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Saturday, December 16, 2006
Richardson: McCain is Dead Wrong; Must Get Troops Out in 2007
According to The Hotline, Gov. Bill Richardson had this to say today in New Hampshire about Iraq and McCain:
“The leading advocate for escalating the war is Senator John McCain. I have served with John in Congress and I respect him. But John McCain is wrong, dead wrong to think that we can solve Iraq’s political crisis through military escalation.”
“There are no quick or easy answers to the crisis in Iraq. Our choices are between bad options and worse ones. Some prefer military escalation. Some choose staying the course. These options are illusions. The only realistic choice we have is to stand down militarily and let the Iraqis stand up and face the political crisis which only they can resolve.”
“I’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan. I worked in this region...we should harbor no illusions. This withdrawal will not be pretty. People will die. But fewer will die than if we stay. There are no guarantees that our departure will end the civil war, but it is sure to continue so long as we stay. The Iraqis might, or might not, resolve their political crisis. It is up to them. They distrust and fear one another, and this makes it very tough. But they share one goal – they don’t want to destroy their own country. To save it, they need to stop killing each other and start compromising. And we need to get out of the way.”
The Boston Globe has more, including:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Saturday that the administration should set a date to withdraw American troops from Iraq in 2007 and criticized Sen. John McCain's call for boosting troop levels there.
"This is not cut and run," he said. "What I'm proposing is something that I believe will work. A fixed withdrawal date. You redeploy those troops."
A withdrawal should be coupled with a political solution and a reconciliation conference with ethnic groups in Iraq, he said. He said it would allow the Pentagon to redeploy forces to Afghanistan and bolster efforts to combat international terrorism.
Bayh Out, Edwards In
In other news in the race to be the 2008 Dem presidential candidate, Evan Bayh won't run (phew). And John Edwards will soon make his announcement to run while standing in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, which I find very cool given his emphasis on poverty. The only officially declared Dem candidate is Iowa's Tom Vilsack, not exactly a charisma machine.
December 16, 2006 at 01:28 PM in Democratic Party, Iraq War | Permalink
Comments
I think the Governor is right, we have done all we can militarily in Iraq. I also don't believe that the Iraqi Army can do what our military couldn't and won't be capable of standing up as we stand down. The different factions as the Gov says "need to stop killing each other and start compromising", a "reconciliation conference" may well be what's needed to start a peace process and rebuilding.
Posted by: VP | Dec 16, 2006 2:49:26 PM
I am thrilled by the governor's comments. He is right on target. We need more candidates and potential candidates to stand up to the issue. Congratulations to Governor Richardson, he has stood up to a serious problem and has offered a solution, not pretty, not easy, but a solution that I agree with.
I would like to point out that there is another person who has announced his candidacy for president, that is Representative Dennis Kucinich. If you want to vote based on issues without having to hold your nose on other issues, then Kucinich is the one. Richardson makes a great second.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Dec 16, 2006 4:51:18 PM
It is so easy to say let's get out a year from now. At 9 billion a month, I say let's get the flock out now! A year from now is as good as saying never/whenever. Some indefinite withdrawal is a convenient position that displays absolutely NO leadership at all.
Patricia Madrid will be working for John Edwards again.
When she asked Richardson for his support in the congressional campaign, he wanted her endorsement for president. She is loyal to John Edwards so Richardson expended no effort for the congressional campaign. Richardson is not a loyal Democrat. He is loyal to himself.
Hillary Clinton also asked for Madrid's endorsement and when told that Madrid would be for Edwards, Hillary supported Madrid anyway.
John Edwards is not a corporate shill like so many top Dems and we can count on him to have the well-being of working people first in his priorities.
Posted by: qofdisks | Dec 16, 2006 4:53:21 PM
BTW Kuchinich says to use the remainder of the last huge appropriation for the Iraq War to get the troops out NOW.
He does not support congress appropriating another 179 billion for perpetuating the war for another 2 years.
THAT is leadership.
Posted by: qofdisks | Dec 16, 2006 5:01:10 PM
I agree with a previous post that Richardson is out for himself but I cant help but congratulate him on standing up on this issue. The media drumbeats are continuing to ratchet up the frenzy on sending more troops and I have yet to hear an organized response from the Democratic Party. It is good to hear our Governor making some noise and a great deal of sense.
Posted by: 6of9 | Dec 16, 2006 7:23:47 PM
I prefer Kucinich's stand against the war, he has ALWAYS been against it. I support the Governor's position because there is almost nobody else standing up and backing up what they say.
