Posted on 01/07/2003 11:16:44 AM PST by kattracks
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is dismissing critics who didn't like her praise last month for 9/11 terror mastermind Osama bin Laden as a group of politically motivated right-wingers.
"The far right has started their 2004 campaign," Murray told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday, alluding to her bid for re-election next year.
The Washington state liberal described her comments condemning the U.S. for not doing as much as bin Laden to help the people of the Middle East as merely a "tangential" concern.
"The number one issue for me and our state is the economy," said Murray, who is now her party's political director and chief fund-raiser in the Senate. "My job is to make sure people in Washington state have jobs."
But while reporters have given Murray a pass, newspaper editors around the country have been flooded with letters complaining that her remarks were at least as bad as the comments of ex-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, whose praise for Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential candidacy last month cost him his leadership slot.
And Washington state Republicans have challenged Murray to a debate over her claim that the al-Qaeda terror chief is actually a humanitarian, something she said her remarks were intended to provoke.
"It is a debate I think we ought to have," Murray told a group of Washington state high school students on Dec. 18, after insisting, "We've got to ask, why is this man [Osama bin Laden] so popular around the world? Why are people so supportive of him in many countries that are riddled with poverty?"
Answering her own question, the bin Laden-friendly Democrat explained:
"He's been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. We haven't done that."
Though the White House has declined repeated requests by NewsMax.com for a reaction to Murray's pro-bin Laden outburst, reports on Friday said the Bush political team has stepped up pressure on popular Washington state GOP Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn to challenge the bin Laden booster in 2004.
Dunn, who has yet to decide on entering the race, said last week that while she doesn't think Murray should be forced to resign over her comments, her praise for the 9/11 mastermind was "ill-considered" and "stupid."
Even some of Murray's fans seem to concur on the latter point. "She's not the brightest bulb in the box," Fox News Channel commentator Ellen Ratner told Seattle radio host Mike Siegel on Tuesday.
Ms. Murray keeps digging herself in deeper and deeper. I sent her an e-mail asking her to please not resign because she makes a much easier target than any replacement that Locke would make.
Do accurate descriptions bother you? The whole point of abortion is to kill unborn babies, isn't it?
I could do without Joe Farah at WND because of his obsession with Creationism, which kills his believability.
But as far as facts printed in either WND or NewsMax, if you've got evidence of untruths in either place, bring it on. Otherwise, they are legitimate news sources.
Just something I've noticed...
You can bet your buttocks on that Fatima, someone has to love their country.
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.