Clooney Faults Democrats For Failure To Speak Out Before Iraq War

Clooney Faults Democrats For Failure To Speak Out Before Iraq War

POSTED: 12:54 pm EST March 13, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- George Clooney has faulted Democrats for their timidity in the months before the start of the Iraq war, saying many party leaders muted their criticism of the Bush administration rather than risk being branded as unpatriotic.

"The fear of (being) criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war," Clooney said Monday in a profanity-laced posting on The Huffington Post blog site.

"In 2003, a lot of us were saying, `Where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11?"' Clooney wrote. "We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out."

Clooney's latest films, "Syriana," for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor, and "Good Night, and Good Luck," which he starred in and directed, have been viewed as critiques of the state of U.S. policy domestically and overseas.

http://www.local6.com/news/7964343/detail.html

saying in 2003 (not Lieberman, but others).

Clooney's actual words were "a lot of Democrats" failed to speak out in late 2002 and early 2003, not "all Democrats." I don't think there's a serious disagreement here at DU that, indeed, "a lot" of elected Democrats failed to ask pertinent, pointed questions of the corrupt Bush administration about its proposed invasion of Iraq. Besides Lieberman, Tom Daschle and Richard Gephardt come to mind for their timidity. They were both the Minority Leaders of their respective houses of Congress, and both of them lost their jobs in part because of it.

what kind of speaking out they really did though, isnt it?

Clooney's right
Only a few have guts. The reason Bush is feeling heat is from people outside the party (with a few exceptions) like Cindy Sheehan, and the Republicans.

I hate to say this, but if we don't recognize it, it won't change.

IWR

United States Senate

In the Senate, the 21 Democrats, one Republican and one Independent who courageously voted their consciences in 2002 against the War in Iraq were:

Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
Barbara Boxer (D-California)
Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island)
Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)
Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey)
Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota)
Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Bob Graham (D-Florida)
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont)
Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)
Patty Murray (D-Washington)
Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland)
Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
The late Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota) Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

United States House of Representatives

Six House Republicans and one independent joined 126 Democratic members of the House of Re
Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)
Tom Allen (D-Maine)
Joe Baca (D-California)
Brian Baird (D-Washington DC)
John Baldacci (D-Maine, now governor of Maine)
Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)
Gresham Barrett (R-South Carolina)
Xavier Becerra (D-California)
Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon)
David Bonior (D-Michigan, retired from office)
Robert Brady (D-Pennsylvania)
Corinne Brown (D-Florida)
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Lois Capps (D-California)
Michael Capuano (D-Massachusetts)
Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland)
Julia Carson (D-Indiana)
William Clay, Jr. (D-Missouri)
Eva Clayton (D-North Carolina, retired from office)
James Clyburn (D-South Carolina)
Gary Condit (D-California, retired from office)
John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan)
Jerry Costello (D-Illinois)
William Coyne (D-Pennsylvania, retired from office)
Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland)
Susan Davis (D-California)
Danny Davis (D-Illinois)
Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon)
Diana DeGette (D-Colorado)
Bill Delahunt (D-Massachusetts)
Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut)
John Dingell (D-Michigan)
Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania)
John Duncan, Jr. (R-Tennessee)
Anna Eshoo (D-California)
Lane Evans (D-Illinois)
Sam Farr (D-California)
Chaka Fattah (D-Pennsylvania)
Bob Filner (D-California)
Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts)
Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas)
Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois)
Alice Hastings (D-Florida)
Earl Hilliard (D-Alabama, retired from office)
Maurice Hinchey (D-New York)
Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas)
Rush Holt (D-New Jersey)
Mike Honda (D-California)
Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon)
John Hostettler (R-Indiana)
Amo Houghton (R-New York, retired from office)
Jay Inslee (D-Washington)