When announcing his bid earlier this month to send U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe into retirement, Oklahoma State Sen. Andrew Rice took no joy in being right about the war in Iraq.
(More below)
In this clip from Andrew’s speech, he talks about his early opposition to the war as a member of 9/11 victims’ families groups:
"I was ostracized [for opposing the war], just like everybody else. I didn’t get a free pass just because we lost David [Andrew’s brother]. They said, 'You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re being naïve. You’re being unpatriotic.' And I’m not proud to say that I was right about almost all of it. I’m not proud to say that because it’s a mess... And that’s why you don’t rush into a war."
Sen. Inhofe, though, has rubber-stamped this war policy since the invasion and he refuses to support even minimal parameters that might limit U.S. troop strength in Iraq. Check out this Inhofe double-speak to justify his intransigence:
Recently on the Senate floor, Inhofe claimed, "It [Anbar Province] is now totally secure. It is not secure under us, it is secure under the Iraqi security forces." But apparently this is not enough, as later in that same speech he quotes Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as saying, "If we were to withdraw, leaving Iraq in chaos, al-Qaida would most certainly use Anbar Province as another base from which to plan operations."
If, as Sen. Inhofe claims, Anbar province is secure regardless of American military presence, if the Iraqi security force has that province under control, then why is it in such danger of becoming an al-Qaida haven if our troops withdraw?
Sen. Inhofe wants it both ways. He wants us to believe that the Iraq War is going well, that the current administration’s policies are working, and that the Iraqi forces are capable of taking over. But he doesn’t want the war to end. He seems determined to continue on the same path in Iraq, despite overwhelming evidence that it is the wrong path. Andrew Rice needs your support now to send Inhofe into retirement.
Andrew has set a unique goal for this fundraising quarter. He challenged his supporters to make a contribution through ActBlue, and help him reach 350 ActBlue supporters by September 30. This week, the Tulsa World took note, quoting the email sent to Andrew’s supporters about the ActBlue challenge.
With five days to go, we have gained support from 120 new supporters. However, we still need 87 more supporters to make a contribution on ActBlue by September 30.
Go to ActBlue now – give whatever you can to help Andrew Rice send Jim Inhofe into retirement.
-Team Rice