(10 am – promoted by ek hornbeck)
By now, we all know that former Press Secretary Scott McClellan is publishing a book and apparently telling some truth about George Bush and his minions. Karl Rove doesn’t like it:
“First of all, this doesn’t sound like Scott. It really doesn’t,” he said. “Not the Scott McClellan I’ve known for a long time. Second of all, it sounds like somebody else. It sounds like a left-wing blogger.“
White House Reacts Angrily to Former Aide’s Book
Also on Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…
In excerpts from the book, set to be published next week, Mr. McClellan writes that President Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political ends.
He calls the decision to invade Iraq a “serious strategic blunder,” and says that the biggest mistake the Bush White House made was “a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed.”
White House Reacts Angrily to Former Aide’s Book
McClellan finally sees and admits that Bush built a war on lies.
“To this day, the president seems unbothered by the disconnect between the chief rationale for war and the driving motivation behind it, and unconcerned about how the case was packaged,” he writes.
In 2002 and 2003, many voices spoke up against this invasion, some of them “left wing bloggers,” some courageous politicians, and some just citizens. Many “ordinary people” marched, protested, wrote letters and just begged the Democrats not to give Bush this power. We spoke out and fought and tried to prevent this travesty, but it happened.
Here are a just few voices from 2002 and 2003 that were ignored:
Profound changes have been taking place in American foreign policy, reversing consistent bipartisan commitments that for more than two centuries have earned our nation greatness. These commitments have been predicated on basic religious principles, respect for international law, and alliances that resulted in wise decisions and mutual restraint. Our apparent determination to launch a war against Iraq, without international support, is a violation of these premises.
As a Christian and as a president who was severely provoked by international crises, I became thoroughly familiar with the principles of a just war, and it is clear that a substantially unilateral attack on Iraq does not meet these standards.
“I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil.
snip
I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income, to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.
That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
Barack Obama’s 2002 Speech Against the Iraq War
If the United States leads the charge to war in the Persian Gulf, we may get lucky and achieve a rapid victory. But then we will face a second war: a war to win the peace in Iraq. This war will last many years and will surely cost hundreds of billions of dollars. In light of this enormous task, it would be a great mistake to expect that this will be a replay of the 1991 war. The stakes are much higher in this conflict.
Despite all these risks and costs, it seems that the Administration continues to move our country closer to war. It seems that we have already lost patience for a regime of arms inspections that might take months to play out, but going to war will require our commitment to Iraq to last years and years.
The problems with Iraq are not going to be solved when 700 cruise missiles and 3,000 bombs land on that country in the opening days of a war. Assuming victory, we will be on the hook to rehabilitate Iraq, and I fear that the rebuilding of that ancient country will have to be another act of U.S. unilateralism for which the American people are ill-prepared.
Senate Remarks by Robert C. Byrd, March 13, 2003
Opposed to an Invasion of Iraq?
By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Fri Aug 16, 2002 at 12:02:14 AM ESTAre you against our Government invading Iraq? We certainly are. And so apparently are many of the leading Republicans in Congress, the State Department and past Administrations.
If you are wondering what you can do about it, here’s a petition you can sign from Democrats.com to make your views known.
Focus on terrorism, not Iraq
Yesterday, two terrorist bombs in Bali (Indonesia) killed more than 180 people — most of them Australian and British tourists.It is clear the US and its allies have a long way to go before eradicating the scourge of terrorism. Yet, the Bush administration is obsessed with starting a new war in Iraq. Not only does the Iraq conflict divert resources and attention from the terrorist threat, but it also ensures that many of our allies will stop cooperating on the counter-terrorism effort in protest.
Posted October 13, 2002 10:55 AM | Comments (3)
Wednesday | October 30, 2002
New anti-war blog
I invite everyone to check out No Warblog, a collaborative, anti-Iraq invasion blog with writers spanning the entire political spectrum (left-right-and everything in between). The blog is the brainchild of Max Sawicky of the always excellent MaxSpeak.
Posted October 30, 2002 08:41 AM | Comments (2)
The Bush Administration is out of control
Bush is enraged that — get this — UN weapons inspectors are not finding any hidden weapons.
snipJesus. The US is not just losing the PR war. It is being unmercifully slaughtered. One would think that after the stink the US put up (about WMD and all), it would have good intelligence to hand the weapons inspectors. Instead, Iraq is ensuring that Bush looks nothing more than a foaming-at-the-mouth war-mongering lunantic.
Bush’s declaration of war
I listened to Bush’s speech on the radio. It was easily the best of his presidency. Rhetorically it was tight, the delivery strong, and the arguments persuassive.
Too bad it was based on long-discredited lies. It’s easy to build the case for war when truth is no object — especially since any attempt to expose such lies will be labeled as “unpatriotic”.
I especially loved all his talk about “coalition”. It was “coalition this”, and “coalition that”. Yeah. The coalition of three Anglos.
Others can itemize the rest of the lies. I’m emotionally drained.
There were many other “left wing bloggers,” many others who voted no on the AUMF, who fought the invasion by all means they could. But we failed to stop the rush to madness.
Those voices were right. The courageous politicans who spoke truth during a time of a rush to war were right. The left wing bloggers who did the same, who tried to stop it, were right. All of us who opposed the AUMF and the invasion, who demonstrated, who begged the Democrats in office not to give in to Bush, not to go to war, all of us were right. McClellan clearly sees it, now.
