Not Letting Up

However, since I’m in the middle of writing my second 1000-word-plus paper in as many days, go watch Patterico smack down his usual target: the Los Angeles Times. This time it’s about—who else—Senator Dick Durbin and why few are willing to accept his "apology." I’m just surprised that the LAT finally deigned to mention the traitorous words of Durbin dustup.

Oh and get a load of this:

Durbin:The first thing they [we of the vast right-wing conspiracy] do when they get angry and decide to focus on something, my statement obviously was their focus, they start their blogs, which I don’t pay a lot of attention to but some people do.

Then why give us the free publicity, Dick?

By the way, I received a response from Senator Barbara Boxer—surprise--regarding my request that she advocate the censure of her colleague. (So I’m a dreamer. So what?)

Thank you for contacting me about the war
in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you.

I recently traveled to Iraq and would like
to share my thoughts with you regarding my
experiences. Meeting with our nation's brave
service men and women was truly inspiring. I
admire and appreciate their courage, skill, and
devotion to duty. In order to best support our
troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, I voted for the
2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill
to get them the equipment and support they need.

However, my trip to Iraq confirmed my view
that the United States must set a timetable to
withdraw our forces. I agree with retired
Marine Corps General Gregory Newbold, one of the
prime planners of the war in Iraq, who proposes
that we set a goal for withdrawal. I believe
our long-term presence in Iraq is becoming
counterproductive.

I recently joined with Senator Russell
Feingold (D-WI) in sponsoring a resolution
calling on the Bush Administration to provide
Congress with a timeframe for achieving its
military goals in Iraq and withdrawing U.S.
troops from Iraq. I believe that it is time
that the Administration disclose its plan for
Iraq so that we know what our mission is and how
we will accomplish it. It is time that we stop
fighting this war with no plan and no end in
sight.

Please know that for as long as our troops
remain in harm's way, I will continue to push
for an international effort to reduce the
hardship on our troops while increasing the pace
of training Iraqi Security Forces.

Once again, thank you for your letter and
for caring deeply about this critical matter.

Only about her; not one word about Durbin. This must be the standard, set response when one checks the Iraq box on her email site.

I don’t think Senator Boxer will touch this one. Even she knows that her boy has gone too far.

Comments

[Demond S. Hunter]

Liberals who loathe the Military are quick to point out how they agree with some disgruntle retired schmoo who thinks along their demented views. Sure Please tell the enemy when we are leaving they would love to hear that. In the Army when we train troops our motto is "Train to Standards No Time" meaning we leave until the mission is done not when some liberal and worried republican wants us to run.

[torchy]

Exactly Mr Hunter,jihadists don't seem to respond well to time based standards as they might to performance based standards. Just ask the Israelis about Oslo, where they tried to meet timeframes while the Palestinians used timeframes as bargaining chips and did absolutely nothing to meet their end of the deal. They took the goodwill of the Israelis and used it to murder innocent Israelis and move their own society closer to outright and thorough barbarism.

[Mescalero]

As a unrepresented detainee in Brain-Dead Boxer's California gulag may I state unequivocally that "Brain-Dead" wants the US government to set a time table by which Bin Ladin's Islamo-Fascists can retake Iraq. Of course after that Afghanistan.

[teal marie]

I don't want to hunt for a link, but I saw a story on FoxNews that Dick is sponsoring a bill to keep the wife of a contractor who was killed in Iraq from being deported. Back to Bosnia, I think.
I suspect he'll use this to cover his perfidious ass.

[StinKerr]

I saw that story on FNC, TM. She's an Ill-annoy resident so Durbin and Obama are sponsoring a private bill to let her stay.

Our Immigration folks are being very efficient in processing deportion proceedings for this woman who is now the widow of a military contractor and is presently raising his son. Go figure.

Apparently they hadn't been married long enough to qualify her for citizenship. There is apparently a sponsorship problem too. So her green card isn't valid any more either.

