Tauscher Blasts Bush For ‘Criminal’ Management Of Military, Stands Behind Support For Regime Change
Tauscher Blasts Bush For ‘Criminal’ Management Of Military, Stands Behind Support For Regime Change
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) has become a controversial figure in the blogosphere. Yesterday, ThinkProgress sat down with her to discuss her stance on Iraq, among other issues. Tauscher began by telling us that she does not support the Bush strategy of escalation, noting that it is the fourth surge the administration has tried to effect without any success.
Referring to the current state of the strained and overstretched armed forces, Tauscher said, “I think this is a significant criminal dereliction of duty by the Commander in Chief.” She added that classified reports on military readiness are “chilling.”
ThinkProgress asked her whether she still stands behind her statement in the summer of 2002, when she said: “I am convinced that a regime change in Iraq is in the best interest of the United States and also our allies.” “I still think that was true,” she responded. She said her position then and now was that the “appropriate thing to do was to recontain Saddam Hussein” so that “you didn’t have to constantly look over your shoulder.” She said she tried to “slow things down” and avoid the “rush to war,” alluding to her sponsorship of a resolution that tried to delay the war vote until after the November 2002 midterm elections.
Tauscher said, “My constituents at home, while they didn’t want to go to war and didn’t believe we needed to go that far, wanted to deal with Saddam in a kind of permanent way — permanent in the sense that you didn’t have to worry about him in the short term. And I think people generally wanted to have regime change, they wanted to have the Iraqis freed from him.” But “never in my wildest dreams did I believe that that the Bush administration would fabricate information about weapons of mass destruction, cherrypick intel and feed it to the American people and Congress on a silver platter and make the case so significant that it would be irresponsible not to do something.” Watch it:
ThinkProgress also asked Tauscher about her attitude towards the netroots. We’ll be reporting on that tomorrow.
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LOL – go ahead and introduce Articles of Impeachment then, Representative.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:00 pmIts so refreshing to watch another Democratic member of Congress exercise the backbone they were given – genetically and by the electorate.
Any bets on when the articles of impeachment are drawn up for the man-child in the White House?
March 20th, 2007 at 8:04 pmTauscher Blasts Bush For ‘Criminal’ Management Of Military, Stands Behind Support For Regime Change
For a second, I thought she was advocating regime change here. ^_^
March 20th, 2007 at 8:08 pmcriminals don’t care about the truth, particularly when they
seek healthy mental health care to make away the edge
of emotions and reciprocal respect for fellow americans
all that cares is the power and favors for the crony’s
absolutely worst president ever and i’d like to know why
March 20th, 2007 at 8:11 pmthose things aren’t getting impeached. corruption my
boy, corruption…. murtha yeah right. disgusting for
the quality of service we get by paying over 50% for all
those wonderful services we are led to believe we all
desperately need. the sad fact is even if you tried to
get them, the system is rigged
Watch out, Ellen – TP has their sights on you…and their aim is improving (having been taking aim at Joe Lieberman for months!)
March 20th, 2007 at 8:14 pmjimbo hit the moonshine 1 more time for me brotha…
TPM-if only..
March 20th, 2007 at 8:15 pmoh… and i forgot to mention, political leeches/parasites :)
corrupt leeches/parasites. NOW i understand your
military nor in fact anything in a totally politized society
we all live in gets corrupted
Great isn’t it a good chunk of united states society is truly
March 20th, 2007 at 8:15 pmpoliticized and corrupted political leeches/parasites are
widespread, so guess what…. a corrupted politicized
defense or health care or whatever else we need a super
bloated government. NOW the blinders are opened as
just a few short years ago i truly believed they were faithfully
appointed by all mighty christ to serve us by their honesty and
integrity. oh well… enough to make everyone… i ain’t saying
that this time :)
From WAPO ” The Democratic majority was only three weeks old, but by Jan. 26, the grass-roots and Net-roots activists of the party’s left wing had already settled on their new enemy: Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.), the outspoken chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition.
Progressive blogs — including two new ones, Ellen Tauscher Weekly and Dump Ellen Tauscher — were bashing her as a traitor to her party. A new liberal political action committee had just named her its “Worst Offender.”
