And Ted Kennedy can do a Mean Figure Four: Quote of the Day 7/9

"All you Minnesotans take a good hard look at all three of us. And you decide: if you were in a dark alley which one of the three of us would you want with you?"

- Jesse Ventura on his qualifications to be a US Senator. It looks like Ventura will challenge Republican Norm Coleman, whom he defeated for governor in 1998, and comedian-turned-political commentator-turned- candidate Al Franken for Minnesota's Senate seat.

Clearly, the good people of Michigan employed the same criterion when electing Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Paul's Take

SAM blogger Paul Bryce gave his take on last week's Iraq debate in the Senate. He emailed it to me, but hasn't posted it yet, so I'll do the honors:

Early Wednesday morning, joining the millions of other Americans glued to their televisions, I checked in on C-SPAN2's coverage of the all night Senate Debate over the Iraq War. When I tuned in, the Junior Senator from Iowa, Tom Harkin, was finishing up, pleading to his Republican counterparts to allow an up and down vote on the Levin-Reed amendment (to reinforce his point, there was a massive "Let Us Vote" sign over his left shoulder). Following Harkin was John Thune, a Republican Senator from South Dakota. He made some statements that I found noteworthy (I apologize for not having direct quotes; I haven't yet found a transcript of the debate)...

For one, he was incredulous to notion that the Democrats would make a distinction between the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. He said somehow the Democrats have this idea that Afghanistan is a good war and Iraq a bad war. This he reasoned was simply a matter of casualties. We have more troops in Iraq and thus more casualties there. If the opposite were true, the war in Afghanistan would be receiving the same criticisms as Iraq. After all, we face the same enemy in both wars—Al Qaeda.

I hate to break it to the Senator, but all wars are not created equal. And this is what Senator Thune (and many other Republicans) fails to grasp. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not the same. When the United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, it was a direct response to the attacks of September 11 th. We have targeted the Taliban and Al Qaeda the entire time. The war in Iraq, however, was an aggressive act on our part that has morphed from WMDs to liberating the Iraqi people to fighting Al Qaeda there so we don't have to fight them here (even though they are there because we are there). Casualties are not the issue. Americans will accept casualties so long as they are for what we deem a just cause (WWII vs. Vietnam).

The reality is our actions in Iraq have caused us to, in a sense, run in place in the fight against terrorism. The war in Afghanistan was designed to rid Al Qaeda of a place from which to launch attacks against America. To this point we have enjoyed a level of success, although the combination of Pakistan and Iraq has served to limit this success. The Iraqi War, by comparison, has done just the opposite. It has created a new haven for terrorists. In fact, this week, a National Intelligence Estimate warned "that al-Qa'ida will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI), it's most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the Homeland."

So in a way, Senator Thune is right. We are fighting the same enemy, Al Qaeda, in both Afghanistan and Iraq. It is just that we are doing so for very different reasons.

A couple other notes from Senator Thune's speech:
· He read a letter from a Marine serving in Iraq who was asking for an opportunity to finish the mission. He then suggested this was the position of the military as a whole, while providing no factual basis. Senator Webb, whose son is a Marine serving in Iraq, sought to challenge this suggestion by asking the Senator if he believed the members of military were as diverse in their views as the rest of America. Thune dodged the question by saying he couldn't possibly guess the political persuasions of the entire military (apparently he reserves that solely for their standings on the war).
· Senator Thune accused the Democrats of attempting to use the war for political gain. Of course they have. Just like Republicans have (remember the whole "if you're against the war, you're against our troops" thing) and just like the next politician will use the next issue for their own political purposes.

Help Me Out...

Last night the US Senate pulled an all-nighter to dramatize opposition to the Iraq War, and the Democrat's effort to end it. Even though Dems know they simply don't have the votes to stop the funding, the debate continued into the wee hours, and I missed it all. I'm studying in the UK and haven't seen a television in weeks.

If anyone caught some/ all the proceedings or has read or heard anything about them, please let me know.

Thanks

Notable Items, July 16, 2007

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has threatened to force the Senate into an all night debate Tuesday night if the Republicans continue to refuse an up and down vote for the Reed-Levin Troop Redeployment Bill that seeks provide for a reduction and transition of United States forces in Iraq. "Now, Republicans are using a filibuster to block us from even voting on an amendment that could bring the war to a responsible end," said Reid. "They are protecting the President rather than protecting our troops. They are denying us an up or down – yes or no – vote on the most important issue our country faces." http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-07-16-iraq-all-nighter_N.htm

Senator David Vitter's (R-LA) phone number turned up on New Orleans escort service just recently. Normally I don't like to acknowledge these incidents, but this is the same David Vitter who claimed in 1998 that Bill Clinton was morally unfit to be president. Well, at least Slick Willy didn't have pay for his (oh, that's right, I went there). Maybe its time for David to step down. He may be morally unfit.

With the September dead line for the Iraq escalation review and report approaching, the White House and Pentagon are preparing for negative review. I know what your thinking, but don't worry they have a back up plan. AN EVEN BIGGER SURGE! Brilliant! http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jul16/0,4670,IraqPace,00.html

68% of Americans now disapprove with the Iraq War; according to a new Newsweek Poll and 64% of Americans disapprove of the Democrats in congress, probably because they are maintaining their reputation of getting nothing done.

Another special note: While American Soldiers continue to fight for Iraqi freedom, the Iraqi Parliament has considered it pertinent to take the entire month of August off, even though they are not even close to reaching any of the benchmarks established. The American Congress, not wanting to be left behind, has also elected to take the month of August off. Our soldiers, regrettably, will not be taking any time off.