Which GOP? Powell or Limbaugh?
No question, the long process has begun. In journalistic short-hand, it’s being cast as this: Should the Republican Party follow the path of Colin Powell or Rush Limbaugh?
Former Vice President Dick Cheney weighed in Sunday. Here’s the transcript of an exchange with Bob Schieffer, host of CBS’s “Face the Nation”:
SCHIEFFER: Let’s talk quickly about your party, the Republican Party. A lot of controversy. Arlen Specter has left. He said there’s no room for moderates in the party anymore. You said last week the party should not moderate. But what are you going to do? I mean, you can purify the party to the point that it’s too small to ever get elected to anything. How do you broaden the appeal of your party, and yet do you think there’s a place for moderates?
CHENEY: Oh, sure. I think there is room for moderates in the Republican Party. I think partly it’s a semantic problem. I don’t think the party ought to move dramatically to the left, for example, in order to try to redefine its base.
We are what we are. We’re Republicans. We have certain things we believe in. And maintaining our loyalty and commitment to those principles is vital to our success.
I think there are some good efforts out there. Jeb Bush, I know, has been working on it. Eric Cantor , Mitt Romney, trying to find ways to appeal to a broader range of people. I don’t have any problem with that. I think that’s a good thing to do. But the suggestion our Democratic friends always make is somehow, you know, if you Republicans were just more like Democrats, you’d win elections. Well, I don’t buy that. I think we win elections when we have good solid conservative principles to run upon and base our policies on those principles.
SCHIEFFER: Colin Powell, Rush Limbaugh said the other day that the party would probably be better off if Colin Powell left and just became a Democrat. Colin Powell said Republicans would be better off if they didn’t have Rush Limbaugh out speaking for them. Where do you come down?
CHENEY: Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I’d go with Rush Limbaugh, I think. I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn’t know he was still a Republican.
SCHIEFFER: So you think that he’s not a Republican?
CHENEY: I just noted he endorsed the Democratic candidate for president this time, Barack Obama . I assumed that that is some indication of his loyalty and his interest.
SCHIEFFER: And you said you would take Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell.
CHENEY: I would.
Cheney is one of my heroes. While it is certainly appropriate for former President George W. Bush to remain silent on the actions of his successor, no matter how much the current occupant of the White House represents at home and abroad that evil preceded him, Cheney speaks his mind. He stands his ground and speaks his truth. When the team’s picked, Cheney’s the guy I want on mine.
The bulk of Schieffer’s interview with him concerned interrogation techniques and whether waterboarding had elicited timely and essential information that saved American lives. Memos that attest to the value of the techniques exist, said Cheney. Release them.
As to the Powell-Limbaugh sideshow, the fact is that the left would like to make Limbaugh the icon of the Republican Party. That is, they’d like to make him the face of the party until somebody extreme comes along who can share the burden. A favorite tactic of the left is to take some figure that threatens them — a Limbaugh, for example — and try to pair it with somebody extreme and with some high-profile extremist act. That’s tough with Limbaugh because he’s precise, nuanced and his audience knows his views.
Still, if it’s possible to present him as the leader of a band of backward-looking troglodytes growing more extreme as their band dwindles, the same purpose is served. The fact is that conservative ideas stand on their own, with or without Limbaugh, and while he has extraordinary ability to assemble an audience, he is not its leader.
Cheney is right about Colin Powell. Powell did endorse Barack Obama and it is inconceivable that a Republican Party could survive embracing his vision for governing. If Obama’s approach is what you want for the Republican Party, there’s no reason for it to exist.
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210 comments Add your comment
Will
May 11th, 2009
8:42 am
Mr. Wooten:
I believe the United States has become more vulnerable to a potential terrorist attack since the Cheney Doctrine of Torture as been put forth by other republicans.
I believe this Doctrine is providing great aide and comfort to our worst enemies as they use it to try to “prove” their cause to ignorant recruits. The claim of the Cheney Doctrine of saving lives based on intelligence received is more than suspect based on many factors, one being the validity of “intelligence” that led the United States into Irag in the first place.
Under the Cheney Doctrine, we ceded the moral high ground and proved that we can be no better than murderous terrorist thugs.
I suspect the republican nominee in 2012 will be no more likely to appear on the campaign trail with Vice-President Cheney than the 2008 nominee unless the radical “purists” of the party get their way. In that case, it won’t really matter as the republican nominee will win no more that the “Goldwater South”, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho, Utah and possibly one of the Dakotas.
We are the United States
We'llTakePowell
May 11th, 2009
8:45 am
Anyone who would chose Limbaugh over Powell has very low expectations in leadership for their party. When I pick a winning team, it will always consist of a variety of talent and eliminating Collin Powell from the team, because his views are not 100% in line with the current Republican agenda is setting up your team for continuous failure.
Baseball has a catcher, pitcher, first baseman, etc…. they all have different talents and can contribute to the success of the entire team. Wooten you are an old man and should know this by now. You can’t win the game if you only have a team of “pitchers”, trying to pitch the same old agenda.
However, I must admit that I would be very happy to have Collin Powell on my democratic team. We will take him with open arms, because he has the ability to think independently, hold real values and high moral standards. I knew it prior to him leaving the Bush administration and was happy when he decided to leave. I was ecstatic when he endorsed our current President Obama.
In my opinion, you losers can keep Limbaugh, Cheney, Steele, Romney, McCain, Palin, etc……
Mac
May 11th, 2009
8:49 am
It’s human nature to state absolutes about the future based on the present. About 99.9 percent of the time the absolutes are hooey, which is what you would expect hyperbolic predictions to be. I was guilty – saying Jeb Bush’s political future was killed by his brother. That may not be true. He could be a leader in a Republican Party that focuses more on government and less on right-wing social agendas.
I could again be part of a GOP that focuses on smaller government, fiscal restraint, lower taxes and the business of government, not nosing into people’s private lives. I like a party whose members believe that 99 percent of what an individual does is that person’s business.
Copyleft
May 11th, 2009
8:52 am
It’s entirely predictable: After every electoral loss, the far-right fringe of the GOP insists that “We only lost because we weren’t conservative ENOUGH! We need to return to our true conservative principles–purge the moderates! Only when the rabid fringe is satisfied with our ideological purity will we win elections again!”
And every time they follow this dubious advice, they lose even worse the next time around.
Therefore, my conclusion: Purge the moderates, GOP! Your continued losses in the name of reactionary “purity of principle” is the best possible thing for America.
Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST
May 11th, 2009
8:58 am
I would like to thank the AJC for the plug in Friday’s paper. My phone has been riging off the hook, everyone wants their $10,000,000.00 wellfare check. As they say life is good. If you want a $10,000,000.00 check just give me a call just remember that it’s Cash In Advance in the Lobbying business.
“Advanced lithium battery research/Alpharetta: Would provide funding to Excellatron Solid State LLC for scale-up and manufacturing of new batteries; $10 million; Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-GA”
Copyleft
May 11th, 2009
8:58 am
Here’s an odd comment: “no matter how much the current occupant of the White House represents at home and abroad that evil preceded him”
Is Wooten admitting that the Bush administration was EVIL? I never thought I’d see the day! Although I really don’t think that Obama is actually representing the evil Bushies all that much….
Reality Check
May 11th, 2009
9:03 am
Sooo Jim would rather have a real life drug addicted draft dodger on his team than a 30+ year military vet, former Joint cheif, that has completed commited his life to America. That in a nut shell is whats wrong with the Republicans…. You want a JUNKIE, and America needs more men a character like Colin Powell regardless of what his political ideas are, Powell is everthing this country embodies Rush is, well Rush…
20 %
May 11th, 2009
9:05 am
I like Rush and think Powell is a coward
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:09 am
Three United States banks, apparently emboldened by the clean bills of
health they received under the federal stress tests, announced plans
Monday to pay down the government’s investments under the Troubled
Asset Relief Program by selling billions of dollars in new stock.
The announcements came from Capital One Financial, US Bancorp and BB&T
Corporation, each of which were found not to need additional capital
under the examinations of 19 large financial institutions, whose
results were made public last week.
US Bancorp said Monday it would sell $2.5 billion in stock and, “in
consultation with its banking regulators,” put the funds toward
repurchasing the government’s preferred shares and warrants.
Capital One said it planned to sell at least 56 million additional
shares, which would be worth more than $1.75 billion based on Friday’s
closing price, and use the money for a similar purpose.
BB&T said Monday that it plans to repay the government’s investments
under the TARP program with proceeds from a $1.5 billion common stock
offering and other funds. BB&T also said it cut its third-quarter
dividend.
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:11 am
AT&T, the country’s second-biggest wireless phone company, agreed
Friday to pay $2.35 billion in cash to buy assets put up for auction by
Verizon Wireless. Separately, Verizon agreed to buy five wireless
service areas of Centennial Communications from AT&T for $240 million.
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:11 am
Canadian-Austrian auto-parts maker Magna has asked Russian carmaker GAZ
to make a bid for a stake in General Motors’ German carmaker unit,
Opel, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:12 am
Goldman Sachs director Stephen J. Friedman, who abruptly resigned as
chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Board last week, spoke about
the situation at Goldman’s annual meeting Friday.
So very weary.....
May 11th, 2009
9:14 am
SCHIEFFER: And you said you would take Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell.
CHENEY: I would.
Exactly why I do not vote Republican anymore!
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:15 am
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s biggest bank, said Monday it
will swap $600 million of its preferred shares in Morgan Stanley for
common stock to keep its voting rights stake of the U.S. bank above 20
percent, The Associated Press reported.
Adittohead
May 11th, 2009
9:20 am
Without the CORE values of Conservativism…. there is no party…..Black man Powell went for the Bro Obama…..Pure & simple.
Adittohead
May 11th, 2009
9:23 am
Anyone who chooses POWELL over Limbaugh is being politically correct….If you can moderate your CORE Conservative Values…You are not a true Conservative.
deegee
May 11th, 2009
9:23 am
The George Bush/Dick Cheney show hasn’t changed dynamics. Bush had first billing but Cheney was always the star of the show. The events of the last couple of months should erase any doubts about who the sidekick in the White House was from 2000-2008. The American people spoke in November, 2008. We don’t trust the Republican party in its present form to lead us.
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:23 am
The Managed Funds Association and the Coalition of Private Investment
Companies, the two biggest U.S. hedge-fund lobbying groups, were among
those invited to meet with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on
Friday to talk about financial regulation, The Wall Street Journal
reported
GayGrayGeek
May 11th, 2009
9:24 am
Jim, you’re just becoming more and more of a mendacious hack, the closer you get to your last day with the AJC. And, after all your misstatements and outright lies during last year’s election, that’s really saying something.
For example, the fact is that the left would like to make Limbaugh the icon of the Republican Party. “The Left” is not genuflecting in apology to Windbaugh every time they say some thing that displeases him. “The Left” is not insisting that the Republican’t’s “purify” themselves by purging all Non-True-Believers.
Limbaugh is your baby. He’s now the voice of the G.NO!.P., whether you like it or not. Screaming that “Water Is Dry! Ice Is Hot! Fire Is Cold!” is not going to change the single, immutable FACT that the pill-popping doughboy is your leader.
The Judge
May 11th, 2009
9:25 am
Dick “Dick” Cheney prefers a draft dodger like himself over a decorated military veteran.
And Wooten approves!
Why do these people hate America?
Just wondering?
May 11th, 2009
9:26 am
If Obama were not a man of color, would Powell have sided with him? Change we can believe in, our esteemed President has started a new trend by not supporting the National day of prayer. And what church has he joined since politics forced him to repudiate his former one? Christians need to rally against this guy. Huckabee in ‘12.
Big Bucks GOP
May 11th, 2009
9:26 am
Fannie Mae issued a grave warning about its future on Friday, saying it
needed $19 billion in additional government aid as job losses grew and
risky loans made in the housing boom went bad at an unnerving pace.
Ga Values
May 11th, 2009
9:32 am
Did you do this same column last week? getting lazy as a short timer.
Davo
May 11th, 2009
9:39 am
“Cheney is one of my heroes.”
Pathetic.
RetLTC
May 11th, 2009
9:47 am
Dick Cheney is the worst thing to happen to this republic maybe in its entire history. Every single failure of the Bush presidency can be traced directly to the OVP. Bigger cowards than Cheney are also hard to come by. As for being a stand up guy…ask Scooter Libby where Cheney is when the SHTF. George W. Bush would most likely have been a much more successful president minus Cheney. Cheney was a fatal mistake for the entire party. Deadeye Dick needs to just STFU and go away. He’s done enough damage to the GOP.
eagle scout
May 11th, 2009
9:54 am
Just wondering… Well wonder no more! Let me help you out Just Wondering because you don’t know what you’re talking about……………
” our esteemed President has started a new trend by not supporting the National day of prayer.”
Here for your edification is what he did do…..Obama recognized National Prayer Day with a paper proclamation, which is what presidents did routinely before Bush.
So tell me oh religious one how is this a new trend?
