When Democrats Acted Like They Supported America

Cross posted from Right In A Left World

September 13, 2007

We have all listened to the heavy partisan rhetoric coming out of the Democrat party for some time now. It’s always Bush this and Bush that, as long as it is amounts to denigration of the President and his administration.

Ever since President Bush won the bitter recounts in Florida in 2000 and won the Presidency, in one form or another he has been under attack by Democrats, who have shared no expense or effort in undermining him and by extension, the War on Terror.

Constant calls for resignations, bashing of the Troops, belittling Cabinet members, endless investigations wasting millions of dollars of our taxes, creating scandals where none exists, all the way down to cleverly calling a highly respected Four-Star General a Liar, the onslaught has lasted and shows no signs of letting up. Indeed, it would appear to be increasing in intensity as news of the Troop Reinforcement shows signs of success.

Hard to believe that it wasn’t this way, once, for a few days. Democrats lined up behind the President and actually praised him, but it was short lived. Calls they made during that time have been forgotten as were pledges made by them. The show of unity they swore to the world fell by the wayside quickly as the thought of re-grabbing political power by once again portraying a war we were involved in, and they voted for, as well as those involved in fighting it glowed brightly before the then minority Democrat party, out of power for a few years after holding majority power for some 40 years.

Below I quote some of today’s powerful Democrats from early in the Bush term, the day after we suffered the worst terrorist attack in history. Just compare what they said then to what they say today and see how politics is what matters most to them.

“We will also stand united behind our President as he and his advisors plan the necessary actions to demonstrate America’s resolve and commitment. Not only to seek out an exact punishment on the perpetrators, but to make very clear that not only those who harbor terrorists, but those who in any way aid or comfort them whatsoever will now face the wrath of our country. And I hope that that message has gotten through to everywhere it needs to be heard. You are either with America in our time of need or you are not.”

“I have expressed my strong support for the President. Not only as the Senator from New York, but as someone for eight years who has some sense of the burdens and responsibilities that fall on the shoulders of the human being we make our President. It is an awesome and an often times awful responsibility for any person. I know we are up to it. I know we are ready for it. And I know every one in this body represents every American in making clear we are united and stronger than ever.”

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9288.

“I commend Don Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense for his efforts yesterday and for staying on the job while the Pentagon was burning. I know there were probably those on his staff and elsewhere who urged him to leave. I presume they made a good case for it. But I admire the fact that Don Rumsfeld stayed on the job yesterday to be with the men and women who were there the injured, those who lost their lives, not to mention those who are fighting the blaze and trying to bring that incredible scene under control.”

“The words ‘‘an act of war’’ have been used. I agree with that. We need to respond to this and to build the kind of society to sustain our democratic values, which we have embraced for more than 200 years, through trials and tribulations.”

Senator Christopher Dodd, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9291, S9292.

“As an American, make no mistake about it, we did wake up in a new world in America. It is a new era…”

“Yes, this was a 21st century Pearl Harbor but a little different because they aimed at civilians, as they know our military is too strong. They are ultimately cowards and bullies…”

“First, we are a resilient nation. We don’t take anything on our knees. We will not take this. I assure the enemies of America, the enemies of freedom, the enemies of progress, of that.”

“As with Pearl Harbor, we are affected directly. Unlike Pearl Harbor, there is no name or ZIP Code or address… But the one common thread is this: If we stay as resolute as we did after Pearl Harbor, we will win this war. We can and we will, if we keep our resoluteness.”

“We cannot go back to business as usual. We will not win this war against those who seek to destroy our very way of life in a day or in a month or even a year. It is going to take several. If we are resolute, we will succeed.”

“They have their weaknesses and their pressure points. I was glad the President said we will not only go after the terrorists but those who harbor terrorists.”

“I was proud to speak to the President yesterday. I assured him something, and I think I speak for all of us: partisanship. Divisions are out the window. He will be our leader. He will come up with a plan. We will have advice and offer suggestions. But once that plan is arrived at, we will unite.”

Senator Charles Schumer, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9285, S9286, S9287.

“Yesterday firmly establishes in my mind that the major threat and No. 1 national security problem facing the United States is the asymmetrical attack, the unconventional and unpredictable horrific act of terrorism.”

“I don’t believe America can be a paper tiger in response. I think the United States should spare no effort to uncover, to ferret out, and to destroy those who commit acts of terrorism, those who provide the training camps, who shelter, who finance, and who support terrorists. Whether that enemy is a state or an organization, those who harbor them, who arm them, who train them, and permit them must, in my view, be destroyed.”

