Republican Regret for Iraq War?

Tina Brown's online magazine The Daily Beast has scored some coups. The latest comes courtesy of Talking Points Memo alum Benjamin Sarlin. In a recent interview with GOP uber-goon Roger Stone, Sarlin extracted the only known mea culpa on record from a Republican heavy hitter that actually acknowledges--gasp--people died unnecessarily as the result of George W. Bush's presidency.

Says Stone, who was a behind the scenes player in the notorious Brooks Brothers' riot of November 2000 that shut down the Miami-Dade recount:

When I look at those double-page New York Times spreads of all the individual pictures of people who have been killed [in Iraq], I got to think, "Maybe there wouldn't have been a war if I hadn't gone to Miami-Dade. Maybe there hadn't have been, in my view, an unjustified war if Bush hadn't become president." It's very disturbing to me.

David Rose's 2006 Vanity Fair profile of Richard Perle, Ken "Cakewalk" Adelman, and David Frum, wittily titled Neo Culpa noted more generalized fingerpointing and regrets on the order of "mistakes were made."

Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute blames the skirts.

Ask yourself who the most powerful people in the White House are. They are women who are in love with the president: Laura [Bush], Condi, Harriet Miers, and Karen Hughes.

Stone, then, deserves credit for having, well, the stones to concede that elections have consequences. And one of the consequences of George W. Bush's election was that the United States was plunged into an "unjustified war."

That war brought with it human misery on a staggering scale. It has undermined American moral authority. And it has dealt a savage blow to our strategic interests.

Until Republicans come to terms with the consequences of their actions, they will languish in the political wilderness.

More of Roger Stone can be seen in this recent interview with Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo. Note the killer Nixon poster.

Here's hoping Sarlin can track down some of the other Brooks Brothers rioters for comment. Might be some juicy stuff.

Comments

[Thezebra]

Did anyone read that Matt LaBash article on Stone? (Or Jeff Toobin's?) I wouldn't exactly call Roger Stone an "uber goon." Goons wear wife beaters, not spread collars.

I don't think Republicans need to come to terms with the consequences of their actions; I think they need to come to terms with the fact that flawed thinking (neoconservatism, scripture) leads to flawed actions (war, war).

Roger Stone doesn't strike me as ever part of that neocon crue of preacher men. In fact, whenever I read of his involvement somewhere I almost feel relieved - Phew! A Nixonite!

I think what Stone is acknowledging is the actual scale of disaster wrought by "Bushism" not that anyone could have seen it coming.

[Bart Motes - Huffpost Blogger]

Oh, Stonezzatura, you and your fellow sock puppets have shamed me so.

[Iwasthere]

Roger Stone a goon? I dont think so .

Name calling is for the inarticulate.

Resourceful, persistant , dogged , driven , clever , articulate, aggravating - yes

But a goon- no.

Effective and vicious- yes

Stone was knocking off Dems before punks like Bart Mo were born.

Stone was NEVER a Bush Republican and his comments on Bush now are consistant with his position on BUSH all along.

[Thezebra]

Can I get his number?

[Bart Motes - Huffpost Blogger]

I always get G.O.O.N.S. and C.R.E.E.P.S. confused. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_Re-elect_the_President

[Teckwreck]

A false ray of hope that they have a soul. These sam pigs were ready to elect Palin to stay in power.

[Thezebra]

Good point.

[motoGpifupleez]

All the above mentioned Neo-Con thugs will own the stupendous failure for the rest of their lives, which, unfortunatly, will be considerably longer than those of their millions of victims. Talk about a group of modern day Eichmans. If there were true justice in this world, we could turn the whole lot of them over to Muqtada al-Sader with our blessing to "Do whatever you deem appropriate". But I have no doubt they will continue to thrive in their insular "Think-Tank" worlds, appearing occasionally to spew their bile on FOX. They are like a stain and a stench upon us all.

[chiste]

I think the left wing needs to take some cues from Obama and just get over all of it.. What was that site called? Oh yeah. Move On. Endless bemoaning is growing tiresome.

PS Have you seen how Roger dresses? Goon? Um, no.

[Thezebra]

Partisan revenge is so tempting; but the best thing for the country is someone who can actually lead. Getting bogged down in us vs them only drags us further down. Yes let's move on.