Response To The Response

I had planned to post a point by point response to the Democrat response but since Harry Reid made no valid points and reminds me too much of my grandfather, I will pass on his incoherent ramblings. Ms. Pelosi is an entirely different story. I am firmly convinced that she does not exist on our plane of reality, or on the oft chance she is just regurgitating the “company line”, the Democrats are in even more trouble then we think and their savior Howard Dean will only marginalize them further. Here is the full text of the response if you care to read it.

Light them if you got them because here we go on the wild ride that is Nancy Pelosi.

We all know that the United States cannot stay in Iraq indefinitely and continue to be viewed as an occupying force. Neither should we slip out the back door, falsely declaring victory but leaving chaos.

Maybe this statement was meant for Teddy Kennedy and she forgot who she was talking to? No one except certain voices on the left is calling for a policy of “cut and run”.

Despite the best efforts of our troops and their Iraqi counterparts, Iraq still faces a violent and persistent insurgency, and the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council said in January that Iraq is now a magnet for international terrorists.

Hmm, maybe last January. Last time I checked we just had free and open elections in an environment much different then what Pelosi just described.

We have never heard a clear plan from this Administration for ending our presence in Iraq. And we did not hear one tonight. Democrats believe a credible plan to bring our troops home and stabilize Iraq must include three key elements.

Again, was she even listening to the speech or maybe read it prior to making these wild claims? The President laid out a very clear plan for our withdrawal and then four conditions that must be met.

First, responsibility for Iraqi security must be transferred to the Iraqis as soon as possible. This action is long overdue. The top priority for the U.S. military should be training the Iraqi army. We must not be lulled into a false sense of confidence by the Administration's claim that a large number of security personnel have been trained. It simply hasn't happened, but it must.

Ok, Earth to Nancy, it’s kind of hard to train recruits if the terrorists are running wild. In the real world, you have to kill the terrorist so as to provide a stable training environment.

Second, Iraq's economic development must be accelerated. Congress has provided billions of dollars for reconstruction, but little of that money has been spent to put Iraqis to work rebuilding their country. Infrastructure improvements in Iraq are more than just projects; they give Iraqis hope for a better future and a stake in achieving it. And they contribute to Iraqi stability.

See the previous point, but I will explain this for those riding the short bus or card-carrying members of the Democrat party. It is a waste of time and money to try and rebuild infrastructure with terrorists running around blowing stuff up. Security first then rebuild and create jobs, common sense is short of supply in leftists now a days.

Third, regional diplomacy must be intensified. Diplomacy can lessen the political problems in Iraq, take pressure off of our troops, and deprive the insurgency of the fuel of anti-Americanism on which it thrives. If these three steps are taken, the next elections in Iraq, scheduled for December, can be held in a more secure atmosphere, with broader participation, and a much smaller American presence.

Huh, so far diplomacy in the region has lead to interference in Iraq’s internal political process by Syria and Iran. Nancy you’re a freaking genius, do us a favor and run for President in 4 years.

Despite the Administration's rhetoric, airline cargo still goes uninspected, shipping containers go unscreened, and our railroads and power plants are not secure. Police officers and firefighters across America have pleaded for the tools they need to prevent or respond to an attack, but the Administration still hasn't delivered for our first responders.

Chew on this fact: More than $18 billion has been awarded to state and local governments to protect the homeland. Source In my book that will secure a lot of “stuff”. Ultimately, like much of the funding that the government gives to the states, it is the decision of the state how the money is spent unless otherwise dictated. I seem to recall back in 2003 the states were crying poor on homeland security issues and as a direct result the budget of the Homeland Security Department for fiscal year 2005 was increased to provide more funds to the states, to the tune of oh I don’t know, maybe 18 billion dollars. Nice try Nancy. As for the inspection of cargo coming through our ports and airports, try an allocation of 419.2 million in new funding for cargo screening and port security. Source 2.

The greatest threats to our homeland security are the tons of biological, chemical, and even nuclear materials that are unaccounted for or unguarded. The President says the right words about the threat, but he has failed to take action commensurate with it.

Did she not hear the President say that we have a coalition of nations actively working to secure BNC materials? Does she not read the newspaper? How about the 2.5 billion the Homeland Security Department is scheduled to spend on our defenses against BNC? That’s billion with a B. Source 3.

For three years, the President has failed to put together a comprehensive plan to protect America from terrorism, and we did not hear one tonight.

Ever hear of the Bush Doctrine? Have one of your staffers Google it you clueless wonder. Better yet let me explain it in simple terms even a liberal from California can understand, no offense to California. Terrorist groups will be pursued on three fronts, economic, diplomatic, and militarily. If you give money to terrorist, if you provide harbor or safe haven to terrorists, or if you arm terrorists your on our hit list. Seems a pretty clear plan to me.

I have to say that I did not expect much from the Democratic response and I was not disappointed. If this is the best they have to offer then the President will surely pass all of his proposals and then some. I think the real large scale defections from the Democrat party to either a yet to be created 3rd party or to the Republican party will happen pretty soon. The current version of the Democrat party has nothing to offer its members or the country other then obstructionism. That’s not going to get them far in today’s information overload age. Sleep well America, our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives in the military have our back and I for one thank them. The future is so bright we gotta wear shades. Later………………..