Steven Daedalus
May 11th, 2009
9:59 am
Jim please take your meds.
GOP is gone
May 11th, 2009
9:59 am
I for one will open my political arms to Gen. Colin Powell and any other sensible GOPers out there.
Cheney has proven himself to be unable to even consider the idea that he and the administration he served/ran could have made any errors or misjudgments. They invaded a sovereign nation with just down right bad intelligence causing the deaths of thousands and yet the American people are still supposed to trust their judgment? They let their Wall Street Big Business buddies ruin our financial system due to the lack of any real regulatory agency and we are supposed to continue to trust in them? And then there was Katrina… This party has become laughable. The Rush/Coulter non-entertaining mouths will be the death of your so call “party” Jim. RIP
Bill
May 11th, 2009
10:03 am
Gary Horlacher has hit upon an idea that every Democratic and Republican political candidate ought to applaud. Let every statewide candidate submit to a lie-detector test to prove he or she is morally ready for public service. OK, so I didn’t hear a single clap or cheer; it’s still a worthwhile notion.
If the state requires voters to prove their legitimacy with picture IDs and proofs of birth, why should it not also require candidates to prove their honesty and morality?
When Horlacher, an Atlanta attorney and Democratic campaign strategist, announced for secretary of state a couple of weeks ago, he also took a lie-detector exam. A certified polygraph operator grilled Gary. The operator said Gary passed the polygraph exam with “a score twice the minimum passing score,” which I assume means Gary was lying very little.
Gary also swore in an affidavit that he had told the truth in answer to several key questions that would make a contender for dogcatcher think twice about running.
If a Horlacher-like affidavit somehow became law and a requirement for holding office, the state Capitol suddenly might have three floors of vacant offices.
Horlacher, the only announced Democrat in the secretary of state race, says he’s taking polygraph tests and publishing affidavits to draw attention to the need for state government to adopt standards for high ethical and moral conduct – a noticeable deficiency in the past seven years. Horlacher is particularly critical of Karen Handel, the present secretary of state, who is running for governor as a Republican. He says she was too partisan and unfair in managing the state’s elections. Obviously, however, Horlacher has aimed his ethics spear mostly at the legislature and the governor’s office, though he does not name names.
Take a look at a sample of Horlacher’s certified truth-telling document, and then make a list of politicians you think could pass it.
In a declaration tailor-made for some of our legislative leaders, Horlacher swears:
“During my marriage of over 31 years to Teresa, I have never engaged in any type of sexual activity with another person.”
“I have never used any illegal drugs,” Horlacher vows in a second statement that would eliminate a battalion of potential officeholders and candidates.
Another politician-killing declaration: “I have never personally knowingly filed any incorrect ethics disclosure reports for lobbying or campaign efforts, (and) I have never knowingly filed a state or federal income tax form that contained false information or withheld income.”
Then the capper: “Throughout my career, both in the private sector and in public service, I have never engaged in any illegal or unethical activity, whether for quid-pro-quo payment to myself or others, or to further the interest of a client or business.”
I don’t know precisely what that last declaration means, except I would certainly run it past the governor’s office before asking the legislature to approve it.
One mean-spirited reporter noted that despite his goody-goody affidavit, Horlacher was arrested for DUI in 1999, a charge that caused him to resign his brief tenure as former Gov. Roy Barnes’ press secretary. The charge was reduced later to reckless driving, and Horlacher went on to aid Shirley Franklin in her 2001 election as Atlanta mayor.
Until recently, candidates had trouble gaining traction with anti-corruption platforms, and requirements for ethical conduct are certainly low-priority items in the Gold Dome.
Whether Horlacher can translate his good-behavior campaign into votes remains to be seen. Still, his gimmick beats sitting on a tower for days, as one candidate for the Senate tried without success last year. It also may make some corporate lobbyists think twice as they twist arms and hand out plain envelopes at the next session of the legislature.
Logical Dude
May 11th, 2009
10:11 am
Republicans overall are shrinking because of the select few talking points. Some have been around a while, and some are new:
Abortion: The nation has agreed that having abortion as safe, legal, and rare is a better option than making it a criminal act. Republicans keep up the religious right by continually going against the moderates in the country.
Stem cell research: Even many conservatives stress the importance of stem cell research, but the “core” republicans still are against it. This issue will resolve the same way blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and in vitro fertilization. It will be seen as a no-brainer in the future and they will wonder why there was any resistance to it.
Torture: The MAIN reason McCain was voted in the Republican primary is because he came out against torture in the strongest way. The problem now is the rest of the republicans to come to their senses.
I feel that if Clinton has supported torture after 9/11, then the republicans would have been strongly against it. But if someone in their own party suppported it, they better tow the party line – OR ELSE.
And that is why Republicans are losing. . . they don’t see the nation except as pure red or pure blue. There is a lot of in-betweens that can be swayed, but the issues above keep them from being as red.
Redneck Convert
May 11th, 2009
10:11 am
Well, far as I’m concerned even old Rush is a little too Moderate. I’d vote for a real Conservative that was for
1. Moving the Southern Baptist Convention right into the Oval Office.
2. Throwing all women that have abortions in jail for murder. And the Drs. that do them too.
3. Using the Death Penalty for everything but shoplifting.
4. Deporting all the illegals and make them pay the cost of it. Unless a godly Conservative needed a few of them in Free Innerprize.
5. Getting rid of most judges. If a person gets arrested, well, that’s proof enough they done it.
6. Making all Congress people just serve one term. We can think about it again when enough Conservatives get elected.
7. Getting rid of these Equal Rights laws.
8. Making everybody serve a hitch in the army.
9. Getting rid of public schools. Most of our problems get started by people getting too much education for our own good. It’s just not right to make a kid go to school from the time he’s 6 till he’s 16 when the kid could be learning something useful out in the real world.
I’ll be signing on to support the first person that comes out with this platform. Till then, I reckon old Rush is the only game in town.
Peter
May 11th, 2009
10:15 am
Is this the same Republican party who put Benedict Arnold of Connecticut up on the stage at the Republican Convention ? Joe Lieberman ………
Remember Cheney Mentioned the Iran Contra Scandal lately……what did he say…… the little guys got caught holding the bag …… He is so Proud of lying to the American People, and doing things “ABOVE” the law !
You embrace Rush …….HA HA HA……… Did he get all the drugs ? Purple Kool-aid from Jim !
eagle scout
May 11th, 2009
10:28 am
Jim … Have you totally lost it?
“When the team’s picked, Cheney’s the guy I want on mine.”
For your sake Jim I hope that team is not issued shotguns! Cheney might mistake you for a wingless bird.
