Go Howard Dean! 7/27/06

[Delphinium]

While I usually think this guy is certifiable, I gotta give him kudos on this one. At least he says what he thinks and this time I agree with him!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060727/...kxBHNlYwN0bQ--

Dean calls Iraqi PM an 'anti-Semite'

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press WriterWed Jul 26, 10:42 PM ET

Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki an "anti-Semite" for failing to denounce Hezbollah for its attacks against Israel.

Al-Maliki has condemned Israel's offensive, prompting several Democrats to boycott his address to a joint meeting of Congress and others to criticize him. Dean's comments were the strongest to date.

"The Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite," the Democratic leader told a gathering of business leaders in Florida. "We don't need to spend $200 and $300 and $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn Hezbollah."

On Tuesday, leading Senate Democrats said in a sharply worded letter that Al-Maliki's "failure to condemn Hezbollah's aggression and recognize Israel's right to defend itself raises serious questions about whether Iraq under your leadership can play a constructive role in resolving the current crisis and bringing stability to the Middle East."

The Republican National Committee rejected Dean's criticism of Al-Maliki, saying, "It is incredibly troubling that Howard Dean would seek to score cheap political points by attacking the democratically elected prime minister of Iraq."

On Capitol Hill, Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), R-Va., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said: "I dismiss Howard Dean. Really, he's a disappointment, even to Democrats. I don't care to deal with that."

Dean also used the Florida appearance to criticize President Bush, calling him "the most divisive president probably in our history" as he complained that Republican policies of deceit and finger-pointing are tearing the country apart.

"He's always talking about those people. It's always somebody else's fault. It's the gays' fault. It's the immigrants' fault. It's the liberals' fault. It's the Democrats' fault. It's Hollywood people," Dean said. "Americans are sick of that. Even if you win elections doing that, you drag down our country."

Dean spoke to about 240 business leaders in Palm Beach County at a gathering of the Democratic Professionals Forum. It is part of a nationwide grassroots campaign to get voters involved in politics on a local level ahead of the November elections.

Republicans welcomed Dean's appearance in Florida, criticizing him for the same divisiveness he accused Republicans of creating.

"Howard Dean's divisive rhetoric has done nothing more than drive the Democrat Party further to the extreme left of the political spectrum," said Carole Jean Jordan, head of the Republican Party of Florida.

[Grimmlok]

Criticizing Israel's policies, be they military or not, does not make you an anti-semite. That's such a stupid argument.

JEWS ARE NOT ISRAEL. Israel is a state.

Israel does have a right to defend itself, but NOT at the expense of innocent civilians. Nobody has that right.

Hezbollah is reprehensible, but so is this insane response by the IDF.

Both sides need to grow the fuck up.

[UndercoverGator]

Totally fucked in the head and to think I once had a modicum of respect for Dean.

Read this from The New York Times and tell me we're not playing a very dangerous and manipulated game by unilaterallly supporting Israel in their unwarrented attack on another country.

[Grimmlok]

Eh.. the Dems (save for a couple that don't seem to have lost their spines) are just as useless as the repukes.

like i've said before, at least when the repukes stand for something (however evil or stupid) at least they stick with it..

[Delphinium]

Originally Posted by UndercoverGator

Totally fucked in the head and to think I once had a modicum of respect for Dean.

Read this from The New York Times and tell me we're not playing a very dangerous and manipulated game by unilaterallly supporting Israel in their unwarrented attack on another country.

the attack is absolutely warranted. Hezbollah has been building bunkers, launching missles and kidnapping people. enough is enough with that. If Hezbollah didn't want a fight they shouldn't have been trying to start one.

[Grimmlok]

Israel had been assassinating their leaders, bombing their villages and firing missiles themselves.

That's a stupid argument. Do better. Each side is doing exactly what the other is.