GOPers All Pledge Allegiance To War In Iraq

During Thursday's Republican debate, moderator Tim Russert asked the candidates: Was the war in Iraq a good idea and has it been worth the blood and treasure we have lost. Watch their answers:

Comments

[elsylee]

I'm undecided, but found this great article called "The Convenience of Civility" on the BlogZine SAVAGE POLITICS.

http://savagepolitics.com/

It takes a great look at each of the GOP Candidates.

Here is an excerpt:
"Last night’s MSNBC Republican Candidates Debate was an important one for the GOP Presidential Candidates because it was aired from Florida, an immense State from which many of these candidate’s continued tenure depends upon. The expectations ran high, when you considered the latest Democratic Candidates Debate was headlined with personal attacks and other assorted political squabble that many claim overrode the serious discourse of issues. It had thus been expected of the Republicans to elevate their own profile by engaging in some fighting of their own, giving the Media Networks something interesting to talk about the next day. Unfortunately for them, from the very beginning of the debate, the mood was calm and composed, thanks in part to the absence of Fred Thompson from the race, a candidate known for his overwhelming boorishness but prone to aggressive attacks against his opponents. In fact, it was the utter civility and mature tone of the debate which truly stood out of the whole night, a fact attributed by many pundits to the Republican intention of distinguishing themselves from the opposing party’s antics. This tranquility in the discussions allowed for a comprehensive debate on current political and economic problems affecting our Country. What did each candidate bring to the discussion which finally highlighted their individual personalities?..." Find the rest of the article at http://savagepolitics.com/

[Nova16]

This country has tragically put up with one ignoramus in the White House for the past seven years starting a phony war based on lies, deception and chicanery, seriously dividing the nation into bickering, adverserial groups and bankrupting our treasury, we don't need another republican ignoramus to gain power and control. There still may be time to recover from the Bush administration when he leaves office to do whatever the hell he does, but if would be disaster if the fascist republicans, who love war because it satiates their appetites for greed and profit, to control the government of the United States.

[ajax2]

Why aren't they and their children in Iraq?

[DavidAF]

Of course they leave out the only GOP member who speaks any kind of truth. The only one who doesn't run his campaign on "this why you should like me better". The one who listens and does his own homework and the one who doesn't have an imperialistic mentality; RON PAUL! I see morons, who say, "Ron is Insane" or "his ideas are bizarre", but for some curious reason these people can't justify why. They basically are like little high school kids who say they don't like someone and can't give any reason why. If Americans weren’t so Afraid of the hurtful truth, they would be voting Ron into Office. In other words, if Americans weren’t so selfish, lazy, dumb, naive, apathetic, arrogant, and uneducated in U.S. or World history and basic policy, Ron would be President.

I guarantee if Hillary gets into Office, people will be very disappointed. If Mccain gets into office, he’ll doom this country. If Romney gets into office, well I’m not sure if he will doom us or be very disappointing. If Obama gets into Office, some good might come of it. The man has high potential. Huckabee would turn this country into a theocracy. Rudy would turn this county into a soft version of Nazi Germany. If Edwards were in office, some good would come of it, but not that much.

[KarenZipdrive]

Anyone who thinks the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war without end were EVER good ideas is too fucking insane to be elected.
The GOP candidates who have refused to distance themselves from the traitorous, fascist regime of George W. Bush do not deserve serious consideration.

[kevenseven]

Off topic, but I don't care, regarding Telecom immunity and warrantless wiretapping:

BREAKING NEWS!

There IS hope! From Greenwald at Salon:

UPDATE V: There was some significant, and apparently unexpected, obstructionism on the part of Republicans this afternoon, whereby they blocked votes on any of the pending amendments and then filed a Motion for Cloture (i.e., to force a vote on the Senate Intelligence Committee bill as is), the vote on which will occur on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Supposedly, the obstructionism angered Reid and other Democrats and now Reid will not only support Dodd's filibuster but urge his caucus to do so as well.

I'm still trying to understand exactly what occurred procedurally and what the implications are, but for now, both Marcy Wheeler and McJoan have good explanations. The essence is that 36 Democrats already voted against the SIC bill (and in favor of the Judiciary Committee bill). To sustain a filibuster, they need 41 Senators who refuse to vote for cloture -- meaning they would need to convert 3 Democrats who voted for the SIC bill, plus Obama and Clinton (who are scheduled to be in DC on Monday for the State of the Union address). This is where Obama and Clinton's leadership could really make a genuine difference. More on this later.