DebbieDoRight
May 11th, 2009
10:34 am
Notice how cheney is talking again now that the fear of him being prosecuted for war crimes is off the table? Chickenhawk till the end. Shoot em in the face Dick — making friends and casulaties everywhere he goes!!!
Oh and Dim Jim — liked your mother’s day piece yesterday…..to bad your dementia kicked back in and you came up with this drivel today. Oh well, don’t forget your medication.
jt
May 11th, 2009
10:40 am
When it comes to fleecing taxpayers, the R&D party of Powel, Limbaugh, Cheney, and Obama are expert.
The people that fall for this charade never LEARN anything, and they FORGET the same.
El Jefe
May 11th, 2009
10:43 am
Logical Dude,
You are echoing liberal talking points.
Medical procedures have no place in Federal law. States, those who license the Doctors should be regulating that.
Stem Cell, he conservatives only worry about who is funding it.
Torture, it is the definition that troubles some, anything worse than boot camp in my book is torture.
Boot camp didn’t kill anyone either.
Regarding the Republican party, we tried going to the middle with McCain, we lost. We tried to out spend the democrats, we lost – I say we need to be more conservative and go back to the core values that made this country great. Individuality, personal responsibility and a much smaller government.
We should take a long hard look at the Constitution and reconside where we are going.
DebbieDoRight
May 11th, 2009
10:50 am
WATERBOARD Cheney!!! And don’t let his friends do it — let the guy he shot in the face do it!! Now THAT’s justice!!!
jt
May 11th, 2009
10:52 am
“Still, if it’s possible to present him as the leader of a band of backward-looking troglodytes growing more extreme as their band dwindles, the same purpose is served.”
Kinda like the war on fatherhood.
Disgusted
May 11th, 2009
10:53 am
“Boot camp didn’t kill anyone either.”
Try telling that to the relatives of the six recruits who were marched into Ribbon Creek on Parris Island on Sunday night, April 8, 1956 and drowned.
El Jefe
May 11th, 2009
11:04 am
Disgusted, wow, you went that far back? Did you not remember that Nazi Germany used torture and people died their too.
Waterboarding save lives and killed no one. I survived boot camp, at the MCRD in 1967, could you put up with it? Or are you just blathering in the wind?
BTW, boot camp today is much nicer, listening to my son talk about parris island today, it is much easier.
But then again, that is something you liberal do not understand. A situation presents itself and a solution is implemented, all without news articles, talking points, talking heads on TV all saying the same thing.
Walk up. If waterboarding is torture, then puking your guts out is even worse. Define your terms, then we might be able to hold a decent conversation. Personally, if it causes phyical damage, then it might be torture.
DebbieDoRight
May 11th, 2009
11:07 am
Rush Limbaugh Was The OTHER hijacker on 9/11!!
“You’ve had your fair share of critics. … Rush Limbaugh said this administration fails. … He just wants the country to fail. To me that’s treason. He’s not saying anything different than what Osama Bin Laden is saying. You might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was just so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight. … Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that’s what he needs.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22332.html
Shar
May 11th, 2009
11:08 am
Mr. Wooten, I cannot even follow your logic today. You lost me at, “Cheney is one of my heroes.” This man is reviled by the vast majority of Americans. He lied, cheated, bullied and stole during his time in office. He undercut the Constitution, putting himself above the law and all Americans except the most useful to him were expendable, from CIA operatives to every resident of New Orleans. He does not even attempt to explain or support his performance in office, does not address at all the effects of the policies that he masterminded, but talks in insubstantial generalizations like “We are what we are” or “we have good solid conservative principles to run upon”.
There is a track record to run upon, Cheney is more responsible for it than even Bush, and it is uniformly horrible. And what are Republicans? The brand is tarnished, the leadership in disarray and the rank and file fleeing. Cheney ignores this and his culpability for it. Instead, he derides a man who has the respect of most Americans for both his service and his intelligence, instead supporting an entertainer who has neither.
“We are what we are” – just now, what Republicans are is the party of opposition. It is a crucial function in our political process, and the party is too weak and too riven to perform it ably or even honorably. For the good of the nation, we need a strong set of competing ideas and perspectives. What we have is a bitter, frustrated core group that refuses to deal with the reality of the Bush/Cheney track record and the distaste of most Americans for their brand of authoritarian moralism and elitist fiscal policies.
The Rovian electoral strategies have forced the Republican Party into the death grip of social extremists, the rock-ribbed religious and financiers. It is these factions who are insisting on ignoring the realities of the American electorate as well as the failures of thier unbridled eight years under Bush/Cheney, who are making the party hostile to anyone who disagrees with the “conservative ideas” they cannot even articulate. If the Republican Party is to regroup successfully, it must appeal to people who admire the qualities exhibited by a Colin Powell – thoughtful, patriotic, intelligent and experienced – rather than throwing them over the side as they dance before the golden calf of shrill, divisive show business hacks.
If the Republicans cannot do this, the segment of the Democratic Party that is uncomfortable with the social liberalism represented by Nancy Pelosi and that fears the effects of the spendathon currently in progress will gel as a moderate-right opposition group, effectively taking the place of a Republican Party that voters can support in sufficient numbers to win elections.
If that is your goal, Mr. Wooten, you are following the right path in preferring a mean-spirited, hypocritical, under-educated hypocrite to a decorated, experienced, smart, respected patriot on the say-so of the most destructive, distrusted vice president we have ever endured. Your history of sharp partisanship, however, would seem to argue that you would prefer the Republican Party to regain power as soon as possible. Hence my utter confusion in your logic.
DB, Gwinnettian
May 11th, 2009
11:10 am
Bill, your proposal @ 10.03 would guarantee nothing but a much higher percentage of really good liars, and outright delusionals, in elected office, I think.
Get Real
May 11th, 2009
11:13 am
“Cheney is one of my heroes.” And there in lies your problems, and that of the GOP Wooten. You would rather be on the side of a chickenhawk who likes to talk about war and defending the nation, while getting numerous deferments when his time came up to go do Vietnam. Didn’t you serve Wooten? I’d think that you would have more respect for someone that spent 30+ years in the service, and was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when we actually ‘won’ the first Gulf War. Your ‘hero’ has been wrong about every prediction he has ever made, yet you still follow him around like a envious little brother. “We’d be greeted as liberators.” “I’m sure Iraq has WMDs.” “So.” “The war will pay for itself.” By saying that he’s you’re hero, that says a lot about your delusional character, especially since 9/11 happened on the watch of Bush and Cheney. How safe did they actually keep the country? Or are you still blaming this on Clinton?
