Posted on 11/15/2005 10:58:24 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
Earlier today I posted a thread reporting on Bill Frist's appearance on the Today show, during which he touted his weak-sister proposal for withdrawal from Iraq. Here's a link to the thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1522296/posts
Sure enough, it didn't take the Dems long to exploit Frist's weakness. Check out the email below just received from John Kerry. Frist and his fellow GOP supporters of the proposal have no one to blame but themselves.
-----------------------------------
Dear ,
You can feel the ice breaking. For far too long, Republican leaders have refused to challenge the aimless Bush "stay as long as it takes" approach to Iraq. But now, their unwillingness to act has started to crumble.
Today in the Senate, facing a Democratic resolution on Iraq, the Republicans offered their own call for President Bush to come up with a plan. They didn't go nearly far enough, but clearly our call for a concrete plan is gaining momentum.
It's time for the next step. Help our "20,000 troops home over the holidays" campaign place billboards in the home districts of Republican leaders.
Help place billboards in Republican leaders' home districts
To date, over a quarter of a million people have signed our call to withdraw 20,000 troops from Iraq over the holidays. That withdrawal should be linked to the completion of December elections in Iraq - and it should be the first step in the concrete plan for Iraq that President George W. Bush owes the American people.
We shouldn't let America's brave men and women go another day without having such a plan in place. That's why we're turning up the heat with our Billboards and House Signs campaign over the next month.
Will you add your voice and your financial support to this effort right now?
Help place billboards in Republican leaders' home districts
This is the next key step in a grassroots organizing and mobilizing campaign that won't end until we've forced the Bush administration to act. The best way to do that is to turn up the heat on Republican leaders in Congress.
It's important to get our "20,000 troops home over the holidays" message out everywhere. With your help, we'll run these billboards where they can be seen by key Republican leaders of Congress.
And, to extend this phase of our "20,000 troops home over the holidays" effort to your own hometown, here's what we've done. We've created a downloadable version of the billboard that you can print and post in your own home.
Download and display a house sign
We can feel the momentum building every day behind our call for a concrete plan for Iraq. And our Billboards and House Signs initiative can keep moving things forward. Let's make it happen.
Sincerely,
John Kerry
P.S. We've got to act fast to place and produce these billboards. In addition to donating, I hope you'll pass news of this exciting initiative on to your friends and colleagues by forwarding this message now.
Paid for by Friends of John Kerry, Inc.
We apologize if you received this message in error. Click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list.
Friends of John Kerry, Inc., 511 C St. NE, Washington DC, 20002, U.S.A.
Please add two names of GOP Senators that voted NO on both amendments...
Sen. Chambliss
Sen. Bunning
I am sorry...I overlooked them.
Nah, never to old to learn.
Sessions has faults, absolutely, as does the President and any breathing human being on this planet. But this is similiar to the case I made during the Miers episode.
I TRUST the President, but do not attribute to him the Faith I would give my Creator to be unquestionably without error. I trust I know his soul. He's a good man, he tries to the best of his ability to do the right thing. Sometimes he makes mistakes, but it's not from a desire to lie or harm another. I Trust in his Character. This is the same trust I afford to Sessions. Perhaps the only member of the Senate body I afford that level of trust.
But, as a politician, they are subject to me and I've the right to question and urge correction if not in agreement with their work product. As well as strongly defend when I find them correct.
I believe Sessions has his head on straight. As does the President. Can they make mistakes? Sure. This is where Reagan's "Trust but Verify" comes into play. Trust in their Character but verify for possible human error.
Kerry, all everyone said about him is true. Thank you Swift Boat Vets for sounding the alarm -- you were right and the whole world now knows it.
I really don't believe the polls are anything more than name recognition.
My basic point is that Rudy is steadfast in what he believes and I commend him for that. Steadfast in the WOT. I commend him on that. That's what makes him attractive as a candidate whereas other Republican candidates are driftless, wherever the poll leads them to stand.
But, I really don't want a Liberal on the top of the ticket. I just keep wishing a conservative with some of Rudy's qualities...the President's qualities...Sessions, Honore, Reagan etc...would show up.
I will say this. I'd vote and work for Guilini IF a conservative didn't make it our of the primary, whereas I'd spend every waking moment working to defeat McCain and Hagel. Newt I'd hold my nose, but do no work on behalf.
Thanks for the ping Mark.
It seems to me that the general public just doesn't perceive any of this and its just background noise to them. The MSM will have to beat this drum loudly to get any milage out of it. 'Course they are pretty good at making something from nothing.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Whenever some nincompoop (sp?) says something along the lines of "this war was mistake" (and can't you just hear the nasally whining) my reply is, "so, you are of the opinion that Saddam-the-Butcher-of-Bagdad should still be in power?"
I'm not relying on Kerry, I'm noting the fact that the GOP resolution gave fodder to the opposition which they are very predictably exploiting. Other than yourself, I don't note anyone on this thread supporting the GOP resolution.
Please have a look at the list of names of good conservative GOP senators that appears on this thread who voted against the resolution, and tell me whether you prefer to identify with them, or with the Snows, Collins and Specters of the world who supported it.
McCain usually takes the brunt of negative comments - to be fair; note that he voted NO & NO
>>>>>Sincerely, John Kerry<<<<<
Oxymoron.
Yes....but, his amendment re: torture...takes that point away from him, IMO...
Almost every news headline I've seen said that the GOP STOPPED the Dems from setting a timetable for withdrawal.
Led by McCain and Lott.
I'm a relatively new (6 years) Alabamian and am very proud to have the Hon. Jeff Sessions representing me in the Senate. I wish I could say the same for our other Senator, the former democrat Richard Shelby.
While I agree with your basic sentiment that Mr. Sessions would make a fine President, I'd rather see him fill the vacuum that exists in the leadership roles in the Senate. He may not possess the political savvy to manufacture backroom deals, but damnit, when he says something you can take it to the bank. He'd also make a great Attorney General or Supreme Court Justice.
I'd love him to be ML, but I doubt most of the cowardly caucus could handle the pressure of a ML that didn't roll over.
Please have a look at the list of names of good conservative GOP senators that appears on this thread who voted against the resolution, and tell me whether you prefer to identify with them, or with the Snows, Collins and Specters of the world who supported it.
Thanks for the conversation but we are both beating a dead horse so to speak because neither one of us is going to change how we view what happened.
I believe if the Republicans had not responded the Democrats would still have attacked the Republicans for simply voting down the Levin proposal with the same zeal.
IMHO it was better for the Republicans to rewrite the Levin proposal, eliminate the key objective of the Democrats (the time-lines), and force the Democrats to vote with the Republicans on the Frist Warner proposal essentially opposing time-lines. The vote on the Levin proposal was a major defeat for the Democrats. The Frist Warner proposal essentially changes nothing about how Bush will conduct the war but forced the Democrats to again, vote Yes for no time-lines. IMHO it was a brilliant maneuver by the Reps.
You see the GOP proposal as fodder to the opposition which they are very predictably exploiting. Exploiting means using to the greatest possible advantage. I say the Dems cannot exploit the GOP proposal because their primary objective, time lines, has been successfully blunted. They can, and will of course, use the MSM to try and convince the American people they have won something but since it hasn't changed how the war will be conducted 1 iota it is just spin.
Anyway, thanks again for the conversation and don't believe the polls, we are winning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.