White House to 'hit back' at Democrats (About Time!)

CNN ^ | November 8, 2005 | Dana Bash

[Recovering_Democrat]

As Doubting Thomas said, "I'll believe it when I see it."

[Right Wing Assault]

News Bulletin! Repubs will strike back at dems! (One of these days.)

[stocksthatgoup]

I will believe it when I see it.

[beyond the sea]

White House to 'hit back' at Democrats (About Time!)----

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Baloney, if sending staffers to "ethics briefings" is the beginning of the new offensive........ then Bush is toast!

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And...... bring back Ari.... or General Russel Honore!

[Capriole]

I'm horrified to hear that their idea of hitting back consists of saying, "We made a mistake! But don't blame us, it wasn't our fault--we were just dumb enough to believe faulty intelligence!"

More persuasive would be to go on the offensive by proclaiming the great triumph in Iraq. Conquerors have always known how to do this; why can't the Bush administration get the hang of it? Why all the modesty? We won! We're still kicking butt over there every day! As Patton observed, Americans really are a militant people and they'd cheer if they ever saw a tenth of the positive results of that war that we on FR see.

[evad]

Ok, then a better question would be what do you propose? What approach would YOU take and why? How would YOU change things? This should be a productive discussion, not just what is wrong but how to make it better and you have implied you know the answer.

Here's my proposal...

Posted by evad to Pukin Dog
On News/Activism 10/30/2005 5:11:47 PM EST · 54 of 70

In an effort to stem the tide of negative press coverage, the White House Chief of Staff has decided to replace press secretary Scott McClellan with Pukin Dog. We listen in to his first briefing....

Chief--Members of the press, don't let his name fool ya. He's the most diplomatic straight talking man we could find and he will heal old wounds with his charisma. And now I turn it over to Mr. Dog.

P Dog--Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, I'm a man of few words so let's get right to it. To show you my heart's in the right place I'm calling first on Helen Thomas.

H Thomas--awk, squak, screech....

P Dog--Helen..BLOW ME!

Next question??...silence, chirp chirp

[johnny7]

Lets hope its a 'hay-maker'... not thrown with wobbly legs.

Rotating on ones thumbs seems to be the preferred activity of our Senate Republicans for the past six months.

[zook]

Unless they say, "We know Iraq was seeking uranium and we know Iraq had plans to create WMD," it will be like water off a duck's back.

[Dustbunny]

Geeze, it is about time. I was beginning to wonder if maybe what the De-MARX-ocrats were actually right because the administration did absolutely nothing to set the record straight.

[chris1]

"White House aides, who agreed to speak to CNN only on the condition of anonymity, said they hoped to increase what they called their "hit back" in coming days."

They should promise, not hope.

[chris1]

Isn't it amazing that GWB is more afraid of the RATS than he is the terrorists??????????????????????

[doesnt suffer fools gladly]

What a way to start my day. This is great news. I don't think it's too late. Once the GOP machine revs its engines, look out DIMS!

[Dilbert56]

Some ideas:

• Bag the idea that being right is enough. This Administration has always looked down on answering critics. They've always been content to believe time would prove them right. That hasn't worked for five years. It's time to fight back. Not out of pettiness but because the President cannot advance his agenda with approval ratings in the low 40's. Congress will never stick its neck out for a lame duck. Even his own party (cough, Hagel) will abandon him.
• Address the nation on live television. Watch how Ronald Reagan did it. Plain English - not lawyerese. In fact, make this the only medium for communicating with the public from now on. Do it every week if necessary. Go right around the media filter. Put the White House press corps(e) out of business.
• Everyone loves a good fight. Hit back hard, as forcefully as possible on the Joe Wilson and his tribe of traitors. Read out loud the conclusion of the Butler report which said very clearly that their conclusion on Saddam seeking uranium was not based on the forged documents. Therefore they stand behind their conclusion and the President's use of it in the SOTU. Then read the Senate Select Committee's conclusions regarding Joe Wilson. Everything he said about his boondoggle was wrong and a lot of it was lies. Read Chairman Robert's conclusion about how Wilson was spreading misinformation at a time of war.
• Now that you have their attention, read the National Intelligence Estimate prepared at Carl Levin's request before the war. Ask the American people how they would interpret those estimates if they were the President or a member of Congress. Remind them that about 70% of the House and three-quarters of the Senate all came to the same conclusion. Roll video clips of Senator from both sides of the aisle giving their conclusions. Debunk the "imminent threat" lie.
• It's only fair to review how accurate that intelligence was. Summarize the key conclusions from the real investigations. Dr. David Kay's, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the ISG final report, and the Presidential Blue Ribbon panel. Almost none of their conclusions were ever reported in the media. Take 10 minutes and go through them. Ignore the 9/11 Commission as it turned into a media circus with political posturing trumping facts.
• Mention that convoys of something went into Syria just before the war started. Mention that Gen. Franks was told by one ruler in the region that Saddam was hiding his WMD. Ask why so many Iraqi scientists were murdered before the ISG could talk to them.
• Review the history of Al Qaida and Iraq. Blow the MSM version of its conclusion out of the water. Point out how both 9/11 chairmen said Saddam had AQ links. Point out how they had to publicly offer those opinions because the NY Times put the incorrect conclusion on the top of its front page.
• Restate the plan for Iraq. Rhetorically ask how we're doing. Then mention the number of trained Iraq security force (over 200k). Debunk the stupid there were 3 battalions in category A and now there's one. Point out that the new Iraqi Army was built with a high tooth to tail ratio and may require logistics help for a while longer. Then point out what the MSM ignored - that the terrorists conducted only 19 attacks in October, many fewer than the hundreds did in January. This is proof positive that the security picture is improving. Mention the regions where security has been turned over to the Iraqis. Mention the condition of the road to Baghdad's airport vs. last year. Proof that Iraqis can defend their country when given a chance and, because it's their home turf, they can gather intelligence more easily than we can.
• Mention the reconstruction work and summarize its progress. You know the Dimocrats will complain we're building schools there and we should be building them here, etc. That's why it's important to connect the rebuilding to the success of the new government and how that will lead to victory. Let the Dims look petty and unsupportive of the troops.
• Answer the critics who say Iraq is a distraction from the War on Terror. Emphasize how Al Qaida has said it can't afford to lose in Iraq. How can killing AQ terrorists and denying them the thing they most want be a distraction.

[BJClinton]

Dubya needs to replace McClellan with General Honore. I bet C-Span's ratings would surpass CNN's overnight. And they could do a "best of" episode when the President was on vacation.

[Gritty]

One can only hope they do better than their Social Security Offensive!

[Danae]

ROFL!!! That's a freaking RIOT!!!! Awesome Spidey!

[Danae]

They should ask Tony Snow to fill Scott's job, he made mince meat of Bill Maher and crew last week.

That's a great idea, I just don't think he would do it!

[Bigg Red]

Hopefully this won't involve Scott McClellan...

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I wish they had Ari back.

[Bigg Red]

They shouldn't be telegraphing warnings, they should simply Hit back.

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Good point!

[Bigg Red]

It's about time! I'll believe it when I see it. They have just been too darn polite.