As for Limpb*lls, he’s a ‘former’ drug addict and if you hold him in high esteem as a leader of your party, then go ahead. Might as well throw Larry Craig and David Vitter on that list of leaders too then. You need a loooong vacation Wooten.
Billy Bob
May 11th, 2009
11:17 am
Urgent request: Please, please, please keep Pelosi as Speaker for the Demotard controlled House…please
WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has denied she was ever told explicitly that waterboarding had been used on terrorist suspects, “has a lot of explaining to do,” former Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday.
Gingrich, who held the House post from 1995 to 1999, said Pelosi keeps changing her statements on how much she knew about the practice and when.
In the interest of national security, “she [Pelosi] has a responsibility to say nothing or tell the truth,” he told “Fox News Sunday.” “In this case, it’s clear she wasn’t telling the truth.”
A CIA memo provided to CNN by Republican sources lists 40 briefings for members of Congress from September 2002 to March 2009.
The first briefing — on September 4, 2002 — was for then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss and Pelosi, then the ranking Democrat on the committee.
The subject of the briefing is listed as “EITs,” or enhanced interrogation techniques, “including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah,” a suspected al Qaeda leader imprisoned at U.S. facilities in Guantanamo Bay.
One of those techniques is waterboarding, which simulates drowning and which has been described by critics as torture.
Initially, Pelosi said she had not been briefed on EITs, according to the memo provided to CNN by Republican sources
RetLTC
May 11th, 2009
11:18 am
20% won’t win many elections. It is becoming apparent that the far right really doesn’t care anymore. It is all about the ideology. Oh well. They can all gather around the black, smoking hole that has become the GOP and congratulate themselves on their purity.
Billy Bob
May 11th, 2009
11:29 am
Jim, you might want to forward the above CNN article to Cynthia Tucker. Her pre-pubescent weekend editorial on torture was so laden with libtard emotion that the excessive tears caused thereby could be reliably classified as “self-waterboarding.”
Let the Congressional hearings commence…
Elephant Whip
May 11th, 2009
11:34 am
“Cheney is one of my heroes.” Jim’s credibility is now below zero. His hero is a long-time bureaucrat, non-veteran fascist who leveraged an illegal war to siphon taxpayers’ money into his military-industrial interests through no-bid, cost-plus government contracts, causing the loss of thousands of American lives, thousands of civilian deaths, and even more atrocious injuries to those groups.
Who else is your hero, Jim?
Billy Bob
May 11th, 2009
11:38 am
MEMO
To: Libtards needing a remedial math class
From: Forty-seven percent of the voting population in America
We voted for a Republican in the last presidential election.
GayGrayGeek
May 11th, 2009
11:43 am
MEMO
To: Sore Loser WingNuts
From: The Majority of Americans
You voted for the loser in the last presidential election. Get. Over. It.
booger
May 11th, 2009
11:51 am
The idea that a party should be defined by it’s extremes is absurd. This is exactly how liberals want to stage the debate. Jim, you should not enable them by joining the fray.
Elephant Whip
May 11th, 2009
11:52 am
Enter your comments here
@@
May 11th, 2009
11:54 am
Which GOP, Jim?
Make that any GOP except the one dems are desperately promoting.
I share in your admiration for Cheney. He’s a man who doesn’t back down from a challenge. So far Obama has.
SHOW US THE MEMOS, President Obama!!!
Too bad there couldn’t be a face to face between Obama and Cheney. No doubt, it would be reminiscent of the 2004 VP debate….Cheney v Edwards of which John Stewart remarked “Cheney unhinged his jaw and swallowed Edwards whole”.
GULP!
GayGrayGeek
May 11th, 2009
11:58 am
booger – The idea that a party should be defined by it’s extremes is absurd. This is exactly how liberals want to stage the debate.
So now Limbaugh and Cheney are LIBERALS?
Wow. You WingNuts need a new epithet. That one-size-fits-all “LIBRUL! LIBRUL! LIBRUL!” no longer fits any, much less “all”, if you’re trying to jam the square pegs of Limbney and Chenbaugh into that round hole.
hryder
May 11th, 2009
11:59 am
The far right and, yes, the far left hold extreme views which have never been supported by the majority of the American voters. Almost all of their pronouncements can be refuted by employing logical reasoning. When either of the major parties move too far toward the extremes advocated by their “nut case minority fringe”, the result is a loss in Congressional seats and concommitant political power which occurred in the last elections. The leaders of the Congressional ruling group are now greatly showing disdain for the majority opinion and, if history holds sway, the next one or two elections will result in the opposing party being the majority. The most bothersome aspect of this scenario, which seems to be repeatative, is that both extreme groups believe their views are held to be true by the majority of the populace. What this means is that the extremes both believe that the genuine majority is the “nut case minority”. Just consider the programs that Nancy and Harry advocate as the direction in which they believe the country, the majority, should move by Congressional dictate.
jt
May 11th, 2009
12:02 pm
Stop whining. Go to work. Your respective letter designation, R or D, will enable you to vote for whom WE will tell you to.
Pay no attention to rogue reporters.
You work NOW!
catlady
May 11th, 2009
12:06 pm
What “dark” secret is there that Mr. Wooten prefers Cheney over Powell?
booger
May 11th, 2009
12:07 pm
Sorry Gay goose but I was actually addressing the original topic. If this confused you I apologize.
dfh
May 11th, 2009
12:14 pm
powell wimped out. he had a chance to be president and change the face of the party. he did not want to take the risk. why listen to him now.
Logical Dude
May 11th, 2009
12:15 pm
El Jefe @ 10:43
“Medical procedures have no place in Federal law. States, those who license the Doctors should be regulating that.” Perhaps, but it is still an issue of legality. Safe, legal and rare. When the conservatives have shown that they’d like to criminalize it at all levels.
“Stem Cell, he conservatives only worry about who is funding it.” And it will still result the same way blood transfusion, organ transplantation and in vitro fertilization go. Federal funding to give better research. For the sake of the health of our country.
“Torture, it is the definition that troubles some, anything worse than boot camp in my book is torture.” Boot camp is voluntary. Waterboarding has been defined as torture for decades if not centuries. But now has been politized, and the country recognizes that.
These were just three examples. There are many more which I do not have time to go into. I am a moderate, and feel Republicans have much to offer, but not if they lock out their own moderates.
Lynn
May 11th, 2009
12:15 pm
Powell is a democrat whether he knows it or not. He knows how to answer the question about his ideology, but if he’s ask about specific issues his answers don’t reflect that ideology.