Back in LINE, Progs. Remember, what happens if you stray off the Progressive Plantation…..
Ellen, who will Emily’s List and Move-over be supporting in your primary.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:19 pmIt has been longer than months that we have been after the traitor known as Joe Lieberman stuper fu*k.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:19 pmpost.gerrrrrrrrrrrr
March 20th, 2007 at 8:20 pmit’s a shame that Lieberman has 6 MORE YEARS……..
March 20th, 2007 at 8:23 pmmy page never fully loa…
March 20th, 2007 at 8:25 pmit’s always ‘almost loaded’
what’s up w/that?
Comment by valiant venus
Guess I don’t fit in, I don’t even know who the hell Tauscher is.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:32 pmTo expect different results from the same effort is an indication of insanity. I don’t care who is making the effort or producing the results. Thusly, King George the Dumb is insane and should be impeached. Any other individuals that expect KGtD to change his criminal ways without being impeached are as dilusional as he and the rest of the Neocons are. Hey, Jake, did KKKarl get your ExLax allotment to you today?
March 20th, 2007 at 8:35 pm“Almost loaded”…. Maybe it’s that Grand Marnier or whatever it was you were watching the hockey game with, whiteyfresh… who won, anyways? :)
March 20th, 2007 at 8:35 pmHey Jake, why don’t you get a real job. Your present one of being a right-wing tool isn’t working. No matter how many names you call us, no matter how much fear you try to impose upon us, no matter how many insane talking points you repeat, you won’t succeed in changing one mind here for one reason. We know better. It’s called something completely and totally foreign to you. The truth.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:36 pmMonthly Cost for Containing Sadam = $1,000,000.00
Monthly Open ended Cost for Clusterf*ck = $9,000,000,000.00
You do the math.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:41 pmi appreciate you remembering the Hurricanes reference Raven, but i must admit, tha was my own personal “strawman” if you will…
March 20th, 2007 at 8:45 pm#9 – “It has been longer than months that we have been after the traitor known as Joe Lieberman stuper fu*k.”
Well Sponge, you’re right! Progs and various anti-Semites have been after Joe for years.
Maybe Ellen can take some solace knowing Progs had to practice MONTHS to end up “throwing like a girl”….
March 20th, 2007 at 8:48 pmComment by Your Conscience
Your figures are correct. I have done the math and for each month we are occupying we could have contained Sadam for 750 YEARS.
So far, in four complete years we could have contained Sadam for 36,000 YEARS……and counting.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:50 pmjust good natured riposting, my friend!
March 20th, 2007 at 8:51 pmi think i’m being ‘monitored’……
March 20th, 2007 at 8:53 pmMaybe Ellen can take some solace knowing Progs had to practice MONTHS to end up “throwing like a girlâ€â€¦.
Comment by valiant venus
Self-loathing woman hates all women. Pitiful.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:54 pmclick…why would you think you were being monitored? beep/click….
March 20th, 2007 at 8:56 pmdude :) … i don’t hit no moonshine, nor am i on any sort
of pharma’s because i am certified perfectly normal, normal
as can be, just one of the coolest dudes in the universe man,
like dig dude dig :)… and no, i don’t smoke up anything either.
all i am is naturally one of the coolest dude because……….. :)
March 20th, 2007 at 8:56 pmbc the page never fully ‘loads’
March 20th, 2007 at 9:02 pmto the last pat of your post jimbo:why not? + what IS normal? Why is there no Jello art?
March 20th, 2007 at 9:04 pmLOL – go ahead and introduce Articles of Impeachment then, Representative. Comment by Jake — March 20, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
LOL – it’s nice to see you GOP hacks think subverting the constitution is a laughing matter. It’s just a “piece of paper” according to would be King George after all – right Jake’off?
March 20th, 2007 at 9:05 pmwhat’s happenin’ Zooey?
March 20th, 2007 at 9:06 pmuh.part, jimbo…..
March 20th, 2007 at 9:07 pmmmmmmm.. Pan-Asian food..
March 20th, 2007 at 9:09 pmyummy…
damn…you ever feel like you are the only one posting???
March 20th, 2007 at 9:10 pmwhat happened to Gingry’s mustache?!?!?!?!?
