The Dysfunctional Democrats

Democrats as Patriots

Here are examples of Democrats making strident pronouncements on Saddam Hussein. These statements clearly show they wanted to take action against the recalcitrant dictator in Baghdad, and probably sooner, rather than later.

“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process. . . . I believe in negotiated solutions to international conflict. This is, unfortunately, not going to be the case in this situation . . .”

– Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) 1998

“Now, let’s imagine the future. What if (Sadaam Hussein) fails to comply, and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop this program of weapons of mass destruction?”

“Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction. And some day, some way, I guarantee you, he’ll use the arsenal.”

“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.”

– President Bill Clinton (D) 1998

“We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandates of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.”

– Sen. Carl Levin (D) 2002

“We know that he [Saddam] has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”

– Al Gore (D) 2002

“I do believe that Iraq poses an imminent threat, but I also believe that after September 11, that question is increasingly outdated. To insist on further evidence could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we afford to take that chance? We cannot!”

“The president has rightly called Saddam Hussein’s efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction a grave and gathering threat to Americans.” – Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) 2002

Democrats Grant Bush Unprecedented Powers

In October 2002, on the eve of the mid-term elections, Harry Reid – then Senate majority whip and one of the more influential members of his party – voted to grant Bush unprecedented powers to wage war against Iraq.

Democrats as Turncoats

Their tune changed a lot when it suited them, and what appeared to be certain truth to them when they were in power changed to an outright lie perpetrated on the American people by George Bush. Their new position was a complete repudiation of what they had said previously.

“The administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq.” – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D) 2005

“They (the American people) understand we can’t continue down this same failed course in Iraq.”

– Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) 2005

“The attitude of going to war against a relatively defenseless country in order to prevent violence in the world is a complete fallacy.”

-Former President Jimmy Carter (D) 2005

Reality Check

“Clearly, Democrats are not united. The difficulty of coming to a unified position is that for a lot of people who voted for it, they have to decide whether they can admit that they were misled.”

– Steve Elmendorf senior Democratic Party strategist 2005

“How could Bush have lied? How was he to know the intelligence was wrong? Without knowing that, he could not have lied.”

– Columnist Jonah Goldberg 2005

“Harry Reid and Co., in accusing Team Bush of manipulating intelligence, have managed to pioneer an even more egregious abuse of the American political system: the manipulation of ignorance.”

– Columnist and now Presidential Spokesman, Tony Snow 2005

Note: Valerie “Vanity Fair” Plame and Joseph “The Liar” Wilson were donors to Democratic causes, including the Al Gore and John Kerry presidential campaigns and George Soros’ America Coming Together group.

In the face of such empirical evidence showing twisted and dysfunctional logic, can someone please explain the usefulness of the Democratic Party, except for being “useful idiots?”

Richard L. Barrett, III is a writer with a BA in English Literature, who loves to write about the human condition