GayGrayGeek
May 11th, 2009
12:16 pm
booger – It’s your own leaders, the pill-popping doughboy along with Darth, who are calling for the “purification” of the Republican’t Party. It’s not the LEFT that’s calling for this – it’s your OWN WingNutty Leaders who are doing so.
But, hey, like all good WingNuts you’re claioming Fire Is Cold, and Water Is Dry, and The Sky Is A Purple Plaid, all to deny the truth of a situation.
bob
May 11th, 2009
12:16 pm
the left and especially the black community can not make up their mind on powell. when he spoke like a conservative he was a neocon or uncle tom. when he endorses the current president, you call hime the lone voice of reason in the repub party.
ProgressivePeach.com
May 11th, 2009
12:17 pm
Powell’s just as culpable. But Jim, if your party want’s to follow Rush, we say go for it! Enjoy oblivion and say ‘hi’ to the Whigs for us! !
"Charles", The Original
May 11th, 2009
12:17 pm
Jesse Ventura, former Governor of Minnesota, and Webster Tarpley, Author and Historian, presents my view of each party in the second and third paragraphs respectively. In the most recent Alex Jones film entitled, The Obama Deception, each shows his political astuteness juxtaposed to the political ineptness of many Americans.
“Politics in America today is identical to pro wrestling. And what I mean by that is in front of the cameras and the public we all hate each other. I’m gonna kick my opponent’s butt-I’m gonna wale him from here to high-water and beat the crap out of him. Yet but behind the scenes we all are friends going out to dinner and-and-and it’s all a work. It’s show bizz. And that’s what you have today in politics. The Democrats and Republicans aren’t really opposed to each other”. JV
“Left and right mean nothing. The only things that count is are you working for Wall Street or are you trying to defend the people against the financiers”. WT
GayGrayGeek
May 11th, 2009
12:17 pm
catlady @ 12:06 – That one just went WHOOSH over the heads of the WingNuts here. About 35,000 feet over the heads of the WingNuts…
Just Me
May 11th, 2009
12:19 pm
I’m sure if the media dug enough they would find some skeletons in Powell’s closet. But that won’t ever happen because he is black. Just as the media did not (and continues to not) tell the truth about Obama. It is all about who the media wants to gang up on and who they want to portray as the great savior of all. No one seems to have a problem with all the dysfunctional Hollywood types who do drugs, drive wrecklessly, marry and divorce multiple times, etc. that is unless the media decides they want to gang up on someone like Mel Gibson. And what about Sarah Palin! If there is evil, it is in the media!!!
Josh
May 11th, 2009
12:19 pm
Anyone familiar with Moveon.org would consider that extemist on the other side. Pelosi and Reid have a conference call with them regularly. So if extremism is a bad thing, we already got it. It’s just not the “right” extremism.
Jackie
May 11th, 2009
12:20 pm
@ El Jefe
If you are saying no one has died in boot camp from abuse, then you are not stating the facts.
Many soldiers have died from heat strokes; Marines have died from DI not allowing them to get out of the swimming pools because of the panic they experienced.
The Army uses exposure to tear gas as a means to make recruits aware of possibilities of gas attacks and how to respond to those eventualities. Special Forces units use waterboarding as a teaching tool. Recruits KNOW they will not be kept in said environment indefinitely.
Survival training instructs one to eat bugs and snakes to maintain themselves. These strategies are not torture but life sustaining.
Being a military man, you know that you were constantly instructed not to torture captives. GI’s went to prison for torture during the Viet Nam era.
Michael Fong
May 11th, 2009
12:30 pm
Jim, Defend this guy as nuanced and precise
Top 10 Limbaugh racist comments
1. I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.
2. You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed.
3. Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?
4. Right. So you go into Darfur and you go into South Africa, you get rid of the white government there. You put sanctions on them. You stand behind Nelson Mandela — who was bankrolled by communists for a time, had the support of certain communist leaders. You go to Ethiopia. You do the same thing.
The communist connection is an old way of dealing with black leaders. They used it on Martin Luther King, they’re using it on Barack Obama and Limbaugh used it on Nelson Mandela. By siding with the racist apartheid regime over a world-wide symbol of peace and freedom, Limbaugh has shown he’s a global racist.
5. Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.
6. The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.
7. They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?
8. Take that bone out of your nose and call me back(to an African American female caller).
9. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They’re interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there’s a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn’t deserve.
10. Limbaugh attacks on Obama. Limbaugh has called Obama a ‘halfrican American’ has said that Obama was not black but Arab because Kenya is an Arab region, even though Arabs are less than one percent of Kenya. Since mainstream America has become more accepting of African-Americans, Limbaugh has decided to play against its new racial fears, Arabs and Muslims. Despite the fact Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law school, Limbaugh has called him an ‘affirmative action candidate.’ Limbaugh even has repeatedly played a song on his radio show ‘Barack the Magic Negro’ using an antiquated Jim Crow era term for black a man who many Americans are supporting for president. Way to go Rush.
williebkind
May 11th, 2009
12:30 pm
So you liberals say I should abandon my principles and the constitution of the republic and assimilate the liberal progressive agendas. I think not!!
Colin Powerll was and is a democrat in republican garb (just like Spector). Powell was an affirmative action appointed general. I wonder how many outstanding generals were overlooked by this action. We see Powell will change his values according to the agenda. Now is that not progessive liberalism? You liberals mention that republicans can not win an election. Well, how did so many democrats run as republicans. Now, they have King Obama and they are shedding their disguises.
I think liberals should stick to sex they seem to harm less people that way. I will always pick el Rusho over “who is in charge now” Powell.
Jackie
May 11th, 2009
12:32 pm
@bob
The black community has made its mind about Colin Powell and the neocons.
Coling Powell is a Republican that is moderate and speaks about his approach to problem solving. Same as Condi and other black politicians. If you think about it, each politician has their individual approach to problem solving but is required to moderate their approach is others in the political arena have their individual approaches to solving the same problem.
Has the white community made up its mind about Dubya or Rush?
Gumby
May 11th, 2009
12:33 pm
All this talk of who’s conservative, purifying the ranks, etc sounds familiar to the Nazi party agenda. Colin Powell put his country over party loyalty. Anyone who chooses to follow a radio talk show host in place a combat veteran is too…………….. oh why even bother to try and explain. It’s like trying to teach a pig to talk, it bothers the pig and makes you look dumb.
