Tom Delay Slams Dems as 'Handwringers and Appeasers'

NewsMax ^ | 9/21/02 | Limbacher

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

House GOP Majority Whip Tom Delay, R-Tx, went on the offensive on Friday in the debate over the Bush administration's plans to attack Iraq, slamming House Democrats currently organizing an anti-war coalition as "handwringers and appeasers."

"The Democrats have never been very supportive of these kinds of actions over the history of time," Delay told nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity.

"They didn't vote for the Gulf War, Desert Storm. They are handwringers and appeasers. They believe we ought to dream of peace rather than going out and fight for it.

"It's who they are and what their world view is," the top Republican told Hannity.

Delay was reacting to a report in the Washington Times about a House resolution sponsored by Democrats opposed the war in Iraq.

"Unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq is unjustified, unwarranted and illegal," Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, reportedly complained.

Kucinich, a lead organizer of the House anti-war movement, predicted that "dozens" more Democrats would join a group of 20 legislators already backing the resolution.

The anti-war Democrats also drew the ire of best-selling author Ann Coulter on Saturday morning.

"They know that the American people support defending America, unlike them," Coulter told WOR Radio's Ed Walsh.

"Their real feelings are coming out as much as they can right now, which is that they're desperately dying to provide aid and support to al Qaeda."

"I'm only exaggerating slightly," Coulter added, after Walsh questioned the observation.

[joeyman]

Boy what a mismash this is

"[The Democrats]...didn't vote for the Gulf War, Desert Storm. They are handwringers and appeasers. They believe we ought to dream of peace rather than going out and fight for it.

Reminds me of another democrat, Wilson, who after running for reelection on a platform of "No War" did everything he could to get us into "The War to End All Wars" - sorta like a junkie who says, "This is the last time, really."

"Unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq is unjustified, unwarranted and illegal," Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, reportedly complained.

Under what standard is it illegal? If the congress gave the Pres a declaration of war it would be wrong (in my opinion) but under our constitution (I don't recognize UN Law) it would be perfectly legal.

"Their real feelings are coming out as much as they can right now, which is that they're desperately dying to provide aid and support to al Qaeda."

Ann, although I usually respect your arguments, please remember to focus on the fact that al Qaeda and Sadam are separate entities, that they are in fact unrelated to each other.

I guess it's too much to ask any of these people to be consistant with their arguments. If they would base their political foundations on the principles laid out in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and George Washington's departure speech (beware of overseas entanglements") we'd have some coherentcy of thought.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Alright Tom and Ann. Keep driving the truth home.

[mwl1]

Yes, and use their quotes throughout the campaign season.

[Free_at_last_-2001]

"I'm only exaggerating slightly," - No you were right the first time!

[thinktwice]

People that refuse to know right from wrong, that consider the truth to be whatever they want it to be, that refuse to think because "That's being judgemental"; have no other recourse than pathetic hand wringing when faced with sonething they don't want to face.

Liberalism in a nutshell -- non-thinking misfits.

[Robert_Paulson2]

"al Qaeda and Sadam are separate entities, that they are in fact unrelated to each other."

Just for the record, I think you may be wrong about that. There IS a connection. However, some folks will deny it, even after the evidence is made public. Some folks have a vested interest in denying that sadaam had ANYTHING to do with 9-11... and he did.

Those same folks often deny that the terrorists in Israel are connected to Al Queda... or the ones in the former Yugoslavia, or Chechnya.

Al Queda is active in hundreds of states, including our own. But it is strongest in Islamic/Arab states, and actively raises money and resources, and obtains significant political cover from those states... Iraq IS definitely one of those states. There is evidence of that, it is forthcoming, even more than we already have been told. Al Queda has enjoyed a "safe haven" in Iraq for many many years... and money too.

States that harbor terrorists... are fair targets. Iraq is one of those al queda supporting states... and sadaam has said so publicly.

You will choose, of course, to believe what you will.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" please remember to focus on the fact that al Qaeda and Sadam are separate entities, that they are in fact unrelated to each other. "



Meet The Press, Sept 8, 2002
Videotape, September 16, 2001):
Mr. RUSSERT: Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to this operation?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: No.
(End videotape)
Mr. RUSSERT: Has anything changed, in your mind?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: Well, I want to be very careful about how I say this. I’m not here today to make a specific allegation that Iraq was somehow responsible for 9/11. I can’t say that. On the other hand, since we did that interview, new information has come to light. And we spent time looking at that relationship between Iraq, on the one hand, and the al-Qaeda organization on the other. And there has been reporting that suggests that there have been a number of contacts over the years. We’ve seen in connection with the hijackers, of course, Mohamed Atta, who was the lead hijacker, did apparently travel to Prague on a number of occasions. And on at least one occasion, we have reporting that places him in Prague with a senior Iraqi intelligence official a few months before the attack on the World Trade Center. The debates about, you know, was he there or wasn’t he there, again, it’s the intelligence business.
Mr. RUSSERT: What does the CIA say about that and the president?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: It’s credible. But, you know, I think a way to put it would be it’s unconfirmed at this point. We’ve got...
Mr. RUSSERT: Anything else?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: There is-again, I want to separate out 9/11, from the other relationships between Iraq and the al-Qaeda organization. But there is a pattern of relationships going back many years. And in terms of exchanges and in terms of people, we’ve had recently since the operations in Afghanistan-we’ve seen al-Qaeda members operating physically in Iraq and off the territory of Iraq. We know that Saddam Hussein has, over the years, been one of the top state sponsors of terrorism for nearly 20 years..... And...
Mr. RUSSERT: But no direct link?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: I can’t-I’ll leave it right where it’s at. I don’t want to go beyond that. I’ve tried to be cautious and restrained in my comments, and I hope that everybody will recognize that.

[alethia]

You assessment of the links between Iraq and Al Qaeda are spot on, Robert_Paulson2. There are also definite links with Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, etc. We'll knock down each of those pins when the time is right instead of trying to take them all down at once -- as is proposed by some. That would certainly be a losing proposition -- and stupid -- and GWB and his team can't be accused of being short on IQ. (counter to some previously held beliefs -- I wouldn't want to play poker with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld or Rice -- would you?)

There are also links between far left/communist/political terrorist organizations and religious terrorist organizations. I believe that some of the British demolitions experts in Afghanistan expressed that fact -- that some of the bombs/explosives they were defusing were very unique in design to those used in Northern Ireland.

[alethia]

I guess the meeting between Atta and one of Saddam's "people" is not proof of a link either...

[alethia]

Oh -- and I guess that terrorists never trained in Iraq -- or in terrorist camps sponsored by Iraqi money. Of course, those terrorists may not have been Al Qaeda at that time -- maybe Islamic Jihad, Hamas, even the IRA...

[alethia]

That's the Cheney transcript -- the transcripts from British sources are a bit more definitive. As to the support of terrorist initiatives in the ME...no links between Al Qaeda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc...???

[alethia]

Are you sure they've never trained in Iraq? Training in camps sponsored by Iraqi money is virtually the same thing as training "in country". Are you sure that Al Qaeda doesn't have "graduates" of the other groups "on staff"? You may want to research the backgrounds of some of Osama's top people...

[el_texicano]

Alright. I know this was a Delay vs. Dem article, but Ann Coulter was included...WHERE is the the obligatory photo????