I couldn't let this go without letting all of you know about this. I've been
extremely busy on this campaign trail, so I haven't had a chance to write for a bit (BriVT has kept you updated some, though ... thanks for all the calls to Senator Schumer!). But I just couldn't let this comment pass by ... in one brief statement, John McHugh manages to sum up the entire GOP mind-set on Iraq.
You have to read it to believe it, but ... it's pretty much exactly true to the George W. Bush school of foreign policy.
OK, here it is. He was asked at an event (actually that event with Senator Schumer, ironically enough) about the situation in Iraq. I'll quote the last couple paragraphs of that statement (
link to read the whole thing), and I'll add a little emphasis there at the end where his rhetoric gets away from him a bit and he actually tells the truth.
In many parts of the country we've stepped back. My last visit, about six months ago, we'd just turned back our 33rd installation to the Iraqis, they control eight provinces of the 18. We've got 300,000 trained into the Iraqi military. That's reaching critical mass and we're reaching a critical point.
"Can the Iraqis, more importantly will the Iraqis step forward and carry on their shoulders that which the American military has been carrying on theirs? If they don't, then we have to begin to face reality. But this is a critical time."
Amazing. So, some time in the indefinite future, John McHugh might "begin to face reality." But we're "reaching a critical point" right now. How many Friedmans until John McHugh faces reality?
Unfortunately, facing reality isn't an optional position for our troops that are getting shot at every day in Iraq. And the millions of Iraqis living in the nightmare certainly have no option but to face reality.
Only in the rarified world of GOP politics is facing reality a choice.
But isn't that what we've been dealing with from this Administration and this Congress for years? No matter how many lights we've seen at the end of the tunnel, no matter how many corners we were about to turn, in all of those cases, reality was always in some indefinite future. Tinkerbell would come and all would be dandy.
The context of that statement in today's world is almost grotesque, though. A surge in casualties. Anbar Province almost completely given up to insurgents. Whole brigades of Iraqi police taken off-duty under suspicion of acting in concert with death squads. The lead British General declaring that troop presence "exacerbates the security problems" in Iraq. And, of course, the news that 655,000 Iraqis have died in this war.
We couldn't let that go, politically or morally. We hit him with press releases, and we're putting an ad up hitting him on this. By the end of next week, we hope most of the voters in our district know what he said. Here's the ad (an image link):
(I can't seem to get the embed working ...)
The attention of the country is turning back to Iraq. We simply don't have time to waste, waiting for the vague date in the future when the GOP will face up to what's happening. This war is a stain on our national honor, a disaster in the Middle East, and a devastating blow to our military. We don't just need to win in November, we need to blow out the GOP, completely repudiate what they have done, what John McHugh and the rest have enabled.
So, give to candidates of your choosing (you can give to my campaign here), volunteer your time to your local candidate or the DNC (my volunteer page is here), and Get Out The Vote!
We have an historic opportunity to turn this country completely around. From high profile districts like TX-22 to under-the-radar races like ours, we have a chance to sweep this country. I don't believe people who say that being up in the polls might make Democrats complacent. If the polls say we will have a 10 seat majority, I want to make it 20. If they say 20, I want to make it 40!
There are just over three weeks to go. Give, work, win.
Many, many lives depend on it.
{I'm Bob Johnson and I'm running against do-nothing GOP foot-soldier John McHugh in New York's 23rd district. Contributions and volunteers accepted from all over the country ... you don't need to be in my district to volunteer}