A dad
May 11th, 2009
12:35 pm
So much to respond to, so I’ll stick with the original topic. I hate Cheney. Cheney and Runsfeld should be tried for war crimes against the U.S. military based on their lousy pre-Iraq due diligence and knowingly using bogus info. Surprise, I’m conservative too (won’t say republican, since that definition isn’t clear anymore). After O-blama “partially” released the torture memos, I’m glad Cheney did speak up though. I’m still wondering how O-blama would have gotten that information from the terroist more in line with our “ideals” though. What, ask pretty please? Folks, we’re dealing with individuals who gladly blow up women and children. I don’t give a flying flock what we do to poeple like that as long as it prevents another 9/11, or saves U.S. military lives during operations. Our foes are like rabid dogs. When a rabid dog walks up to you, you don’t try to pwet it, speak nicely to it, etc. and hope it will wag it’s tail and not bite you. You see a rabid dog and you put a bullet between it’s freakin’ eyes. If it were up tome, I’d pull us back from Iraq, Iran, etc and turn the entire region into one big sheet of glass.
Liberal commenters, something other than mainm media talking points please. Also, surprise surprise, the economy is not living up to O-blama’s rosiest of rosy forecasts, social secutiry and medicare are going to bankrupt the country, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac execs are going to get bonus, and Pelosi is lying through her teeth about not knowing about the waterboarding. Or was is she knew, but as speaker couldn’t do anything about it. Y’all believe what you hear, fools.
A dad
May 11th, 2009
12:37 pm
OBTW. Though I disagree with Gen Powell’s current position, he’s earned the right to have whatever position he espouses.
booger
May 11th, 2009
12:37 pm
Gay Goose,
So I am a small piece of hardware for believing political parties should not be defined by their extremes. And this also indicates that I believe fire is cold, and water is dry……Wow you’re really good!
The Snark
May 11th, 2009
12:44 pm
Wow, Jim! “A favorite tactic of the left is to take some figure that threatens them and try to pair it with somebody extreme and with some high-profile extremist act.” Thanks for turning a spotlight on to that dreadful tactic of the left. Let’s hope the right wing never picks it up, huh? Where would we be then?
Just wondering?
May 11th, 2009
12:46 pm
Eagle Scout, what church has he joined, why did he have the cross covered when he gave a speech at Georgetown, why do the majority of the people at Notre Dame oppose his speaking at commencement, is it because he condones murder disguised as abortion, but comdemns those who use enhanced interrogation tactics against known murderers and terrotists?
Really?
May 11th, 2009
12:47 pm
I vote across party lines, and I was stupid enough to vote once for the Bush/Cheney ticket. I consider them both evil men who were out to protect Wall Street at all costs, put pride before the country, were misguided in thinking we should invade Iraq, ignored the international rules on torture, and kept as much hidden from the public as possible. Please don’t talk to me about how well the economy did under their control.
Powell was the one breath of fresh air in the whole party. Until the Republicans quit whining about change and present their own rational ideas for improving the economy and helping us regain a bit of esteem in the international community I will be forced to vote for a Democrat in every single election. Give me some decent, thoughtful, caring and INTELLIGENT candidates, please, in order to get my vote.
Mac
May 11th, 2009
12:48 pm
Whatever happened to Ragnar, Glenn, Political Foreskin, Dusty, Capt. Freedom’s Immortal Soul and the long lost Time for the Truth? They all retired before Jim did.
MrLiberty
May 11th, 2009
12:48 pm
If the party doesn’t embrace the common sense of Ron Paul they are doomed forever to be just the other side of the fascist, totalitarian, socialist, war party that the democrats are. To even suggest that Rush or Colon are the only options available to this sorry party only further clarifies why all republicans need to abandon their party in droves and set out on a couse of common sense. The party leadership, much like the government, does not have anyone’s interests in mind except their own. Power corrupts and the republican leadership is the best example of that adage.
Don King's Hair Stylist (GA Power)
May 11th, 2009
12:49 pm
Charles@12:17- How True!!!! It’s all a game.A scipted game of power & popularity. And the particapants can change sides with the change of the wind.
eagle scout
May 11th, 2009
12:49 pm
Billy Bob
May 11th, 2009
11:29 am
Billy Bob … I’m sure Cynthia Tucker is way ahead of you on what Gingrich has to say concerning Nancy Pelosi…..But, if you think this is earth shattering news, you don’t need Jim to forward the CNN bit.
Are you helpless…Do it yourself cynthia@ajc.com now was that so hard….
Sure it did
May 11th, 2009
12:51 pm
GGG:
Typical liberal responses don’t go over conservatives’ heads. I knew exactly what catlady was implying.
Try to remember. WHOOSH is the sound that emanates from a liberal’s vacuum sealed container.
Fran Tarkenton
May 11th, 2009
12:53 pm
Hmmmm, A drug addicted draft dodging talk radio host that has never given a day of his life to public service! A 4 star general, commander of the armed forces, secretary of state!
If this is an actual choice the republican party has to think about, that party is in more trouble than anyone thought!
Don King's Hair Stylist (GA Power)
May 11th, 2009
12:54 pm
If I were to choose (and neither would by my choice) a face of the Reb/Party between Colin(traitor) Powell and Rush(I am Great,Just ask Me) Lindbaugh, it would be Lindbaugh. Lindbaugh is consistant with his views and Powell seems shady to me. Powell, I think is a closet Lib and is now just coming out.
Donna P.
May 11th, 2009
12:56 pm
These men are the “extremes” in the Republican party. I’m a Republican but I think gays should marry (I have many gay friends who have been in relationships more than 10 years and are raising children together). I’m against abortion, gun control (except for AK-47s should be banned), illegal immigration, and I am pro-military. There are extremes in each political party. Right now Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are the left-wing extremists and in 2010 and 2012, Republicans will be back in control of Congress and the White House because of them. I’m looking to Gov. Rick Perry of Texas as our new Republican leader. Sarah Palin had a rough introduction to America and I don’t see her recovering from it.
Don King's Hair Stylist (GA Power)
May 11th, 2009
1:01 pm
Is it just me or was what “Really@12:47″ stating just Lib talking points. I find it hard to believe you voted Bush/Cheyney at any point after your post. Good try though Bedwetter.
Bitter EX democrackkk
May 11th, 2009
1:03 pm
Memos? Lets see the original BIRF Certificate! WHY would a man spend thousands of $$$ keeping this issue out of view? WHY wont the MEDIA keep reporting on this outrage?
STRIVE to be SMARTER than the EVIL controlling party of SLAVERY wants you to be! Stupit democrackkks need to be euthanized.
Shannon
May 11th, 2009
1:10 pm
The GOP whether they want to admit it or not, needs moderates to win and if they go with people like Limbaugh, Hannity, Cheney, Coulter, Palin, etc … they won’t get those moderates. The GOP needs to follow Powell’s advice, especially if they ever want to have any say so in this country ever again.
