Posted on 08/09/2003 6:36:42 AM PDT by Lawgvr1955
Former Congressman Paul Findley (R-Jacksonville) told the Illinois Times that America is in the "darkest of times." JACKSONVILLE -- A former Republican congressman from central Illinois recently made Illinois news when he called President George W. Bush "the most dangerous guy in the world."
Patrick Arden wrote in Springfield-based Illinois Times, a free alternative newsweekly, that 82 year old retired Congressman Paul Findley (R-Jacksonville) is unhappy with many of President Bush's foreign policy decisions.
Findley is quoted as saying:
Bush has been a disaster. I view him as, in a sense, the most dangerous guy in the world because he commands enormous military power and he doesn't have to get the consent of anyone to use it. His assertion of special privileges as world policeman, reserving the right for preemptive attacks against any power that would threaten our security, that really troubles me.
Findley served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for the downstate 20th Congressional district from 1961-83. In 1982, Findley was defeated by (now) United States Senator Richard J. Durbin who became the district's congressman until he was elected in 1996 as a U.S. Senator.
Findley was also the founding chairman of the Washington-based Council for the National Interest. According to the councils website their mission is to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values, protects our national interests and contributes to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as to restore a political environment in America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue influence and pressure of a foreign country, namely Israel.
Surrounded in his office by momentos, Arden wrote in the July 31 issue of Illinois Times that Findley has " . . . photos of him with Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford. He shows off a woodcarving signed by his friend Yasser Arafat."
Findley prides himself on being one of the principal authors of the War Powers Resolution. The War Powers Act, 50 USC S.1541-1548, was passed in 1973 over the veto of President Nixon. The Act spells out the situations under which the President may deploy the Armed Forces with and without a Congressional declaration of war.
"I hope I live long enough to see some major justice in the Middle East," Findley said in the interview, "but the skies are blacker now than anytime I can remember. It's our darkest time, though there are two reasons to remain hopeful: Bush is the first U.S. president to clearly say that Palestinian statehood was a clear objective of our government policy . . . Once Bush grasps the enormity of the problem, and how it affects much of the world, he may do the right thing."
The complete interview is available online at the Illinois Times website in a story entitled "Our darkest time."
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What are your thoughts about Findley's comments? Is he right? Write your comments to us at letters@illinoisleader.com, and include your name and town.
Here are some other prominent Republicans of yore, who had similar anti-conservative viewpoints:
* Bob Packwood
* Lowell Weicker
* Earl Warren
* Warren Rudman
I could give more examples if you wish. This wing of the party was flushed down the toilet with the emergence of Ronald Reagan, thank god, but some dregs still survive.
STEPHEN JONES, Attorney, Enid, OK
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Tim McVeigh's defense attorney -- Hmmm... Strange bedfellows...
So he's saying we can never strike first, no matter that the threat is imminent and/or potentially devastating. This guy is so out of touch with reality. Out in Left field, so to speak.
From the same source I cited:
Stephen Jones is an attorney working in Enid, OK. He is a former aide to Congressman Paul Findley.
Wait.
Wait.
OK. Tin foil hat ON!
Trajan88
ENID, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Stephen Jones, Timothy McVeigh's one-time lead attorney, is convinced that his former client exaggerated his own guilt to shield others from prosecution in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
So he is troubled that President Bush is willing to go after those that would threaten our security, well, I find that very troubling. Actually, I agree with him to this extent: President Bush is the most dangerous man in the world. He is dangerous to the terrorists, to the Democrats, and possibly the French. I, however, do not feel at all threatened by President Bush but I do feel threatened by the terrorists, the Democrats especially, and even sometimes the French.
What more needs to be said?
Well this congressman is either a liar or an idiot...maybe both?
I am quite familiar with S. Jones, his work, and his writing re the OKC bombing case. I was, however, unaware of that particular association with Findley.
Tinfoil hat? It must get uncomfortably warm under there...
Free America:
Under This Sign--Conquer!
W
That, in a "nut"shell cinches up any idea of how delusional his thought process is.
Yes, I totally agree. Bush is the most dangerous man in the world: to all terrorists, communists, socialists and, more importantly, Demonrats.
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