Kerry slams Cheney's 'hysteria'

Kerry slams Cheney's 'hysteria'
By Eric Zimmermann - 01/06/10 01:47 PM ET

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is taking up the Democrats' cry against the GOP for "politicizing" the Christmas Day attack.

From a statement Kerry issued this afternoon:

“Unfortunately, too many Republicans have treated this episode as a political opportunity. Led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, they have resorted to partisan denunciations that serve no legitimate purpose and have no place in the nation’s vital debate over how to fight terrorism. The hysteria of Mr. Cheney and some of his fellow Republicans is sadly reminiscent of the days when the previous administration substituted fear mongering for sound policy and led us into an unnecessary and tragic war in Iraq while starving a necessary conflict in Afghanistan."

Full statement after the jump.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released the following statement this afternoon in reaction to GOP criticism following the attempted Christmas Day attack two weeks ago:

“The failed attempt to bring down a commercial aircraft on Christmas Day is a sober reminder that combating international terrorism remains an extremely urgent foreign policy priority and a top national security mission for the administration.

“Unfortunately, too many Republicans have treated this episode as a political opportunity. Led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, they have resorted to partisan denunciations that serve no legitimate purpose and have no place in the nation’s vital debate over how to fight terrorism. The hysteria of Mr. Cheney and some of his fellow Republicans is sadly reminiscent of the days when the previous administration substituted fear mongering for sound policy and led us into an unnecessary and tragic war in Iraq while starving a necessary conflict in Afghanistan.

“President Obama was right to demand a full and immediate review of the intelligence failures that permitted the would-be bomber to board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. The president acted quickly and decisively while avoiding the sensationalism Americans too often witnessed over the last eight years. He should be applauded for forthrightly pinpointing the failure of our intelligence agencies to connect the dots available to them and demanding reforms that will reduce the chances of this sort of mistake occurring again.

“Congress has a vital role to play and critical questions to ask in ensuring that the reforms required to protect the American people will be implemented quickly and effectively.

“American foreign policy is strongest when it is bipartisan and there is no room for those who try to exploit a potentially tragic incident for political gain. We need a better discussion, and a bipartisan one, on these questions, and that will be an agenda for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2010. Based on an ongoing staff investigation, the Committee will conduct a hearing on counter-terrorism policy in Yemen when Congress returns from recess in mid-January.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/74619-kerry-slams-cheneys-hysteria

Our national security is not and should not be made into a political ploy to raise money and instill fear into people.

:thumbsup: :kick: :kick:

Nice to see the Dems getting ballsy.

:toast:

Belittling them is what riles them the most. They also like to use the word "whining", but I'd stop short of that out of principle.

Won't someone please stuff a hand stitched turdblossomed taint bomb in Cheney's mouth and throw away the fuse!? Please.

Kudos to the Senator. I disagree with another poster here who doesn't like using the word "whine". When the shoe fits......

...this would've never happened.

the facts and the eloquence on his side.

Once again, the Senator is right on. Keep speaking the truth, JK!!:toast: :kick:

this is what cheney has.

Defensible, but with interesting roots and connections. Seems Senator Kerry is spending his time in the hospital well.

Throw in his well-publicized heart attacks and surgeries, and you know the faulty ol' plumbing no longer sends the necessary blood to that certain part of Dick.

But goddammit what we need's another war!

It's pretty obvious what's up with that, Dick.

He was all in his wheelchair wanting attention, but didn't even bother to look up during the whole 2009 Inauguration ceremony. :mad: :puke:


OTOH: Good statement by the senator. :patriot:

He's so PETTY. He's such a coward that if he were confronted about averting is gaze, you know he'd make up a story about his medical condition making it impossible to look up.

A very petty coward. :thumbsup:

It's time to :kick: some Republican butt

Dan Rather was RIGHT when he stated that media owners had a vested interest in protecting Bush during that campaign.