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DEL.ICIO.USNotes from Iowa: Phil Gingrey, you’re no Larry McDonald
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Des Moines, Iowa — U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey has been among the most critical of Georgia’s Republican delegation when it comes to the Iraq report by the Baker-Hamilton team.
“I am deeply troubled by many parts of the report, most prominently its recommendation for consultation with Iran and Syria. Neither of these regimes support a free and democratic Iraq, and both would demand a steep and dangerous price for any assistance they provide,” says Gingrey, on and off camera.
Gingrey holds the congressional district once conquered by Larry McDonald, the Democratic arch-conservative who was killed in 1983 when a Russian MIG shot down the South Korean airliner the Georgia congressman was aboard.
By comparison, Gingrey is downright moderate. No, we’d have to say that McDonald’s current ideological successor is U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican from west Iowa. This was his statement on the report:
“The commanders in the field know that the most treacherous terrain in their battle is American public opinion. Every day the mainstream media seeks to shift American public opinion against this war, and since the leaks of their apparent sympathizers within the Iraq Study Group were published last week, they have seized upon the findings of this unelected unaccountable and autonomous committee to usher in a full-scale retreat from Iraq and from the front lines of the war on terror.”
This according to the Des Moines Register.
Comments
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By Scooter
December 8, 2006 12:52 PM | Link to this
Dear God. Save us from the Neanderthals.
By Spiral of Silence
December 8, 2006 3:18 PM | Link to this
Careful Scooter…
They’re watching you.
By GodHatesTrash
December 8, 2006 4:58 PM | Link to this
Is Gingrey for real? Did that moron ever serve in a combat unit?
The Iraqi enemy is a treacherous, patient, intelligent foe - a whole lot smarter than your average idiot Georgia congressman.
Gingrey is trash. He represents his district perfectly.
By Political Foreskin
December 9, 2006 7:48 AM | Link to this
The Iraq Study Group also released it’s report on Organized Crime. It concluded that “nobody did nuthin”.
Then a spokesman for the group, a certain, “Big Louie”, then told reporters that “if somebody spins this report wrong, then maybe somebody dont feel so good, now get out o’heah”.
By jonny373
December 9, 2006 10:56 PM | Link to this
jonny135By Jason Gerson
December 18, 2006 10:57 AM | Link to this
All the King’s Daddy’s Men
James Baker, Lee Hamilton, and Sandra Day O’Connor, oh my! What more could we ask from an Iraq Study Group? Even if President Bush rejects their proposals, Congress will push it through.
Right?
Well, the Iraq Study Group has proved to be a life lesson; brilliant individuals may not make brilliant groups. In an ambitious attempt to obtain unanimity from the group, the group’s recommendations (released today) are flimsy and unacceptable.
But is this really their fault?
I can’t say it is. Our country has one commander-in-chief, one defense secretary, one secretary of state, and countless officials who have been hired to inspect every aspect of our military. Despite what Joe Biden or Scary Kerry might say, this won’t, and can’t, be legislated. This issue will be executed. The instant that Congress tries to write a Sparknotes guide for Iraq, we’ll only see replications of old problems.
Instead, we’ll need a man who was deemed able to hold our nation’s highest office by millions of people. All the King’s Daddy’s Men or a group or rowdy Congressman won’t fix Iraq. And, for Iraq to be restored to relative peace, we certainly won’t need the Decider in Chief, either.
It’s time for the president to personify the executive branch.
http://www.purplenewsnetwork.blogspot.com/
By Lawrence J. Glynn
December 18, 2006 5:15 PM | Link to this
Hi, I am amused by your statement that Larry McDonald had “conquered” the district now represented by Phil Gingrey. We do not usually refer to a democratic process as a “conquering”-that type of government was more characteristic of Genghis Khan. What both Dr. Gingrey and Rep. McDonald stood for was and is democracy. Can you come down from your ivory tower and accept that? Or are we all relegated, in your mind, to the status of “victims” of these strong leaders? If that is your point of view, perhaps you are in the wrong business.