Today's screamer

Ginny Brown-Waite [Florida 5th Congressional District], speaking today against the House resolution on the Iraq troop surge, states:

"As a matter of fact, the Orlando Sentinel, certainly not a conservative newspaper, has said that this is an empty measure."

Then, just for laughs, she repeats, "Believe me, the Orlando Sentinel is, by far, not a very conservative newspaper."

That's a screamer. By far. Anyone living in Central Florida will get the humor. When I want the Republican talking points, I watch Fox News or read the Sentinel online.

I suppose the Sentinel may not look very conservative to someone who calls Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," and refers to Islam as a "hateful and frightening religion." Congresswoman Brown-Waite also stated in a Tampa Bay Fox 13 interview, "Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. Except for Tim McVeigh ... and except Eric Rudolph, too." - Wikipedia

To be fair, the congresswoman's vote to continue Bush's failed war policy may not be "about the war" at all, as the GOP game plan confirmed this week. Her vote may be aimed at balancing the score with "liberals" - even in her own party - who opposed or failed to act on her House Resolution 1265. You remember, the one providing for "the removal of the remains of any United States servicemember or other person interred in an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery located in France or Belgium, and for the transportation of such remains to a location in the United States for reinterment." - American Hero's Repatriation Act of 2003

Why? Because Belgium and France did not support Bush's invasion of Iraq. There's always a price to pay for crossing the decider-in-chief, ya know.

In today's speech, Brown-Waite didn't let up: "What I see here is this liberal leadership pandering to the vitriolic left wing of the Democrat Party,'' she proclaimed before the vote.

Uh, that "vitriolic left wing" would be the 60 to70 percent of Americans who disagree with her position. But then, the Orlando Sentinel is "not conservative," so the majority of Americans must be extremely liberal - maybe even "vitriolic."

She continues, "The President knows all well my strong reservations about some of the policies in Iraq. But, Mr. Speaker, it has not been a perfect war."

Oh? Then, by all means, the answer to a "not perfect" war must be to fall back on "more perfect" sloganeering: Stay the course. Open debate in a free society aids the enemy ("in their final throes," still). Non-escalation equals surrender. Democracy at home demoralizes troops in the field. Non-binding resolutions are toothless and empty.

Brown-Waite concludes, "In the South, we have a wonderful saying and it goes like this: "Git 'er done. Our soldiers want to get it done and come home. And our President wants the same thing. And this Congress should also demand the exact same thing. Let's get out there and "Git 'er done." - Brown-Waite speech supporting the Iraq troop surge


Way to go, Ginny. Like the Cable Guy, you're "gettin' er done" (although, technically, neither he, nor you, nor that "wonderful saying" is genuinely Southern - not that there's anything wrong with playing Southern for laughs).

It all comes down to what you want to get done - cooperation for solutions, or obstructionism for political points. By far.