Durbin apology 'right thing' But spokesman won't call for senator to resign leadership post

WND ^ | 6/22/05 | Les Kinsolving

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

At today's White House news briefing, WND asked presidential press secretary Scott McClellan about Sen. Dick Durbin's leadership post in the Senate in light of his controversial comments about the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Yesterday, Durbin apologized for his remarks, which included comparing U.S. treatment of prisoners to "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags or some mad regime – Pol Pot or others – that had no concern for human beings."

WND: Scott, the president has been asked to remove Ken Tomlinson as head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by 16 Democrat senators, including Senator Durbin. And my first question, of two – doesn't the president feel that this is actually a commendation of Mr. Tomlinson, coming as it does from Durbin and the rest of these senators who should instead be asking Durbin to resign as minority whip?

McCLELLAN: Wow, that's tying a lot of things together, Les. Let me just say that we continue to support him. We reappointed him. He was originally appointed by the Clinton administration and we continue to support him in his work.

Next question.

WND: Since you called Senator Durbin's statement, "reprehensible," and Chicago's Democrat Mayor Daley called it disgraceful, and since Senator Lott resigned as majority leader for a statement far less serious than Durbin's, we can report that the president in all fairness wants Durbin to resign from minority leadership, can't we?

McCLELLAN: Well, you're making a lot of assumptions there, Les.

WND: No, I just wondered, can we?

McCLELLAN: Let me just say that –

WND: The president certainly is fair –

McCLELLAN: – I think what the senator did was the right thing to do and I think it was the right thing to say to our men and women in uniform who are serving and sacrificing in defense of freedom.

According to the Washington Times, Lott said before the Durbin apology that the Democrat should resign his leadership post.

Senate Republicans pushed Lott out of his leadership post in December 2002 after controversial comments about then-Sen. Strom Thurmond.

At the time, the Mississippi Republican issued an apology, saying his kind words about Thurmond were not an "endorsement of his positions 50 years ago," and a "poor choice of words" – the latter the exact phrase Mr. Durbin used yesterday, the Times pointed out.

"I had my problem, but mine was totally in jest," Lott told the paper. "His has serious consequences. I think he should consider resigning from his leadership position."

[rawcatslyentist]

The right thing would have been to not have called our military and citizens COMMIE NAZI MURDERERS in the first place!!!!

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged." ---- Abraham Lincoln

Durbinladen's actions on the Senate floor were an act of sabotage against our military.

Apology NOT ACCEPTED Saboteur

Stop Dick Turbinladen Durbin before he aids our enemy again! DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!!!Contact your REPS

Tell them to prosecute this saboteur!!

Link to contact your senator

Link to contact your representative

ABC CBS NBC CNN its all the SAME, Propaganda. Might as well call them all AmeriJazerra. Show them how much Gravitas Hugh Bris has. Vote with your remote! Shut down the Alphabet channels.

He's Got A Plan
Zippo Hero
Seven Dead Monkeys Page O Tunes

[aynrandfreak]

Lott told the paper. "His has serious consequences. I think he should consider resigning from his leadership position."

Consider resigning? That's why we can't let Lott back in as Maj. Leader, especially knowing he was behind the fillibuster 'compromise'

[clearsight]

Saw Durbin's wimpish apology on the news;
so what threats did they level at him to
turn him into such a bowl of jelly???
Good God......if one cannot take the heat then
stay out of the kitchen.
His statements were probably true about the gulag
on the Caribbean......everyone in congress still cowering just like they did when they passed Patriot I (and didn't even read it??). Who are these prepubescent school boys over there in D.C. ????

[clearsight]

Wasn't aware that congress actually voted to go to war with Iraq..........that would require a decision on someone's part, of coarse.........an act apparently they (congress) are to willing to avoid doing to save their insipid little selves.......pitiful group of loser's....all of them.....

[angelsonmyside]

Good gosh, is there a spine left in Washington. This is pathetic, I'm still livid. Maybe we need to stop calling our Sen. and call Mayor Daley. Apparently he is the one that made Dick pretend to apologize.