Well, another GOPer bites the dust

[AnnInLa]

GOP senator criticizes Iraq war in emotional speech

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In an emotional speech on the Senate floor Thursday night, Sen Gordon Smith, a moderate Republican from Oregon who has been a supporter of the war in Iraq, said the U.S. military's "tactics have failed" and he "cannot support that anymore."

Smith said he is at, "the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way, being blown up the same bombs, day after day.

"That is absurd," he said. "It may even be criminal."

Smith said he has tried to quietly support President Bush during the course of the war -- and doesn't believe the president intentionally lied to get the U.S. into the war -- but now recognizes, "we have paid a price in blood and treasure that is beyond calculation" for a war waged due to bad intelligence.

Moved this week by the findings of the Iraq Study Group, Smith said he needed to "speak from my heart.

"I, for one, am tired of paying the price of 10 or more of our troops dying a day. So let's cut and run or cut and walk, but let us fight the way on terror more intelligently that we have because we have fought this war in a very lamentable way," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2006/12/gop-senator-criticizes-iraq-war-in.html

[slay]

1. "It may even be criminal."

Ya don't say.. :eyes:

[Bjorn Against]

28. Sure it is obvious, but look at the significance of this admission

When you have a Republican Senator who was a supporter of the war now admitting it might be criminal that is huge. Remember we are about to have investigations, now all of a sudden the reality that Bush is a criminal has crossed party lines and when you can use the word bipartisan it is going to hurt Bush a lot more.

[Target_For_Exterm]

2. Republicans are starting to break ranks and talk about real issues

instead of Bush's party line lies and drivel. It's about freaking time.

Too bad it didn't happen sooner. That little sheet in the White House needs to have his posterior handed to him on a plate!

[H2O Man]

3. Perhaps he

rose from the dust. Evolution, sort of.

[EST]

4. "Speaking from the heart"

Yeah, right!
Speaking from cold political calculation and cover-assity.
Keeping your ass and those of your comrades in crime out of the slammer would have nothing to do with it at all. Umm-hmm.

[OregonBlue]

8. He's up for re-election in 2008. War is not popular here in Oregon.

[Nite Owl]

5. He doesn't believe the president intentionally

lied to get the us into war


Wait until after the hearings! Maybe he will change his mind on that too.

[G_Leo_Criley]

10. my crystal ball sez...

you are absolutely 100% right Nite Owl!


The old "faulty intelligence" bit.


glc

[John Q. Citizen]

26. Yep.

[librechik]

6. Republican blames "bad intelligence" for Iraq failure

what a jerk.

There was good intelligence.

We have a BAD PRESIDENT who ignored it, you blinded sheep! Stand up and be a man instead of a slave!

[skypilot]

21. bad intelligence

There was bad intelligence as well but it was bad intelligence which the administratioin demanded so that they could "make the case" to the American people. They got exactly what they asked for so that they could do what they were determined to do and now that that has blown up in their faces they are blaming the "bad intelligence" which they insisted on getting.

[Tom Joad]

29. Didn't Kerry do that too?

[G_Leo_Criley]

7. k &r the word must be out on the playground...

that people are going to be prosecuted and tossed onto the trash heap of history for what has happened in Iraq.

I predict that we'll see many more repubs taking similar stances in the near future.

"It may even be criminal."

correct.

:kick:

glc

[bluerum]

9. Surrender monkey, surrender monkey! Nyah nyah, nyah nyah.

Ahhh,,, I love engaging in reasoned political discourse in the morning.

on edit: sp for nyah nyah.

[roamer65]

11. We're getting closer to the magic "67" in the Senate, IMHO.

[RiverStone]

12. A start, but who will be the 1st Rethug...

To call for impeachment?

When that happens, the BushCo regime's fall will be obvious to all. Rethugs will then start jumping from this sinking ship in mass.

Glad Gordon Smith is at least no longer marching in lock step.

[G_Leo_Criley]

14. wild guess

arlen specter?

glc

[pat_k]

18. Whether Repu or Dem is 1st, few Repu will be willing to defend the indefensible when it happens. .

From http://journals.democraticunderground.com/pat_k/12

. . .Republicans are likely to be VERY motivated to pressure Bush and Cheney to take the resignation "exit strategy."

Republicans may not be willing to defend the indefensible for long. When Bush nullified McCain's anti-torture amendment (which passed with over 90 votes) he slapped them in the face. They would be hard pressed to defend Bush for abusing signing statements nullify the overwhelming will of the people in order to keep torture "on the table." Warner, Graham, McCain, and Collins (may have been others I'm not recalling) came out against the "War Criminals Protection Act." The "compromise" they got was not much of one, it just shifted the responsibility for actually approving torture to Bush (as opposed to approving it themselves and becoming War Criminals). Specter dismissed the WH defense of the criminal surveillance program as absurd. There are some other "rational" Republicans (Snowe, Hagel, and Lugar).

Repubs will certainly try the "Un-Patriotic to attack the President in War time" bit (the only "attack" on impeachment we have heard out of them) but that doesn't go far if Repubs aren't willing to defend against the indefensible charges (which they aren't even doing now).

Bush and Cheney are an albatross that many Republicans would be happy to get rid of. . .

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/pat_k/12">More. . .

[central scrutinizer]

13. Way too little, way too late

As an Oregonian, I can't wait until this useless tool hits the campaign trail and ask him, "Give one example where you put the good of the country above the good of the Republican Party as dictated by Karl Rove."

[nancyr]

15. Amen!

As an Oregonian I am ashamed of Gordon Smith. He has always marched to the party line. He is merely trying to save his own sorry hide with this change of heart. Something to appease the voters. Criminal indeed.

[cascadiance]

23. Has me more motivated to move to Oregon...

We couldn't get rid of DINO DiFi this election, nor Ahnuld, but perhaps enough of us going to Oregon can make a difference there!

Perhaps we can put in a letter writing campaign to get him to impeach and/or defect. If we can persuade a defection, even to just being an independent like Jeffords did, we can minimize the power that Lieberman has for the next two years.

[originalpckelly]

27. His balls are hanging out there to grasp...

hold on to, and squeeze if he doesn't do our bidding. This little weasel could be useful if we can make it seems like he must changes parties or lose in '08.

[warrens]

16. Heartfelt

But knowing Rove can't fuck him probably helped.

[KingFlorez]

17. He's up for reelection in 2008

If the Democrats can find a candidate, he's at the top of the target list.

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. Well, it's a start. Now if he can only be convinced that it wasn't

"bad" intelligence, but ginned up intelligence fed to the public through the OSP, even he might support impeachment.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

20. Yeah right. This is the guy who after the statue of hussein

was toppled, said "I'm so glad that President Bush didn't listen to The Washington Post, The New York Times or Hollywood".

Asshat. I've been meaning to call his office & ask if "Mr. Moderate" still feels that way.

[Doctor_J]

22. Gordo is looking at a lobbying career come Jan 2009

That seat should go blue next time around, along with Coleman's and hopefully Sununu's.

[threadkillaz]

24. GOP'er moves left of Hillary.

lol.

[Tom Joad]

25. If there were justice, they would all be at the end of their rope.

Those who supported the war.