Former Congressman Tom Delay (R-TX) appeared on Meet The Press this morning to discuss, among other things, the war in Iraq. One of my favorite quotes though, came when Tim Russert challenged Mr. Delay about a statement in which he said he "questions the patriotism" of those who challenge the President's war strategy.
CLICK IMAGE TO PLAYDid you hear that? It's his opinion that, "When you go to war, we should all come together", and, "...once you have our soldiers and our, our young people dying on the battlefield, we should come together."
Wow, that's a nifty opinion there Tom. Now let's see how you "came together" during President Clinton's military action in Bosnia, shall we?
"You can support the troops but not the president." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)Is THAT what they call "coming together" in Texas?
"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today" --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)Wow, you could seriously replace "one month" with "five years" and apply Delay's whole argument to Iraq. Oh, and you could also factor in that Iraq is about 100 times as expensive ...and deadly. But hey Tom, you did "come together", right?
The even funnier thing here is that the United States (to this day) has not lost ONE soldier in combat in Bosnia... yet it was worthy of constant criticism from right-wing politicians, talking-heads, and columnists a decade ago. However, when ANYONE chooses to point out five years of failed policy, planning, and execution in Iraq, they're labeled "unpatriotic" by the same crew who criticized a Democratic President's military action.
Am I wrong? I thought right-wingers HATED flip-flopping?
