Teetering On The Stairs..... And Falling

What happened to the Democratic party? The once great "Party of the People" is no more. A defeatist attitude from the Vietnam era has left the dems in a bind. Even the Washington Post is running articles stating the obvious: They just don't know when to stop. And that's a good thing. Note to Howard Dean... Keep it up, my man. Other papers are also showing the chinks in the Democratic arguments: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=257038&Category=23 Examples include: The completely invisible (until now) Congressman Murtha (D-PA) and his spineless cronies call to "withdraw all U.S. troops in Iraq within six months" is a joke. One former and two current Marines I've spoken with say the man is entitled to his opinion, but should never mention again that he was Marine since comments like that do nothing to help the morale of the fighting men and women in Iraq. Joan Rivers impersonator, and possible male, California democrat Nancy Pelosi agreed with Murtha on the pullout. She/He also said: "...more than half of House Democrats support her."and Despite Pelosi's claims that she echoes the views of most members in her caucus, plenty of Democrats are cringing at her new high profile on an Iraq withdrawal. If that's the case, can anyone tell me why they would vote for a party that voices such negative thoughts? In a quick scramble: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the second-ranking House Democratic leader, have told colleagues that Pelosi's recent endorsement of a speedy withdrawal, combined with her claim that more than half of House Democrats support her position, could backfire on the party, congressional sources said. Howard Dean also can't seem to keep his mouth shut, and remains the gift that keeps on giving... to the Republicans. Dean made an insane declaration to a San Antonio radio station Monday saying that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."

Others have also voiced a strange position that this war should not be viewed as one that can be won or lost. WTF? I say a little prayer every night thanking God we didn't have congressmen that wanted to bail during the long stretch of WW2. Because you know, we would not be able to win against facism, would we? It could be a tie, right? Morons. The real concern here is not their opposition to the war or policy. I have no problem with it if that is their honest view. The problem I see is their lack of confidence (read: backbone) when it comes to a fight that requires time. We're talking less than 4 years on a war that may take decades, and people want these spineless monkeys as US leaders? That frightens me. There have been many wars in the past that were not popular, but this is the first time (that I can find) opposition leaders have come out in force, in such a short period of time, to derail the war effort. It is the belief of this writer that it will hurt them in the long run. There have always been protestors, that's not new, but the politicians have lost their little minds with some newsbites they are allowing to escape their mouths. Have the dems (and some republicans) forgotten that some wars are not won in a few days, or a year? It was nice to wrap up Desert Storm, Grenada, and a few others over a couple of weekends, but that's not the norm. I don't understand why that fails to sink into their heads, and they suddenly align themselves with the "we can't win, we shouldn't win" crowd. Which brings me to my final point: The war is winnable, and justifiable, but nobody is reporting that, are they? The adage: If it bleeds, it leads takes center stage on the evening news. It's sad that there are few views of the good that is coming to Iraq. Wall Street Journal Opinion Under the sub-heading of: "Why aren't the media telling the whole story about Iraq?"

By : Don Rumsfeld

I love it when liberal panties get in a wad over what he says. What a guy.

(About this picture: If only) A few points: I don't put much faith in polls. Never have. But If this poll is somewhat correct, the dichotomy between the two views of a winnable (Republican) war, or a we will continue to lose (Democratic) war shows a vast gulf between the two parties that may never be spanned again. The following poll is from the Pew Research Center, and asked opinion leaders in the United States their views of the prospects for a stable democracy in Iraq. From the story: Here were some of the results: 63% of people in the news media thought the enterprise would fail. So did 71% of people in the foreign affairs establishment and 71% in academic settings or think tanks. Interestingly, opinion leaders from the U.S. military are optimistic about Iraq by a margin of 64% to 32%. And so is the American public, by a margin of 56% to 37%. Why does it not surprise me that the brainiacs, and those of the liberal arts bent believe failure is in the cards for Iraq? It seems their life outside of the academic and journalistic world, is a letdown compared to those in other industries. It could be they have to deal with facts, and differing opinion instead of constant reinforcement of beliefs. So, they hide in their classrooms and behind their editorial staff, fomulating ideas that are soundly disproved when shown the light of reasoning. The final statements are the most important, and Democrats could learn a few things about restoring confidence in them as a party with Rumsfeld's words below. First, here's my advice: Grow a pair, and stop sounding like a whining schoolgirl with a frog dropped down her blouse. Now, here's some ending thoughts from Rumsfeld: Quitting is not a strategy. Quitting is an invitation to more attacks and more terrorist violence here at home. This is not just an hypothesis. The U.S. withdrawal from Somalia emboldened Osama bin Laden in the 1990s. We know this. He has said so. The message retreat in Iraq would send to the free people of Iraq and to moderate Muslim reformers throughout the region would be that they can't count on America. The message it would send to our enemies would be: that if America will not defend itself against terrorists in Iraq, it will not defend itself against terrorists anywhere. What is needed is resolve, not retreat; courage, not concession. Rather than thinking in terms of an exit strategy, we should be focused on a strategy for success. The president's strategy focuses on progress on the political, economic, and security tracks. You can read that strategy paper on the White House's Web site.

Maybe Captain Capitulation could learn something from this article too. Then again, he believes our troops are terrorists, so maybe not.

Read the rest of Rumsfeld at the link above.