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Democrats Surge to Frame Political Debate Over Troops
New York Times ^ | January 10, 2007 | JIM RUTENBERG

Posted on 01/09/2007 7:58:06 PM PST by bd476



WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 — “Cut and run” versus “stay the course” is so 2006.

This week has ushered in a new political battle over the language of the war: “Surge,” meet “escalation.”

The Democrats introduced the latter word to portray President Bush’s expected proposal for a troop increase in Iraq in a negative light.

“An escalation, whether it is called a surge or any other name, is still an escalation, and I believe it will be an immense new mistake,” Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said Tuesday in a speech critiquing Mr. Bush’s as-yet-unannounced Iraq plan.

Should the significance of the word be lost on those too young to remember its loaded usage during the Vietnam War, Senator Kennedy added: “The Department of Defense kept assuring us that each new escalation in Vietnam would be the last. Instead, each one led only to the next.”

On Sunday, the new House speaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, used “escalate” or “escalation” six times during an interview on the CBS News program “Face the Nation.”

Asked at his regular briefing on Tuesday about the Democrats’ use of the “E” word, Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, initially said, “I think a lot of times people are going to try to find a one-word characterization that allows them to make a political point without perhaps diving into the details.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bush; escalate; iraq; kennedy; pelosi; surge
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1 posted on 01/09/2007 7:58:07 PM PST by bd476
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Semantics is the offering, as usual, from the Democrats.

2 posted on 01/09/2007 7:59:32 PM PST by bd476
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To: bd476

eff 'em....


3 posted on 01/09/2007 8:00:11 PM PST by clintonh8r
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To: clintonh8r

Lets see they have the power of the purse but they settle for "symbolic" votes, what a joke


4 posted on 01/09/2007 8:02:14 PM PST by italianquaker (Democrats its time to fish or cut bait, no more blaming Prez Bush.)
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To: bd476

It's a bogus characterization. I'd say what we did in Somalia was an escalation. Adjusting troop levels in Iraq is just troop management.

Have the Rats complained about the real escalation yet?


5 posted on 01/09/2007 8:05:49 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: bd476

President Bush is Commander in Chief! What part of the US Constitution does the NYTs and DEMs not understand!


6 posted on 01/09/2007 8:08:01 PM PST by avacado
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To: Dog Gone

Why should we be surprised?

The murderous drunk's father was a Nazi sympathiser and appeaser.

The drunk, himself, helped sabotage the Vietnam war.

And now he is wanting to do the same in Iraq.

At least he's consistent..


7 posted on 01/09/2007 8:09:05 PM PST by Wil H
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Dick and Jane
Ted and Nancy: Fun with Words




8 posted on 01/09/2007 8:14:07 PM PST by bd476
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To: bd476

9 posted on 01/09/2007 8:18:12 PM PST by Gritty (Permanence is the illusion of every age - Mark Steyn)
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To: Wil H

The President should call their bluff. Even the crazy ones know that America won`t stand for cutting the legs out from under our troops. Of course if falls for it (he won`t), that w3ould be just fine with them. Watch the attacks on our guys really pick up in Iraq as this is decided.


10 posted on 01/09/2007 8:19:10 PM PST by neverhillorat (IF THE RATS WIN, WE ALL LOSE)
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To: bd476
Well, well lets FRAME the democRATs: picture this a very wide yellow stripe down ones back and a large "cut & run" sign on the front side....

This is todays democRATs
11 posted on 01/09/2007 8:19:27 PM PST by geo40xyz (Born a democRAT, dad set me free in 1952: He said that I was not required to be a MF'ing DemocRAT)
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To: Dog Gone
“The Department of Defense kept assuring us that each new escalation in Vietnam would be the last. Instead, each one led only to the next.”

What do you say about a man who is willing to trash his own dead brother to score political points?

12 posted on 01/09/2007 8:20:17 PM PST by Howlin (Don't blame me, I voted Republican!)
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To: bd476
I heard a caller on Rush (or perhaps Sean) today make the case that if funding is with held to thwart the "surge", then the Democrats implicitly support "staying the course".

Which only post - Baker report, they were hell bent against.

They confuse me,

13 posted on 01/09/2007 8:21:12 PM PST by llevrok (Born a ham. Never cured.)
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To: Dog Gone
Agree, Dog Gone. I think they're playing mind/word games for an audience, to set people up for tomorrow night. Just hard to believe anyone could take them seriously.

Dog Gone wrote: "Have the Rats complained about the real escalation yet?"

Lol! And it's unlikely they will.

14 posted on 01/09/2007 8:21:51 PM PST by bd476
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To: bd476

never seen so much bullshitting with the meaning of words in my entire life.


15 posted on 01/09/2007 8:22:11 PM PST by Cinnamon
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To: bd476
Semantics is the offering, as usual, from the Democrats.

Exactly. It is just another example of Madison Avenue meets the Democratic Party. The Democrats no longer try to make an intellectual case for their views; they simply push the hot buttons in people's minds. The Democrats' trotting out the hot-button word "escalation" is not essentially different from a beer company's using bikini-clad girls of college age to sell its product.

It is insulting when Madison Avenue treats us so condescendingly, and even more so when a major political party does the same thing. But what else can one expect from a party that uttered barely two words in 2006--"corrupt" and "incompetent"--and uttered them over and over?

Sadly, it worked for them. They are no doubt counting on its working again.

16 posted on 01/09/2007 8:22:22 PM PST by AmericanExceptionalist (Democrats believe in discussing the full spectrum of ideas, all the way from far left to center-left)
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To: Howlin

Two words: Cindy Sheehan.

She's gotten perks we could only dream about by trashing what her son did.


17 posted on 01/09/2007 8:22:43 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone

I think Teddy's just following in the footsteps of his old dad:

"Kennedy rejected the warnings of Winston Churchill that compromise with Nazi Germany was impossible; instead he supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement in order to stave off a second world war that would be a more horrible "armageddon" than the first."


18 posted on 01/09/2007 8:23:39 PM PST by Howlin (Don't blame me, I voted Republican!)
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To: bd476
The Democrats introduced the latter word to portray President Bush’s expected proposal for a troop increase in Iraq in a negative light.

Fine. If the word has negative connotations, I say we had an escalation of Democrats in Congress after the elections.

19 posted on 01/09/2007 8:24:53 PM PST by edpc (The pen is mightier than the sword......until you fight someone.)
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To: avacado

Let them scream from now until eternity, President Bush will get the troops surge, and the funds, we will win this war and the traitors and defeatists among us will be crushed.


20 posted on 01/09/2007 8:25:06 PM PST by jveritas (Support The Commander in Chief in Times of War)
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