minorities and poor people are not as “valuable” as rich al Crackkers, and therefore you must sacrifice yourself (and offspring) to “King/Queen Blueblood rich leaders, God and country…”
…have been inculcated into that tiny space between your ears for so long that (like the traumatized Saddam-beaten Iraqis) you believe in everything state run tv tells you…
…you (and ALL who think like you are “CONNED’self-servatives”…
…FOOLS who believe in the hype that you too can one day be a slave-master…
…if you just play along…
…So save your (delusional) righteous indignation for those who give a da*n about anything you mindless Bush-worshipping TRAITORS have to say!
January 8th, 2007 at 9:56 amVickie,
I appreciate your situation with your son and hope he comes home safe…. and soon.
You are being deluded if you really think that the majority of the Iraqis as well as our own troops want us there. Your son may be young and being fed information by his commanders and he is not able to see reality.
And your comment about Vietnam is WRONG!!! I am a combat vet of Vietnam and I KNOW that the Vietnamese people only wanted us there because they had no commitment to stand on their own… just like in Iraq. And why do you think so many Iraq vetererans came home and ran for office as Democrats to stop this insanity? And both of these wars were illegal and immoral. And by supporting the NeoCons and Corporatists in thi , we are perpetuating it and putting your son and US lives as well as many Iraqis in Harm’s Way for no reason.
January 8th, 2007 at 10:59 amAll Democrats and indies in KY can’t stand Mitch. He used to run on the platform of curbing and limiting lobbyists and special interests. Now he has done a complete 180 (and very proud of it) supporting and getting support from lobbyists, etc.. He represents nothing about Kentucky, he has completely lost touch.
January 8th, 2007 at 12:50 pmThe major problem coming up in 08 (his re-election) is that there is no viable candidate. All of KY’s politics is focused on replacing the lamest governor on the planet, and therefor ditching Mitch is on the back burner. National attention needs to be focused on him, so that Kentuckian voters will wake up and understand that Mitch is bad for KY and bad for the US.
McConnel is like the rest of the NEO-Cons in that they bit off more than they can chew when they illegally invaded Iraq. That country is not worth the death of one more serviceman or women! If they had known anything about middle east history, They would have known there are Saadam’s everywhere. Tribalism is the scourge of the middle east. Now we have Shia against Sunni. Saudi Arabia backs Sunni, Iran backs Shia. What this Administration is worried about is OIL! They know we must stay in Iraq to continue getting oil from other middle east countries. With the foreign policy of Bushie turning most oil producing countries against us, He believes he must stay in Iraq, not for a Democracy but to keep his precious OIL. Bush-Cheney have to go, one way or another to save our great country. Take McConnel and McCain with them!!!!!!
January 8th, 2007 at 3:10 pm[...] More Troops Posted on 1/7/2007 1:22 PM by brianrApprove (6) | Reject (0) | My vote: None Think Progress McConnell makes it clear he will support a surge in troop levels if the President goes that [...]
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 pm