Y’all can have Clinton, Obama, Vitter and Landrieu. This is my Commander In Chief speaking.
Asked what he thinks about calling in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to deal with anti-war protesters, Sen. Russ Feingold says it shouldn’t happen.
“I think that public protest is one of the greatest things that happens in this country,” he told a UW-Madison audience of more than 400 Monday night. “And there should be a lot more of it against this Iraq war.”
He added that he wouldn’t let bills go through in the Senate until they debated Iraq, and his Democratic colleagues said, “Why would you want to talk about that?” He said he was outraged that his fellow senators don’t want to discuss a war that has cost 4,000 American lives, $10 billion a month, and terror in many parts of the world.
… “By ending our current massive, open-ended presence in Iraq, we can start to put our resources in the right places to address the threats facing us,” he said.
The most recent National Intelligence Estimate of July 2007 warns that al-Qaida has regenerated and reconstituted itself on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Feingold said, adding that the United States can’t simply rely on its troops to fight terrorism.
… Studies have shown that in areas where U.S. citizens have contributed their time, money and services, opinions of the United States have improved, Feingold said. A 2006 Terror Free Tomorrow poll found that in Indonesia, almost two years after the tsunami, American aid to tsunami victims continues to be the single biggest factor resulting in favorable opinions toward the United States.
As the years pass, diplomacy and good foreign relations are what will keep America afloat. We’ve given away everything from innovation to production. What do we have left?
I always liked Feingold since his famous quote about why he was the only one to vote against the alleged Patriot Act—”Because I read it.”