March 20th, 2007 at 9:14 pmwhat’s happenin’ Zooey?
Comment by whiteyfresh
Not much. Busy day at school. How about you, whitey? And what the heck are you talking about?
You are not alone!!
March 20th, 2007 at 9:24 pmRegime change here, right on!
March 20th, 2007 at 9:41 pmTauscher said, “My constituents at home, while they didn’t want to go to war and didn’t believe we needed to go that far, wanted to deal with Saddam in a kind of permanent way — permanent in the sense that you didn’t have to worry about him in the short term.
Memo to Ellen Tauchher Sadaam was no threat to us.Your consitiutents were aware of that fact.Stop blaming your constitutents for your irresponsibility.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:37 pm““never in my wildest dreams …”
is she kidding us? Is this really an adult human with cognitive abilities? Lies, deceptions, and scam were written all over the bushliar-criminal regime’s actions in late 2002 and early 2003 including the Powell stunt at the UN. The truth about Niger, the Aluminum tubes, the non-drones, the truth about all of it was available to a sentinent concerned, responsible human being.
If nothing else a generation of republican treachery should have had her on her toes, suspicious of everything republicans say and do. And this is a person who’s very job entails understanding the opposition. Her failures can only be accounted for by intolerable ignorance (geneic or willful).
March 20th, 2007 at 10:44 pm.
While on the one hand she sounds credible, I don’t understand why anyone would have given that sort of power to Bush in the first place, regardless of 9/11 circumstance. I’m no savvy political figure and I could tell there was something very wrong with the insincerity that was being presented at the time. If Tauscher feels so deeply decieved, let her lead the impeachment charge and push for war crime violation. Put your money where your mouth is, babe.
March 20th, 2007 at 11:15 pmI just realized Rep Tauscher looks like a drag queen.
Sorry….
March 20th, 2007 at 11:26 pmTo one of the die-hards that has diligently posted here without fail…. the former Zookeeper, Zooey. We’ve treaded the floods. We’ve withstood the neocon onslaught. We’ve sought the truth and demanded the same. We’ve endured endless, repetitive right-wing talking points that have never stood the test of evidence. Thank you!
You’ve been here at least as long as I have, probably longer, I really don’t remember, but I’ve always appreciated your posts. Thanx for taking the time.
March 20th, 2007 at 11:44 pmYay, Zooey!
March 20th, 2007 at 11:48 pm#39 – “I just realized Rep Tauscher looks like a drag queen.
Sorry….” Comment by Zooey
Oh, don’t be sorry….Did UKDave send a pic?
March 20th, 2007 at 11:49 pmTauscher needs to demand a regime change in America > out with Bush!
March 21st, 2007 at 12:07 amCongresswoman Tauscher–A REAL PATRIOT and A TRUE AMERICAN—-I AWAIT YOUR INDULGENCE, MAAM—-START INTRODUCING THOSE ARTICLES OF CHIMPEACHMENT WITH Congressman Conyers!!!!!
March 21st, 2007 at 12:23 amJake, I don’t think we should call for Impeachment. I say we call for hangings. And after we’ve hung Bush, Cheney and a couple hundred other Republican traitors and criminals, we’ll save enough rope for your scrawny neck.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:26 amChadwick – I’m starting to see a strong resemblance between you and Josef Stalin….If only you could get facial hair above your lip to grow a tad thicker…….
March 21st, 2007 at 12:36 amOh, don’t be sorry….Did UKDave send a pic?
Comment by valiant venus — March 20, 2007 @ 11:49 pm
Of you dressed as Adolph Hitler on your myspace page? Oh wait, that’s not you dressed up in drag as a “guy”. Well, you could have fooled *everyone*, prince(ss)!!
March 21st, 2007 at 2:06 amDamn backpeddling opportunists! She isn’t going to support impeachment unless it is in progress and looks popular. A typical Democrat.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:35 amShe says this: “never in my wildest dreams did I believe that that the Bush administration would fabricate information about weapons of mass destruction, cherrypick intel and feed it to the American people and Congress on a silver platter and make the case so significant that it would be irresponsible not to do something.â€
What I can’t understand is how I, a stupid, poor musician who reads the paper, knew during the lead up to the war that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Isn’t that what the whole Valerie Plame thing is all about? I remember watching Powell trying to sell to the UN the trailers that were supposed labs and beiing so sad that “the one reasonable guy” in the administration folded. I KNEW. COS I READ THE DAMN PAPER. Why didn’t Congress???