“We Americans are a resilient, a determined, and a patriotic nation. We will not lose the spirit that makes us the greatest democracy on Earth by going after terrorist’s full scale. We have always been ready to respond in defense of freedom. And now that challenge is before us in a manner, shape and form that offers unprecedented challenges. We must respond.”

Senator Dianne Feinstein, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9306, S9307

“We in Congress stand united in our resolve to ensure that President Bush has every necessary resource as he leads our great Nation forward in the coming days and weeks and months. I am very confident that every Member of the Senate views this as an American issue. No party affiliation, no partisanship, no attempt to gain political advantage—nothing—will erode our solidarity or undermine our united resolve as we respond to protect our country and our people.”

“We will do everything in our power to support President Bush in his efforts to ensure that those who have done such evil and perpetrated these despicable acts do not go unpunished.”

“As we mourn the loss of our fellow Americans, we must focus on the task ahead. Yesterday’s barbaric attacks against the United States were not just acts of terror; they were acts of war perpetrated by the uncivilized.”

“Moreover, I stand firmly with the President on this crucial point: Those who aid and harbor perpetrators of terror must also be held accountable. Make no mistake about that, they will be.”

“When diplomacy and economic sanctions fail, as they do on occasion, our resolve to fight terrorism must not waiver. We must use military force in the war against terrorism—and not just in response to terrorism but also to prevent future attacks.”

Senator Harry Reid, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9285

“A further reality is that no one could have undertaken this very well planned, and regrettably well executed, terrorist act without an extensive network, without a place in which to plan it that was within earshot and eyesight of some country, without some people who, by their inaction at a minimum and their complicity, allowed this to occur.”

“Today, as it has for 212 years, the U.S. Congress has convened. Two miles down Pennsylvania Avenue, President Bush sits in the Oval Office leading the executive branch and the country in a wide-ranging investigation to find those who committed these barbarous acts…”

“I would be dumbfounded if you did not see black faces, Asian faces, Hispanic, every race, and every religion standing in that line. They stand united in support of the President of the United States, as do all of us here in the Senate.”

“Let there be no doubt that the United States and civilized nations of the world will unite and win this struggle.”

Senator Joseph Biden, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9289, S9290

“I commend President Bush for his leadership in this extraordinarily difficult time. I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand with him… From time to time, from issue to issue, the votes in this Chamber are divided, but when it comes to defeating terrorism and hate, the Senate will not be divided.”

“We need to do more to root out terrorism in the countries where it is tolerated, funded, and harbored, and the world can rest assured that we will.”

Former Senator John Edwards, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9312.

“But it is also critical that all of us remember, as we talk about responses, and war against terrorism, that our rhetoric be matched by our actions. If indeed there is a war against terrorism, I remind my colleagues that in a war the first shots are never the last, the first strike is never the worst.”

“What happened yesterday was terrible and horrendous, but we must prepare ourselves and steel ourselves for the possibility of worse until we achieve our goal. And to do that we have to be more prepared than we are today, and we have to take the fight wherever we need to, and in ways that we are, frankly, not yet prepared.”

“I will say, from personal experience, when you are in a war, you do not throw money at the enemy; it’s bullets or other actions that are real. We cannot guarantee that some fanatic is not going to find a way to upset civilized order. But we can guarantee that anyone facilitating or associated with such an act will pay the highest price.”

Senator John ‘F’in Kerry, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9299, S9300.

“Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked,” a date which will live in infamy.”

“Almost 60 years later, Americans face such another day and challenge to our democracy. Just as the people of this country became united in World War II, we must unite against the cowardice of evil and terrorism. As our leaders said this morning: We stand here not as Republicans or Democrats, we stand together.”

“We will be supportive of our President, our institutions and of each other because a challenge to our freedom is going to be answered by the strength of our democracy. Trial by fire can refine us or it can coarsen us. If we hold to our ideals, then it strengthens us. Our people, our values, our institutions are strong. President Roosevelt spoke of the arsenal of democracy. That arsenal— our ideals, our values, our freedom, our community, our humanity— sustains us and propels us forward. As much as our military weaponry these ideals are the arsenal of democracy.”

“Let nobody outside our shores have any question about this: Americans are united. All the free world, all civilized nations, all caring people will join together at this difficult time.”

Senator Patrick Leahy, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9296, S9297.

“In that context, I want to mention two elements of resolve and two cautions. The first resolve is that, obviously, this situation is almost certain to require military action. As a number of people have said today, this is not about simply bringing people to trial or finding a legal standard. I agree with those who say that these were ‘acts of war.’”

