New Rep. Nancy Boyda (KS-02) was in a firestorm over comments that she said on the ABC News program with Gibson. In it she says that she sould vote in favor of the funding for President Bush's troop surge. Today she came out to clarify her position and apologize....kinda.
Today in the Topeka Capital Journal (sub. req.), Nancy Boyda clarified her remarks that she made last week on ABC News about the troop increase (or surge) that was Bush is wanting to present to the American People. Even though she says it is an apology and clarification, lets look at what she said earlier and compare it to what she said today.
This was the earlier exchange between Gibson and Rep. Boyda (Thanks to CrooksandLiars for the transcript):
Gibson: Would you vote in favor of money to support another 20,000 to 40,000 troops in Iraq?
Boyda: I think we're going to vote to support what the commander in chief and head of military asks to do. At least, I am certainly going to vote to support it.
Gibson: If he wants the surge, he'll get it.
Boyda: Yes.... He is the commander in chief, Charlie. We don't get that choice. Congress doesn't make that decision.
Gibson: But the polls would indicate, and indeed, so many voters when they came out of the ballot box, said, "We're voting because we want something done about the war and we want the troops home."
Boyda: They should have thought about that before they voted for President Bush not once, but twice.
Today in the Topeka Capital Journal the clarification was this:
On Tuesday, the freshman representative said she worried about the potential of sending in more military.
"I am deeply concerned that any surge in troops is going to place an enormous burden on our soldiers and their families, especially since the Bush administration has so far failed to explain how this surge would help us accomplish our mission," she said.
That looks very promising until you move further down the article see something that looks very similiar to what she said on ABC:
Despite a wariness of the surge idea, Boyda said it is the commander-in-chief's choice to increase troop levels, and she would vote to give the money called for.
If I am not mistaken this is exactly the same type of comment that she said on ABCNews that she would fund any increase that the President wants. Like many have said EARTH TO NANCY BOYDA, your a Representative in Congress now and do have oversight to funds and how the military is used at home and abroad.
I would ask to Rep. Boyda, why not pass or support legislation that prevents the increase of troop levels, or use your power of the purse to restrict the funding of new troops to a war we have no hope of winning, or finally just come out and say that you want all the troops to come home. These are the ways to solve the problem, not an increasing in funding to support the troops.
Finally here is the kicker that brings it all together:
It can't just be "a military solution," she said. "It has to be political. It has to be economic. It has to be cultural. It has to be language. It has to be education. What we failed to do before is look at Iraq as a whole."
Lets look at that again. Military solution: failed, Political: failed, Economic: failed, Cultural: Umm aren't we in the middle of a civil war so that has failed, Language: failed, Education: if this is in reference to Iraqi security forces then it has also failed.
I can look at Iraq as a whole today and say that whole dang thing is a failure. Help us bring them home Rep. Boyda and do what you were elected to do!!