Duke
May 11th, 2009
1:12 pm
A brilliant conclusion. There’s no reason for the Republican Party to exist. It’s a breathtakingly simple solution, but it’s one I think could work.
Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST
May 11th, 2009
1:13 pm
I think Cheney and Rush are just like my Dad, Draft Dodging cowards, rent their mother for a little money and power. What did that boy Powell ever accomplish but to lie to the world about WMD?
GOP in Purgatory
May 11th, 2009
1:14 pm
JW agrees with Cheney that in choosing between Rush and Powell, he would pick Rush. That in a nutshell is why the GOP is going to be the minority NATIONAL party for a long time. The same Rush whose NATIONAL popularity rating are in the gutter, even lower than Bush. Yeah, go ahead and drive out any MODERATE republicans. What are you left with? 15%-20% of the electorate? The GOP planning a comeback with that? Obviously, math is not their strong suite. Politics is a game of 50% PLUS 1. This country has historically swung between CENTER-right and CENTER-left (note the EMPHASIS). Looks like the GOP is going to be a minority party for a long time to come. Oh, and you wonder why the GOP party membership is down and going lower???
williebkind
May 11th, 2009
1:15 pm
Donna P I agree with most of your comments but marriage is not up for sell to the highest bidder!! There are civil unions that can allow for the same benefits and priviledges. But thats another topic!
I noticed we are always talking about republicans and their short comings. How about Reid and Pelosi? They are very extreme and admit it. Is any extreme good? You liberals never make bad comments on these two and they have done worse than Bush & Chaney in my view. Now we have King Obama! Maybe KOTUS(Obama)will tone down and become a moderate like you liberals want all republicans to do.
Chris Salzmann
May 11th, 2009
1:19 pm
Bitter EX democrackkk May 11th, 2009 1:03 pm SAID: Memos? Lets see the original BIRF Certificate! WHY would a man spend thousands of $$$ keeping this issue out of view? WHY wont the MEDIA keep reporting on this outrage? STRIVE to be SMARTER than the EVIL controlling party of SLAVERY wants you to be! Stupit democrackkks need to be euthanized.
CZ SAYS: WOW!!! Someone really forgot to take their meds here. BTW, I don’t have my ORIGINAL hospital birth certificate either. Dad was in the service and it got lost in one of the many moves. OMG! I just realized! I’M NOT A REAL AMERICAN!!!
ROFLMAO
Confused
May 11th, 2009
1:19 pm
Faced with a $1.2 trillion deficit next year — and a projected $640 billion Pentagon budget, not including the cost of two wars — President Obama should have cut far deeper into wasteful weapons spending than the modest $8.8 billion in savings he has now announced.
Almost all of these trims had already been identified last month by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The main new contribution was canceling an alternative engine program for the Air Force’s new F-35 joint strike fighter — total additional savings, $1 billion.
This year’s Pentagon budget is more closely attuned to military and economic reality than the misdirected and undisciplined spending of the Bush era. But Mr. Obama forfeited a further chance for harvesting major savings from costly and unnecessary weapons systems designed for the cold war. Far bolder cuts in these systems will be needed in future Pentagon budgets.
That is the only way to free up money for other military needs — including expanding the Army and buying the kind of armored vehicles most needed in places like Iraq — while also helping to reduce huge deficits. This year’s budget does not eliminate the Air Force’s redundant stealth fighter, the F-22. It buys four more. It does not eliminate the Navy’s costly blue water DDG-1000 destroyer. It buys three more. It makes no significant reductions in the Navy’s wholly unneeded Virginia class attack submarine. These three programs account for almost $7 billion a year in unnecessary spending.
The budget also left untouched the $2.8 billion planned for the Marine Corps’s troubled V-22 vertical takeoff aircraft, and reclaimed only a fraction of the billions that could be saved on missile defense while needed research and development proceed. These programs all have powerful Congressional constituencies, which is one big reason that successive administrations have been so timid about eliminating them.
But times may be changing. This month, the administration successfully resisted efforts by House appropriators to lard up the latest war-spending bill with unrelated weapons purchases. And — with Mr. Gates’s encouragement — both houses are moving ahead on bills to reform the procurement system. Two-thirds of the largest weapons systems ran over their budgets last year, for a combined extra cost of $296 billion. These programs were, on average, almost two years behind schedule.
The Senate bill, approved last week, creates an independent cost estimate office in the Pentagon, reinforces requirements for terminating seriously over-budget systems and increases competition among contractors. If rigorously applied to all major contracts, it could bring big savings. Unfortunately, the House version, to be voted on later, applies only to about 20 percent of acquisitions. The final bill must provide broader coverage.
Unfortunately, military pork has long been a staple of American politics. But in a time of war and economic crisis, the Pentagon and Congress have no excuse. They must ensure that taxpayer dollars are used as cost-effectively as possible for the nation’s defense.
fearless fosdick
May 11th, 2009
1:20 pm
Anyone here got an original BIRF Certificate!? What the Hell is a BIRF Certificate? By the way Bitter EX democrackkk How do you know Obama has spent thousands of dollars keeping this issue quiet…Last I heard from the right wing loonies it was millions…but, why quibble over a few hundred thousand!
"Charles", The Original
May 11th, 2009
1:21 pm
Don King’s Hair Stylist (GA Power) is right on the money. If any American should enter National politics with the will to represent the interest of the American people, and God forbid having an original idea, they will suffer the same fate as Representative Larry McDonald. And there aren’t many politicians that are able to stand in the face of imminent peril because Americans are essentially a nation of cowards.
RetLTC
May 11th, 2009
1:21 pm
“[We] as a party are saying we’re not supporting Republican moderates. That’s a terrible message to send,” said Snowe, who with her Maine counterpart Susan Collins represents 50 percent of the Republican women in the Senate. “It tells everyone else in America who might have an interest in running as a Republican moderate, they’re going to have to think twice. The messages coming out of the national party are critical. They’ve got to be embracive and inclusive of political diversity. They can’t on one hand say we’re going to build a majority and then say we only want people with certain characteristics, like white males from the South. That’s a concern to me.”
Interesting and goes straight to the root of GOP deathknell.
ChefChuck
May 11th, 2009
1:21 pm
Powell’s legacy tour won’t get far if he continues to do the networks that nobody watches. Our first black(?) Sec of State was a pitiful example compared to our second one. Condi knows loyalty, a trait that escaped the endorser of the commie-in-chief. Why would the GOP care what the party that LOST 7 of the last 11 presidential elections thinks? Jimmy Carter begat 12 years of GOP presidents(thanks!).