“As one who has frequently questioned our military intervention and the wisdom— for example, our intervention in Kosovo and Bosnia, whether we really went about it the right way—this situation is different. It requires a strong and aggressive military response when we are able to determine exactly who we should be going after, and I understand we are pretty close to being certain of that.”

The second resolve relates to the suggestion by some that perhaps the
American people will grow weary of our involvement in the Middle East and our concern about the Middle East.

“We will not retreat from our commitment to peace in the Middle East and, more specifically, we will not reward these terrorists by reducing one iota our support for the State of Israel, which is the only democracy in the Middle East, which is our steadfast ally militarily and otherwise. If those who committed these deeds believe this is the way to destroy Israel or destroy the link between our two nations, they have just made a very large mistake.”

Senator Russ Feingold, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9318

“This is a massive tragedy for America, and we must make clear that our national resolve will not be weakened. Our country has been tested and tried in the past, and we have always emerged stronger and wiser. We will do so again now. America’s commitment to the values of freedom and justice has not been shaken in the past. It will not be shaken by these acts of terrorism.”

“I commend President Bush for his strong statement last evening about finding and punishing the perpetrators of this atrocity. Those who murder American citizens must have no safe hiding place, and those who shelter terrorists must be punished as well. America will do everything possible to apprehend the perpetrators and to identify and punish those who give them aid and comfort.”

“Just as the Pearl Harbor attack galvanized the American people in their resolve to prevail in the war against fascism and tyranny, I am confident that yesterday’s attack on the American people will galvanize our citizens and strengthen our spirit to prevail in the ongoing war against global terrorism.”

“It is tragic that these criminals were able to succeed in carrying out the most brutal terrorist attack in history on American soil. I pledge to work with the President, the Congress, and the families of the victims to seek answers to the many questions that exist, and to do all we can to strengthen the security of our people and to prevent such atrocities in the future…”

Senator Edward Kennedy, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9314, S9315.

“Our fury at those who attack innocence is matched by our united determination to protect our citizens from more terror and by our resolve to track down, to root out, and to relentlessly pursue terrorists and those who would shelter or harbor them.”

“The President, last night, spoke for all Americans and all civilized people everywhere about his commitment to recover, to deter, and then to root out and destroy the terrorists.”

“Debate is an inherent part of democracy. And while our democratic institutions are stronger than any terrorist effort to shake them, in one regard we operate differently in times of national emergency. We set aside our differences to join forces together, with decent people everywhere, to seek out and defeat a common enemy of the civilized world.”

“Our unity is unshakable, and, God willing, we will persevere and prevail.”

Senator Carl Levin, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9302.

“The light that shines in America is going to be relentless when it is turned on those who have declared themselves our enemies. The dark forces that perpetrated these acts ought to make sure today that they are in their hiding places because we are going to come after them. The blinding beam of our determination and the long arm of the United States of America is going to expose them and extract justice.”

“Our entire Congress stands united behind the President of the United States and against our enemies and against those who would shelter them. Our whole Nation stands together with a very clear intention: To endure.”

Senator Ron Wyden, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9305

“We will stand behind our President as he brings our law enforcement, military, and intelligence forces together to find these murderers and their allies. And as he takes the steps necessary to demonstrate clearly to all the world that terrorism against our nation will not be tolerated.”

Senator Maria Cantwell, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9310

“Many Americans are fearful today. They are fearful for the future of their homeland, their communities, their families. We do not deserve to live in fear.”

“I dedicate myself, as a Member of this body, as an American, as someone who has seen combat and who has lived in fear, to make sure that I rededicate myself to the task remaining before us:”

“That we will work out, with the President of the United States and this administration, every aspect of a plan to rid ourselves of international terrorism and to work with other nations, other civilized nations, other nations committed to democracy and opportunity that believe in the four freedoms as we do, to work out with them, in coordination with them, an assault on terrorism.”

“Yesterday was a declaration of war by terrorists on this country. This resolution we pass today in a unanimous fashion is, in my opinion, a resolution of guts and courage that this body sends forth, that we declare war on international terrorism.”

Former Senator Max Cleland, September 12, 2001, Congressional Record, S9308.

Were these words spoken six years ago sincere? If they were, you surely can’t tell by words spoken today by many of the same.

Where has that resolve gone? Where has that unity gone? Where has that spirit to defeat terror and go after it wherever it is gone? Why has it been replaced by deep divisions and empty rhetoric, all for political gain?

Democrats, don’t you care about supporting and protecting America any more?

Lew