UPDATE VI: Tim Tagaris, recently of the Dodd campaign, has much more analysis and information about what occurred today.

There were three embedded links in the text:

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/01/24/what-ever-happened-to-upperdown-votes/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/24/18101/4412/844/442586

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3410

Act NOW or don't come on this board pissing about the Dems caving again! We only need to turn three votes

[vippy]

On MSN they asked who the winning candidate was and 57% said RON PAUL!!! That is good news.
When asked who spoke the truth it was again
RON PAUL. I hope voters remember this come election day. Go RON, for you are now the only one with change in mind, change we direly need.

[mrcontinental]

I actually made about 28 minutes of the debate; painful though it was, and have come to the conclusion that EVERY ONE of these assclowns scares the hell out of me. I have never in my life witnessed so much utter bullshit delivered with such precision.

America is DOOMED.

[imsosure]

I'm surprised they didn't all slip and slide off the stage, that many greasy slim balls all standing in one place.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173

[Gatormouth]

In addition to their position on “The War” (it’s not a war, really, is it’s more a discretionary executive action) how about their position on Free vs Fair Trade and loss of U.S. jobs and investment capital? That is another “war” that the American Nation and people are losing, and "free" trade is unilateral disarmament.
According to Clausewitz ”War is politics by another means.” I think one should also realize that international trade is war by another means as well. The object here is to maximize profits, minimize costs, dominate and control markets, and eliminate competition. The degrees to which these elements are expressed depend upon the culture of the human participants.

In a super market in Des Moines you expect quiet transactions with posted prices with units of sale that no one argues over. There seems to be no argument, no yelling, no winners and no losers. Thats not how international trade really works. Most companies are in a competition with each other and their markets and are only restrained by law, not ethics, from what we would call “unfair” competition. Without laws, the employees would be paid the absolute minimum possible, competitors would be crushed as far as possible, and the customers would be bullied.

That is what laws and regulations are for, and God help us if the corporations become able to dictate those laws! And I don’t care what laws written for the benefit of corporations by bought politicians say about corporations being a legal person, they are not a person and they are not capable of loyalty, ethics, altruism, love, or a sense of fair play. Only (some, not all) real people are capable of that. Remember, at the extremes an international corporation is not an American corporation, and an American corporation is not an international one. One has roots and responsibilities and has accepted regulations intended to insure the common good. The other is rogue. Politicians who support this rogue behavior are in a real sense subversive, and are ignoring the will of the electorate, having found better paying constituents elsewhere.

[fra38nk]

Can someone please explain.(In a 90 minute program why was Dr Paul only asked 2 questions while the other candidates were asked multiple questions?) Is this a fair way for the media to conduct a non-biased debate?

[Jinxykb]

I am stunned that all the candidates (except Ron Paul)back the war and think it was a good idea considering everything we know AND the fact that 80% of the population wants OUT NOW! Who the eff do they think they are?!

[hu.man]

All of this bantering is inconsequential because it ultimately comes down who will be setting the agenda for our country and more or less the entire globe for the coming 4 or more likely 8 years.

Sadly, America looks in the mirror and it doesn't like what it sees. We have increasingly become a nation of special interests and less and less a nation of values. Just throw the whole bunch of candidates in a pot and look and see who more accurately reflect this trend in the U.S. and you will know who will win the elections.

From the discussion in the YouTube video, if you are really a values person, you will vote for Ron Paul because he gave the most ethical answer. But look at his standing in the polls. That is the reflection of where we stand as a nation.

We don't follow the likes of RP because we are all looking after our OWN interests. I look at the mirror and see Mitt Romney. He will be just a continuation of George Bush legacy which reflects domination of special interests.

Republicans will continue to dominate the executive power because they intrinsically understand this trend and continue to align themselves with it. Bill Clinton was an anomaly in that Ross Perot upset the equation and paved the way for BC to grab the oval office.

No such luck for Hillary. Obama has a slim chance but he needs to get past Clinton's self-congratulatory machine.

[helonias]

GOPers All Pledge Allegiance To War In Iraq With The Blood Of Others

[jdoiter]

The headine is LIE. Dr. Paul was and remains AGAINST the war in Iraq.