Reid Attacks Commanders!-- a message from the RNC to its members

[TexasLawyer]

I received the following e-mail from the RNC, with "Reid Attacks Commanders!" as the subject line of the e-mail. I thought I would pass along for comment and analysis. The e-mail was decorated with an unflattering picture of Harry Reid, with a banner asking "Why Would Harry Reid Attack Our Men and Women in Uniform?"

Do people really fall for this stuff? Gotta wonder!

************************
Dear (TexasLawyer}

Harry Reid doesn't understand that there are some lines you just don't cross.

It was bad enough when he said "this war is lost." It was bad enough when he brought bill after bill to the Senate floor trying to force us to surrender Iraq to the terrorists. It is bad enough that he has declared the President's new strategy in Iraq a failure, even though our military leaders say that we won't know the true results until September.

But now Reid has simply gone too far. During an interview with liberal bloggers, he called Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace "incompetent." He made similar comments about General David Petreaus, the man leading our troops in Iraq.

There is room for him to express reasonable disagreement about our path forward in Iraq. But to attack our military is unacceptable. To attack General Petraeus, the man actually leading our troops on the ground, is reprehensible. And to call General Pace, a man who has served our nation for his entire adult life with honor and distinction, 'incompetent' is beyond the pale.

Why would Reid attack our men and women in uniform? One simple reason: to play catch-up with the fringes of his liberal base. The far left was furious that President Bush held firm and successfully forced Democrats in Congress to pass a clean war funding bill last month. Now, the Democrats have to make up ground with their extreme base.

There's nothing wrong with a healthy political debate about Iraq. But playing politics with our troops' lives and insulting the professional military leaders who are trying to bring those men and women home safe and victorious is just too much. Contact your Congressman and Senators. Urge them to reject Harry Reid's attacks on our military, and to trust our men and women in uniform as they continue to fight to keep the American people safe.


Sincerely,


Robert M. "Mike" Duncan
Chairman, Republican National Committee

(Emphasis in original).

[Buzz Clik]

1. Same old shit.

These guys never tire.

[leveymg]

2. POLITICO, the RNC's favorite "newspaper" is the source of this.

This Right-wing Noise Machine smear against Reid (and Pace) discussed at length here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/14/135741/197

[TexasLawyer]

4. Whoa! I didn't know this was a fabricated comment!

From the Kos article:

Of course the reason this comment (Reid/ "incompetent" comment) was never reported is quite simple: the bloggers on the call don't remember this quote. I, along with mcjoan and Kagro X, participated in that conference call and none of us heard Reid say it. And of the four other bloggers who were there, Joe and John from AMERICAblog and Jonathon Singer, have no recollection of it.

What's more, Politico's John Bresnahan attributes the quote to "several sources familiar with the interview." None of us was contacted by Politico, so who exactly comprises the "several" people they talked to? They're not saying.

[vireo]

9. Bob Geiger has the quote

Here's exactly what Reid said:

"I guess the president, uh, he's gotten rid of Pace because he could not get him confirmed here in the Senate… Pace is also a yes-man for the president and I told him to his face, I laid it out to him last time he came to see me, I told him what an incompetent man I thought he was."
So, did Reid utter the word "incompetent" in the same sentence with General Pace's name on the conference call? Yes, he did.

But in the context in which it was said -- and based on Reid's tendency to speak like the straight-talking, former boxer that he is -- it all makes sense. And to those of us not looking for a Matt Drudge-worthy story, it hardly seemed remarkable.

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/06/politico-fails-journalism-100.html

[leveymg]

13. Politico spun it into a cheap-shot at Reid, Pace,and Dem bloggers

One of the comments called it a Trifecta.

I just call it more RWNM hypocricy. It's not like the GOP leadership actually supports Pace, who spoke up about prisoner abuse and opposed the Administration on the "Long War" strategy and its efforts to Surge into Iran, so the Boy King fired him. See, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/14/135741/197

Oh yes, Reid didn't say a thing about Patreas. That was just sheer fabrication by Politico and the RNC.

[LSK]

22. maybe make that a seperate post?

[SoonerPride]

3. I reply "Do not send me anymore lies or propaganda"

I use this reply when I get right wing email forwarded to me.