I say either she is a liar or she is ignorant. Anyone who has half a brain shoud have known. RRRRRRR. The end.
I can’t stand it anymore.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:41 amOh, don’t be sorry….Did UKDave send a pic?
Comment by valiant venus
Oh my, Haggie, that was a bit ungraceful of you, wasn’t it?
Serious miscalculation on your part, sweetie.
I’m sure Flaco would send you his picture if you asked really desperately.
Oh, I forgot, no one is EVER interested in talking to you off-board, let alone agreeing to send a picture. Maybe by the time you’re my age, you’ll learn to be human, and other humans will take interest.
Bless your heart….
March 21st, 2007 at 11:24 amYou just got to be “awestruck” by people who so thoroughly know their enemy. It seems that extremist adherents of the “Religion of Pieces” understand the soft spot Americans have for kids. Here’s a new one for all you anti-Ellen Kumbayaa types:
“Insurgents in Iraq detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle with two children in the back seat after US soldiers let it through a Baghdad checkpoint over the weekend, a senior US military official said Tuesday.
The vehicle was stopped at the checkpoint but was allowed through when soldiers saw the children in the back, said Major General Michael Barbero of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.
“Children in the back seat lowered suspicion. We let it move through. They parked the vehicle, and the adults ran out and detonated it with the children in the back,” Barbero said.
The general said it was the first time he had seen a report of insurgents using children in suicide bombings. But he said Al-Qaeda in Iraq is changing tactics in response to the tighter controls around the city.
A US defense official said the incident occurred on Sunday in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district, a mixed neighborhood adjacent to Sadr City, which is predominantly Shiite.
After going through the checkpoint, the vehicle parked next to a market across the street from a school, said the official, who asked not to be identified.
“And the two adults were seen to get out of the vehicle, and run from the vehicle, and then followed by the detonation of the vehicle,” the official said.
“It killed the two children inside as well as three other civilians in the vicinity. So, a total of five killed, seven injured,” the official said.
Officials here said they did not know who the children were or their relationship to the two adults who fled the scene. They had no information about their ages or genders.
“The brutality and the ruthlessness of this enemy hasn’t changed,” said Barbero, deputy director of regional operations of the Joint Staff. “They are just interested in slaughtering Iraqi civilians, to be very honest.”
Attacks on Iraqi civilians are down by a third and sectarian murders have fallen by 50 percent since mid-February when US and Iraqi forces began moving into Baghdad as part of a new security crackdown, the general said.
On the other hand, there has been no let-up in attacks on US forces by Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremist groups, he said.”
March 21st, 2007 at 11:37 am
Attribution for the post above, http://www.AFP.com via Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
http://www.nice-doggie.net
Tooodles…..
March 21st, 2007 at 11:42 amAttacks on Iraqi civilians are down by a third and sectarian murders have fallen by 50 percent since mid-February when US and Iraqi forces began moving into Baghdad as part of a new security crackdown, the general said.
On the other hand, there has been no let-up in attacks on US forces by Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremist groups, he said.â€
Comment by valiant venus
What’s your f*cking point, Mighty Hag? Thank you for showing exactly why we need to get the hell out of there. Dipshit.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:58 amI’m surprised a full-time student such as yourself would need such an explanation. When remembering esteemed filmaker, Michael Moore calling Iraqi insurgents “Minutemen”, I was having a difficult time remembering American patriots deliberately blowing up their kids to thwart the Brits. Another fine example of “the ends justify the means”….
Toooodles…….
March 21st, 2007 at 3:28 pm3227
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:23 amThats correct the Iraqis have sussed the American game of divide and conquer ……… Mostly Americans are legitimate Targets now
88% of iraqi dont aggree killing each other while 82% support attacks on Coalition
There getting the game sussed
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:25 am[...] Our first Tauscher post on Iraq is HERE. [...]
March 26th, 2007 at 10:09 am