Posted on 06/20/2005 9:08:52 AM PDT by yoe
Editor's Note:
Following is the text of Speaker Newt Gingrich's letter to the members of the United States Senate.)
Office of Speaker Newt Gingrich
June 18, 2005
U.S. Senate
Capitol Hill
Washington, DC
Dear Senator:
By his statements equating American treatment of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay with the behavior of the evil regimes of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and Pol Pot's Cambodia, Senator Richard Durbin has dishonored the United States and the entire U.S. Senate. Only by a vote to censure Senator Durbin for his conduct can the U.S. Senate restore its dignity and defend American honor.
Senator Durbin's comparison, sadly, is despicable.
U.S. Senators should be clear about the gravity of Senator Durbin's comparison. Nine million innocent human beings were murdered in Hitler's death camps, nearly three million perished in the gulags under Stalin, and more than one and a half million were slaughtered in the killing fields of Cambodia at the hand of Pol Pot. And while not a single terrorist has died in detention at Guantanamo, Senator Durbin sees fit to liken our American service men and women to the terrifying murderers of three evil despotic regimes.
Moreover, Senator Durbin equates the terrorist detainees at Guantanamo with the millions of innocent men, women, and children exterminated by the order of evil dictators. The fact that he did so as a high ranking member of the Senate on the Senate floor makes his comparison all the more shocking.
This moral equivalence isn't just utterly false; it endangers the lives of our young men and women in the military because it arms every radical Islamist with the official-record words of a Senate leader to justify their war of terror against civilized people everywhere.
Senator Durbin's statement of "regret" on Friday has only compounded the need for the Senate to act. In it, Senator Durbin said that "I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood. I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings ... "
Incredibly, Senator Durbin is sticking to his original assertion that there is indeed, in his own words, an "historic parallel" between U.S. soldiers at Guantanamo Bay and the killers under Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. In other words, his only regret is that Americans don't understand his misreading of history and that he has caused us to misunderstand him. Offering no apology for the original slanderous statement itself, Senator Durbin has chosen instead to actually defend his comparisons. This defense makes his original speech all the more revolting.
It's one thing for one Senator to endanger young Americans and defame America; it would be the shame of the Senate if the other 99 senators did not stand up to defend America and to defend the reputation of our young men and women in uniform.
A Senate censure of Senator Durbin is justified and would reaffirm a standard for healthy, rational debate. By voting for or against the censure, the rest of the members of the U.S. Senate can go on record and make clear how they judge Senator Durbin's characterization of American soldiers. It will also send a clear message to terrorists who will use the words of a Senate leader against us that the Senate stands in support of America and our military and against those who seek to destroy the free people of the United States.
There is historic precedent for censuring Senators whose words bring dishonor and disrepute on the Senate and impair its dignity; Senator Durbin's words fit that precedent.
In this case, expressing outrage is not enough. It is time for the Senate to act. Senator Durbin must be censured now.
Sincerely,
Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
It's amazing how the MSM is all over this. ;^D
Media protecting democrats, don't cha know?
I know what you're saying.
Over the weekend, I asked my mom if she had heard about this. She watches the MSM news and reads the paper...but continues to have a brain and mind of her own.
She hadn't read or heard one thing about Durbin's comments.
Whenever the MSM says that they don't run interference for the Dems, I remember instances like this.
Screw the MSM!
I don't think I am going to hold my breath waiting for these two clowns from Mississippi to say or do anything. Lott don't care he is leaving and Cochran is too busy covering his rear over the lynching apology.
You're a Great American, Newt!!!
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
A list of Senators and their contact information
I still think Durbin needs a good rap on his head with a heavy skillet.
What the MSM won't admit, even to themselves, is that the bias in what to cover is worse than the bias in how it is covered.
Do I find Chambliss' comments on his website, you suppose?
He's proud of his comments.
HA1 If it's a Republican, it's 'racist' or 'mean'. If it's a Democrat it's 'passionate'!
Get the moderator to remove your comment immediately, or you stand likely to get a SS visit.
Didn't see Chambliss's comments on his website. On Isakson's website is a news brief that he and fellow Freshman Senators called on Durbin to apologize.
It takes grace to apologize.
Durbin is clearly not a standup kind of guy. His statements were grandstanding. Guess he's looking for more publicity. Wish that publicity would bite him in the ass.
Actually, what needs to happen is he should be forced to resign.
Carolyn
bttt
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