I'd prefer that they go hunt down some of the millions of illegals, but this is low hanging fruit for them.

[StinKerr]

Looks like you got the form letter, Juliette. Of course, she answers questions that way too, by never actually answering the question. Not an uncommon thing in her business.

[skinner]

I agree with the time table JUST DONT ANNOUNCE IT

[teal marie]

StinKerr, I agree with your summation and opinion. My point was that I suspect the Dick of using this bill to cover his sins. As in "I supported a war widow. Now I can slander the troops with impunity. I'm so righteous I could just kiss myself. Ask Obama, he was there."
I could be wrong. I once suspected Dad of farting in the fridge when it was a chunk of bleu cheese. Roquefort, roguefart, I can't tell the difference. I only know I don't want any.
Same with Dick and his cheese. There, I said it. I suspected I would. :-)

[Demond S. Hunter]

correction I meant to say "Train to Standards Not to Time"

[Acidman]

If he doesn't pay attention to blogs, why did he mention them? It's canned political crap, the same flavor you got from Boxer.

[StinKerr]

Yeah, he's going to make political hay anywhere he can, TM. As far as I'm concerned the two things are unrelated. The private bill is a nice gesture, and I suspect that's all it is, while his speech was an outrageous false indictment of our military.

Try roquefort sprinkles on your salad with a nice Italian dressing. It's very good. ;-)

[teal marie]

Thanks, StinKerr. I was wrong. I'm glad, though.
You can have my share of cheese. In perpetuity. ;-)

[torchy]

Miss Marie and Stinkerr
I think the Democrats are forever intent on shoring up Clintons "humanitarian" misadventure in the Balkans and rescuing a US contractors Bosnian wife fits the bill. It's a running effort to shade the true history of that ordeal. It also highlights their hypocrisy in dealing with the current conflicts. Kosovo is still a mess thanks to the jihadists desire for a Greater Albania. Serbia was wrongly punished for the atrocities that jihaists either fabricated, as in Racak, Kosovo, or encouraged, as in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Thats alot of guilt for the Clintonites to atone for, or in this case, attempt to mask. I also think it might provide handy service in their current ordeal, as Miss Marie implied. They pad their resumes with these emotional appeals and will use them at some point to deflect criticism, which they might very well sieze upon in this case, though in truth it's a can of worms they'd best keep closed. In short, the Dems are saying they smell a fart with their pants full of shit, Dicks cheese just makes their shit stink that much more. They might very well try to use a nice Clinton-era sob story as a deordorant.

[teal marie]

You're a love, torchy. Thanks for watching my back. I thought Dick would rather be hung than appologize. It was a weasley cheezly appology, but not as bad as I suspected. We'll see if it sticks.
Thank you, Sweety. XXX

[StinKerr]

Yep, Torchy, are we in the fifth or sixth year of that "one year" deployment? There's a timetable that really got extended. Let's hope it doesn't last as long as the deployment to Korea.

It's funny how that Balkans thing never comes up when the Iraq timetable drum is being beaten (repeatedly). Now that I think of it the MSM has pretty much buried Bill's Balkans adventure.

Thanks for the cheese, TM. I'll try to make the most of it. ;-)

[torchy]

Miss Marie
Unfortunately we didn't get the chance to give him enough rope to hang more than himself but he still left enough openings to do that. His "apology" seemed part "I'm sorry if you misunderstood what I really meant"and part "I guess I could've chosen better wording" and almost nothing about the historic gravity of his misapplied analogies. Too bad we can't throw him against a wall and see what sticks.
Au contraire Madamoiselle, your incisive intuitions and unsparing wit inspire where paragraphs of mundane detail would depress. There's a rare talent for brief impressions that leaves the mind space to consider that you grace us with. Only by following your lead am I in any position to watch your back, darlin', but I'm usually just along for the ride, whereever it might lead us.

[mcconnell]

Hey, didn't Barbara Boxer denied that she was advocating a timetable just recently in an interview today on Foxnews?? That's what I saw.