Having worked with the Governor on the paper ballots I have to ask those who trash him to please make sure that you are accurate. I have found him to be a good politician. He does not always do what I want but he has listened when I have talked with him, really listened, not like Bingaman.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Dec 16, 2006 7:55:17 PM
I like Kucinich, but I have the feeling that the Dem leadership will not support his candidacy. As for Richardson, he better be squeaky clean because I am pretty sure they will try to drag him through the mud.
Posted by: VP | Dec 16, 2006 9:14:28 PM
I doubt that the dem leadership will support him, they are corporatists and he is not.
If you want squeaky clean then go with Kucinich. Check his web site, www.kucinich.us
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Dec 16, 2006 10:34:08 PM
I think what Richardson is saying is about all that can be said at this time. There is no way anyone can state an exact plan because no one except the Bush insiders really know what's going on in Iraq. No one. I wish more Democrats would say that.
As for Kucinich, he is an ineffective dreamer and always will be. When he was mayor of Cleveland he bankrupted the city with pie in the sky ideas. He hasn't gotten one important bill enacted during his many years in the Congress. Since he ran for president last time he has done nothing to build an activist grassroots or any kind of improvement in the Democratic party structure. He is getting to be like Nader, fading in between elections and then coming out each election time to say things that are unworkable and unachievable.
Posted by: Be Practical | Dec 17, 2006 11:41:05 AM
I like the statements by Richardson. We need similar statements from every Democrat. As for Kucinich, I'm with Kos on this one. Kos pointed out that he might be tempted to give Kucinich more attention if he ran a genuine, serious campaign. Instead, Kucinich really has no campaign staff and will next to nothing except demand to be a part of the debates. We need candidates who really try to win not merely get their faces on TV.
More and more I think Obama is the man.
Posted by: | Dec 17, 2006 1:24:48 PM
to "Be Practical" I wonder how you can say that Bush insiders know what is going on in Iraq. To know what is going on and to still "stay the course" is clearly grounds for impeachment.
You need to do some research on the bankruptcy of Cleveland and how it is still effecting the citizens there. When the results of the actions that he took as mayor became evident he ran for political office in the same area and won and has continued winning by substantial margins in every election except the last Presidential primary. You can look at what the media did to Dean and understand how Kucinich was marginalized.
As far as Kucinich building a grassroots organization I think that you should look at the platforms of many of the state democratic parties around the country. Many of Kucinich's platform planks are repeated around the country. That is called building the party rather than splintering the party.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Dec 18, 2006 8:13:28 AM
There certainly are Bush insiders who know what is going on in Iraq but they don't know what to do about it. It's also possible they are exactly where they want to be and set out to be. If you read the PNAC documents etc., these forces want to be in a long term and widening war in the middle east.
The planks you talk about were from many sources, not just Kucinich. I think Kucinich is well meaning but he doesn't have any idea how to get meaningful change happening within the system because he doesn't compromise on anything or work to persuade people. He preaches to the choir.
Posted by: Be Practical | Dec 18, 2006 9:13:09 AM
I am in Kuchinich's choir. He represents the LEFT. Far LEFT representation is so needed in the National Conversation.
It's been a long time coming.
People are whining about him running an unconventional campaign and NOT holding himself hostage to our incredibly corrupt political system. Nobody is going to take him seriously because he isn't ready to get on his knees before immoral corporate sponsorship.
A campaign staff, media, travel, equipment costs money.
It is our duty as liberal bloggers to kept Kuchinich in the National Conversation.
You may not always agree with Kuchinich but he was on the moral side of the disastrous Iraq War. He will further the goals of the Department of Peace. Who would have thought that such a great compassionate passivist would converge with the great warrior J. Murtha on the issue of War and Peace. It is astonishing.
Posted by: qofdisks | Dec 18, 2006 12:45:00 PM
There's a big difference between running a campaign that doesn't bow to big money donors (like Dean's presidential run) and one that has no effective staff or way of winning (Kucinich's). One operates in reality and the other in fantasy. Kucinich could easily raise money from the grassroots to operate a real campaign but he chooses not to do so.
Also, Kucinich is not in agreement with Murtha. Murtha is pushing for redeployment to the fringes of Iraq, not total withdrawal as Kucinich is.
I admit I have an attitude on Kucinich because he stuck in knife in Dean's back in Iowa by siding with others to get at him. Shame on him.
Posted by: Old Dem | Dec 18, 2006 12:59:49 PM
Redeployment is the same as getting out at this point. That means pull back to safer zones and drastically reducing our numbers in Iraq. We require quality in Iraq, not quantity. Kucinich surely isn't proposing disengagement with our enemies. Peace is infinitely more efficient than war.
Posted by: qofdisks | Dec 18, 2006 2:12:40 PM