On the second such email from someone, I mark them as spam and will not get anymore email from them ever again.

[TexasLawyer]

10. I am on several right wing e-mail lists

and I hope to stay there. I like to see what they're up to.

Especially right wing "action alerts"-- when they say "Call your congressman and tell him X" I will often call and my congressman with the opposite message.

[MADem]

12. I have a couple of relatives who ended up on RNC phone lists

We still don't know how that happened, because they are registered Democrats and active in party politics. With "the campaign season" approaching, we're hoping those fundraising calls start in again. My relatives (and I, if I'm lucky to be around to pick up their phone when it rings) love to take these poor bastards on a merry journey as they try to part cash for their RNC efforts from our Democratic wallets!

The last time around, the excuse (after a long, drawn out discussion of policy, politics, and "how much can you give?") was "Gee, I had ALL my money in that ENRON, doncha know...say, do you think Bush will get our money back from Ken Lay? If I could get back some of my retirement, why, I could afford to send maybe five or ten dollars!"

We put them through hell, asking all sorts of policy questions that they were ill-equipped to answer. I have the feeling that some of them may have changed their own affiliations and votes as a result of the grilling they got from our households!

[SoonerPride]

14. I understand

I was referring specifcally to when "friends" or acquaintances etc. will forward propaganda or right wing hate emails and forward them to me.

[TexasLawyer]

17. yeah, my brother-in-law sends me

crap all the time. Watcha gonna do? I hate the idea of alienating him-- he puts up with my sister after all!

[rodeodance]

5. hey people, Lets all of us contact the RNC---

[VP505]

6. What a load of crap,

First of all Harry Reid has every right as an American to criticize everything and anything our Government does and that includes the military and its incompetent commanders. Then there is the issue of his Constitutionally mandated over site duties as a Senator and Majority Leader, his oath of office, all of which means he is well within his duties. What the RNC Chairman wants is to continue their practice of allowing the Bu$h admin to operate in any fashion they want, without accountability and or over site. Sorry but elections have consequences and one of them is that Mr Reid not only can but should criticize the failures of this administration and hold them accountable for EVERYTHING they do, period, Mr Duncan need to STFU.

[rodeodance]

7. here is RNC email address--------contact him.

[e-mail]

[Tempest]

8. It's based on a lie

There's an audio tape of Reid's statements and he never called Pace incompentent.

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/06/politico-fails-journalism-100.html

[bunkerbuster1]

18. Just to make it simple: Reid called BUSH incompetent

It's plain as day, isn't it?

[MADem]

11. They're getting desperate!!! They're reconstituting the TRAITOR card,

the YOU'RE UNAMERICAN card, the YOU HATE OUR BOYZ (because they don't count the girlz) IN UNIFORM card!!!!

This is good news. This is OLD POOP they're flinging, because they have no NEW POOP!! They're in a pathetic, circular loop. Next thing ya know, they'll pull out the "With us or agin' us; Support the troops or support the terrists" addendums to this lame shit.

And if that doesn't work, why, there's always the dire Trifecta they can trot out to rally the masses: Gay Marriage, Prayer in School, and Abortion!!!


They can go fuck themselves--in America, the First Amendment allows us to 'cross lines.' We're allowed to think and speak freely, and if they don't like it, why, they can move to some country where speech and thought are controlled and limited by the government, if that makes them more comfortable!

[Hamlette]

15. if he isn't incompetent, why did Bush "fire" his ass?

bush can say Pace is incompetent but we can't?

they don't even hear themselves anymore

[leveymg]

16. See my comment above.

The long answer to your question is here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/14/135741/197

[Hamlette]

19. actually, my question was rhetorical....but really, is there any question now about Politico?

Right wing hacks.

(We need to start alerting the media since they don't yet consider Politico to be the new NewsMax and consider them to be "neutral".)

[leveymg]

20. Besides, Bush only fires competetent people with functioning consciences.

Those who learn to not learn anything in office are welcome to stay.

But, Pace took things a step further than most whistleblowers when he refused BushCo's "offer of retirement." The General may have some interesting things to tell us soon.

[Sparkly]

21. No question in my mind. nt