Some prominent black Democrats are actually playing the race card in supporting the nomination of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. Is it any wonder that for the most part the Democrats in the U.S. are a pathetic excuse for an opposition party?
Why are Senate Democrats debating the qualifications of a woman whose accomplishments speak for themselves, some prominent black Democrats wondered on Tuesday.
Andrew Young -- the former Atlanta mayor, U.S. congressman and United Nations ambassador in the Carter administration -- and C. Delores Tucker, chair of the National Congress of Black Women, agreed to appear with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Tuesday, to urge support for Dr. Condoleezza Rice as the next secretary of state.
"We think that Condoleezza Rice not only deserves the support, but the country needs a strong, wise secretary of state with a bipartisan mandate to help establish democracy, not only in Iraq, but around the world," Young said.
Yes, her 'accomplishments' do speak for themselves. As national security adviser, she has helped prevent a major terrorist attack on the United States, has contributed to the rounding up of Bin Laden and his terrorist cohorts, and has been key in implementing a plan that has led to any overwhelming, facile and rapid military victory in Iraq, while severely limiting casualties....hmmm, then again maybe not quite.
But her honesty couldn't be doubted, could it? From the incomparable Daily Howler of last April during Rice's testimony during the 9/11 commission. (You remember, when the 'strong, wise' Rice would only appear in front of the commission as long as no one would question her for more than 10 minutes - and, of course, during the testimony, the wise women was capable of blabbing on about irrelevancies for the 10 minutes so as to avoid actually answering any of the questions that she was posed)
BEN-VENISTE: Isn’t it a fact, Dr. Rice, that the August 6th PDB warned against possible attacks in this country? And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB [presidential daily briefing].
Rice gave the title, slightly inaccurately. (Actual title: Bid Laden Determined To Strike in US.) Then, she answered Ben-Veniste’s first question. Remarkably, this was her answer:
RICE: You said, did it not warn of attacks? It did not warn of attacks inside the United States. It was historical information based on old reporting. There was no new threat information, and it did not, in fact, warn of any coming attacks inside the United States.
What a remarkable bit of testimony! The PDB “did not warn of attacks inside the United States,” Rice said. In fact, she made the odd statement twice. To state the obvious, this comes close to contradicting the language of the PDB, which warns about “patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings and other attacks.” Having sworn to tell the whole truth, Rice offered a highly crafted account of what the PDB said.
And please remember, because this is crucial—at the time of this testimony, the PDB was a classified document. Americans watching Rice on TV had never been able to see the brief—and as far as Rice knew, they never would. All they would know of this PDB would come from the things Rice was saying. And what was her first account of the brief? “It did not, in fact, warn of any coming attacks inside the United States,” she said.
If you can believe it, Tucker actually wants to know why Rice is being questioned at all before being confirmed as secretary of state.
Tucker questioned the Senate's need to debate Rice's qualifications on Tuesday. "And why we're doing this Monday morning quarterback -- I don't know why," she said.
"When I was secretary of the state of Pennsylvania, I had none of this problem," Tucker said. "And I just think now that we need to stop trying to find any kind of Monday morning quarterback problems [on] why [Rice] should not be immediately confirmed."
"And we just are here to support her and let her know that we're with her and we don't like what is being done here.
Truly bizarre. They "don't like what is being done here." My god, an incompetent, lying ideologue is simply being questioned over several dubious past actions and remarks before her obvious confirmation and they don't like that. To even bring up the matter of race is incredibly insulting to one's intelligence. No one gets treated with kid gloves more than Rice.
Update
It must be said, though, that not all Democrats are so spineless. Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota tells it like it is.
She [Rice] repeatedly deceived members of Congress and Americans at large about justifications for the war, said Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn.
"I don't like impugning anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to," Dayton said. "Repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally."
Comments