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Commentary :: Right Wing

ZAMORA SPEAKS OUT

The attack on Rep. Murtha is the same old, tired rhetoric we can expect from the current Republican leadership.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Ruben K. Zamora
Progressive Candidate (D) (2006 election)
14th Congressional District
US House of Representatives

zamora4congress (at) sbcglobal.net
www.zamoraforcongress.org
PO Box 1003
Montgomery, IL 60538

630-677-7169

ZAMORA SPEAKS OUT ON THE FAILURES
OF HASTERT AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
Commentary by Ruben K. Zamora

As stated in today's Chicago Tribune article, "Call to
Exit Iraq Escalates Fierce War of Words," and more
specifically because of Representative Dennis
Hastert's comments, there is evidence that it's time
Hastert and the Republican administration stop using
Presidential Advisor Karl Rove's tired liturgy and instead
started listening to the American people.

"They (Democrats) would prefer that the United States
surrender to terrorists, who would harm innocent
Americans," said Representative Hastert recently.

How many times before have we heard this phrase used for
political gain? This country demands
statesmanship from representatives in Hastert’s
position, not tired rhetoric. This rhetoric has been
used because the Bush Administration has no realistic
plan to bring our troops home or to win the conflict
in Iraq.

Unfortunately, the Democrats and like-minded
Republicans now must “pull this administration's fat
out of the fire.” The Democratic Party has plans, but
House Spokesman Scott McClellan wrongfully accuses
Rep. Murtha of being like Michael Moore and "the extreme
liberal wing of the Democratic Party." This flippant
remark seeks to hide the growing disapproval of this
administration's handling of the Iraq War and our own democracy.
Included is the declining number of
Americans who support Congress and the increasing
numbers of those who feel the administration "misled"
this country in its intelligence leading up to the
war. But because of the damage that the "extreme right
wing of the Republican Party" has created with this
war and their desires to "stay the course," shouldn’t
it be imperative that we look at all our options, no
matter what party suggests them?







PAGE 2 OF 3 (Zamora)

I think the time has come for solutions and plans, not
more “Rove-like” attacks, rhetoric and propaganda. It
is time that Hastert and others in the Bush
administration stop defending the "cut and pasted"
pre-war intelligence as unbiased, complete and true.
The "cut and run" argument is old and they should be
ashamed for constantly making use of it.

It's time for new workable solutions. It’s time to
stop using scare tactics, which allege that if we give
sovereignty to Iraq soon and give them power to dole
out infrastructure rebuilding and oil contracts as
they see fit, that somehow the United States and its citizens
will be in danger. I thought the sovereignty of the
Iraqi people was the major reason for "liberating"
Iraq.

Shouldn’t we be more concerned with "homeland
insecurity?" Our borders with neighboring countries
are still porous. Not all shipment containers are
being checked at our ports, and security of our
nuclear power plants still remain suspect. Our delayed
response to natural catastrophes, like Rita and
Katrina, only magnifies our current administration's
inability to adequately respond and protect the people
of this country. What other example do we wait for, a
"dirty bomb?"

Also, America is getting sick of political attacks on
people, especially on decorated war veterans—like
Representative John Murtha, Senators John Kerry, Max
Cleland and John McCain—by undecorated, non-veteran,
war hawks, like Representative Hastert, Vice President
Dick Cheney, Representative Tom Delay and Senior
Advisor Karl Rove.

By his attack on our American hero Murtha, Hastert is
continuing attempts to parlay the same playbook
of ideas Republican leaders have continuously used against
those who question their lack of leadership in the
Iraq War. Perhaps they should follow real Republican leaders like
Dwight Eisenhower who said, “I think that people want peace
so much that one of these days government had better get out of
their way and let them have it.”

The Republican majority has helped create this quagmire
and rather than admitting mistakes, they choose to
call anyone opposing their views unpatriotic or
detrimental to our troops' morale. I believe the low
morale of our troops is documented, not because people
are speaking up against this war, but because they
have been overextended, under-equipped and are
exhausted. When a leader like Murtha has the courage to right a wrong he was misled into, he should be
commended, not attacked.
Theodore Roosevelt stated, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president,
or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong,
is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public."

Where is the respect for every American's right to
petition our government for a redress of our
grievances, if our government is wrong? Hastert and
the others, who are finding fault with anti-war
protesters and leaders like Representative Murtha,
should spend more time addressing the Bush
administration's own lack of action and start planning
to bring our dedicated troops home safely.

PAGE 3 OF 3 (Zamora)

It's time our government worked together through
non-partisan means to correct the ills of this war. The
sickness of thought that sent our troops to Iraq
should be replaced by intelligent, rational reasoning
that will help heal our nation's divides.

As you bicker and attack, Representative Hastert, you
undermine the morale of the troops by refusing to do
your job and to lead us back to peace and security.
Maybe you should go to the veterans' hospitals, or
even visit the troops in Iraq, and open a dialog with
valiant men like Mr. Murtha and heed the valuable
advice and insight he could offer from the perspective
of "one who has been there."

 
 

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