Welcome to the ranks of “left wing bloggers,” Mr. McClellan. Karl Rove is right: you do sound like us. It’s the sound of truth.
Now it’s time to end the occupation and fix the mess Bush created. Being right about the invasion means very little if we allow the carnage to continue.
Peace now! Support the troops by ending the occupation of Iraq.
It seems the only way we will end the occupation is by electing Barack Obama as president and more antiwar members of Congress. And even after this election, we must keep struggling. We must keep the pressure on to end this occupation. The war won’t go away unless we make it go away.
It’s got to stop! Iraq Moratorium We’ve got to stop it!
This video makes it clear: No matter what happens in Iraq, the Bush Administration and John McCain always have the same answer: 6 more months.
Moveon: Endless war on the installment plan
John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth Edwards … join[ed] top anti-Iraq war leaders today to announce the launch of a new nationwide, multimillion dollar campaign aimed at shining a light on the cost of war in Iraq. [in February 2008]snip
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is a group of independent entities, including the Service Employees International Union, MoveOn.org Political Action, VoteVets.org, Center for American Progress Action Fund, USAction, Win Without War, Campaign for America’s Future, the United States Student Association, Working Assets, Americans United for Change, Campus Progress Action and Nation Security Network, that have banded together as a coalition to launch a multi-faceted, multi million dollar effort in fifteen target states to education the American public about the true costs of the war in Iraq, mobilize opposition against President Bush’s Iraq policy, as well as apply on-going pressure on members of Congress to oppose this failed policy.
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq
We “left wing bloggers,” those of us who write diaries and comment, can make a difference. Support these groups. Struggle against the continued occupation of Iraq in your communities.
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for left wing bloggers and the truth.
Thanks.
Why?
Because he’s telling the truth?
Because he isn’t afraid to call bullshit on Bush?
Because he knows Iraq was a “serious strategic blunder?”
Sounds to me like Rove gave McClellan quite a complement.
All that time as a top aide and we have zero revelations of real truth? This is about as lamestream as lamestream gets. I wanna know what medications Laura Bush is on to get that Stepford wife look. I wanna know about Bush’s cocaine habit or sex with 12 year old boys. I want the details of his Paraguay retirement retreat.
Jesus H Fucking Christ, they did succeed didn’t they.
http://www.deliberatedumbingdo…
looks and sounds like a “left-wing blogger” we will apparently have truth and justice throughout the land. I know Rove is against this but the rest of the world, well . . . is anxiously awaiting it.
You’re the ghost writer. The Infamous Left Wing Blogger Who Corrupted Feckless Scottie.
I loved that Rove statement – it is meant to send the right wing online minions into a tizzy trying to target the ghost writer. As if the White House Press Secretary isn’t competent enough to review and approve drafts, hire and fire ghost writers and look at a galley.
Okay…everyone sound off. I know I didn’t ghost write this. Which one of y’all did?
Olbermann had a segment on McClellan’s book tonight on Countdown:
…as I’m still laughing. From Time’s review of Scottie’s book:
link: http://www.time.com/time/polit…
You can’t say the Secret Service doesn’t have a hip, happening sense of humor.
Thing is, Turdblossom, the “left wing bloggers” were right.
Mu . . .
and at orange.
I’d be doing my goddamndest to sound like a left wing blogger too, Karl. For contrast, you know? After lying through my teeth for you and Bush like he did for years, I might even change my name, grow a beard (or shave one), and maybe even move to the west coast or somewhere far far away from you and Bush.
And create my own reality. Without a Doubt.
Sorry…I wrote and published a book in Scott McClellan’s name, without his knowledge, then captured him, worked him, brainwashed him into saying he wrote it, made him go on tv to promote it, defend it, turned him to the dark side (!!!)…
Yeah…it was me.
Jeez: Karl Rove…Turdblossem…Wacko Nutjob Conspiracy Theorist.
I’d be doing my goddamndest to start a smear campaign McClellan and anyone else I could.
After lying through my teeth for Bush and making Scottie lie through his teeeth like he did for years, I might even change my name, grow a beard (or shave one), and maybe even move to the west coast or somewhere far far away.
And create my own reality. Without a Doubt.
Before someone creates a reality for me.
as Bush so affectionately calls Rove.
Read my lips–no new wars.
and his guys don’t bury it.
This book is late in coming, but hope will shed some light to some people whom might still be on Bush’s side of Iraq.
the David Gregory contention that the press did ask tough questions, and that there weren’t voices of dissent to feature on TV. Of course there were, but they didn’t fit into MSM’s pro-war agenda. I remember, just before the invasion, we were hosting a well-known author for an event, who had written a strident anti-war piece in a major publication. She cancelled our event because she had received threats. Seems that she, and many “left-wing bloggers” were onto something, Karl. Geez, if Rove criticized me, I’d embrace it.
–The Public Record, Bush at Center of Intelligence Leak?
…by evil left-wing blogger demons, making him act so “unlike the Scotty” the WH bushies knew so well. Too bad McCain had to dump Hagee-they could have called him to do an exorcism before the “possessed” Scotty started running around saying mean things about bush and his advisors.