McCain, Graham soften on Susan Rice attacks
Two top Senate Republicans - who last week vowed to do everything in their power to block the potential nomination of Susan Rice as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's successor - are dialing back their language on the ambassador's role in the muddied aftermath of the September 11 attacks in Libya, which killed four Americans.
"Sure," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Fox News Sunday" when asked if he might change his mind about Rice, the current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who reportedly is at the top of the short list for Clinton's post. "I'd give everyone the benefit of explaining their position and the actions that they took. I'd be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her."
Five days after what would come to be deemed an attack by extremists with "linkages" to al Qaeda, Rice appeared on "Face the Nation" and insisted the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was "spontaneous," prompted by an inflammatory anti-Muslim video that had led to protests in Egypt and elsewhere.
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U.N. Ambassador Rice speaks about Benghazi
Rice, and her allies in the Obama administration and in Congress, argue she was merely repeating talking points given to her by the CIA and approved by the wider intelligence community, but on CBS News' "Face the Nation" last week, McCain called on Rice to "publicly [come] back on this show and [say] 'I was wrong - I gave the wrong information.'"
McCain said today many of his questions remain, such as "why did she say that al Qaeda has been decimated?" But, he added, "I'm sure that I'll have the opportunity to discuss this with her."
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who last week during a press conference with McCain called Rice the "point person" of the inaccurate portrayal and "so disconnected to reality I don't trust her," said today on ABC's "This Week," "I blame the president above all others."
"When [Rice] comes over" as Secretary of State, Graham said, "if she does - there will be a lot of questions asked of her, about this event and others."
In recent response to her critics, Rice said she "relied solely and squarely" on preliminary information relayed to her by the CIA, and argued she "made clear that the information was preliminary, and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers." She said she found McCain's criticism in particular to be "unfounded" but added she looks forward to having the chance to discuss it with him.
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You still have yet to figure it out. Why do you hate so much?
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Yes, there is a constant softening of their rigid conservative ideology on both the grover nitwitt pledge and need to attack Dr. Rice, who would make a wonderful Secretary of State!
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At least you have it correct, since this is exactly what we've come to expect from the party of "birthers, baggers, buffoons and secessionists"!
Your hate and discontent never surprise us REAL Americans! LOL!
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7-11 replies: "Except the Germans pride themselves on a work ethic."
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No, they just don't have ideological republiCONS like YOU, scapegoating unions that bring them higher wages, pensions, 6-week vacations, and a great health care system for everyone, while trying to bring the RED welfare state's "right to work" poverty to the rest of the United States!
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Seriously bubba, you seem to have been sold a very bad bill of goods, but this is exactly what we've come to expect from uneducated teabagging extremists, spewing the same fox/rush propaganda as usual.
The so-noted "fiscal cliff" will raise everyone's taxes, not just the wealthy, since the bush tax cuts and the payroll tax cuts will end -- that also includes capital gains rates going from 15% to 20%.
It will also cut military-industrial complex spending, but not enough!
It has NOTHING -- let me repeat -- NOTHING at all to do with Medicare, Planned Parenthood, or to "the Pork of Illegal Immigration."
Go educate yourself for once, before you post more nonsense!
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LOL! What a delusional tirade of the teabagging extremist's talking points!
I really didn't know where to begin with all your fox/rush LIES and DECEPTIONS, but chisel it in stone, Barack Obama ran in 2008 on health care reform that he knew would include tax increases, and also ran on ending the bush tax cuts for the wealthy! Those are the FACTS!
Even top republiCONS over the weekend, including chamblis, graham, and king have started the rebellion against lobbyist, grover nitwitt and his pledge! He needs to be tar and feathered, and run out of Washington and the country on a rail, just like the rest of the convoluted lobbyists!
GOP Starting to Rebel Against No-Tax-Hikes Pledge
With the fiscal cliff looming for the United States, some Republican members of Congress said today they are ready to break a long standing pledge not to raise taxes.
"Republicans should put revenue on the table," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on ABC's "This Week."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/grover-norquists-tax-pledge-rejected-republicans/story?id=17807568#.ULPRl-QrWSo
You're obviously only a highly-partisan, GOP attack dog, short on facts and figures, but we've already been subjected to the bush FUZZY MATH that republiCONS were taught by glenn beck!
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Yes, as our economy improves DESPITE the GOP OBSTRUCTIONISTS, these republiCON LOSERS will certainly be whining constantly, while spewing their endless hate and discontent!
"Read between the lines. You cannot put back what has already disappeared and is thus irreplaceable as well. We've ravaged this nation and its natural resources, critical infrastructure. That's the cost of doing business, and the price paid for the weight our traffic bears in mass society."
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Yes, we have allowed corporate America to ravage our natural resources while letting our infrastructure fall into a sad state of disrepair, just because the GOP wanted their ideology of 'starve the beast' to prevail.
We have had a severe revenue problem since 2000, coupled with a deficit spending problem for 30+ years now, and as income inequality has grown just like a 3rd world country, we've continued to see an evaporating middle class that made us strong back in the 1950s and 1960s, and we will never have that again if we don't fix the inherent problems in our consumer-based economy!
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While globalization has been here for decades, and NAFTA was poppy bush's baby like all "free trade" policies are mainly GOP policies, NAFTA just added Mexico for corporate America to the existing Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada.
For better or for worse, we're stuck with this global economy that can bring us UP or DOWN faster, and just like GAS/OIL pricing, is more dependent on the rising numbers and demand of the Asian middle class.
What our representative government needs to do, is figure out how to help the middle class workers and consumers in this global economy, so that their wages can keep them and their children in the middle class, and that we are not forced into mediocrity as a 3rd world country, importing all our manufactured goods made by cheap labor and lack of regulations.
We need to work together and leave the bitter partisan rhetoric behind, but if the past 4-years is any indication of the next 4-years, we're screwed with the same parrots spewing their same hate and discontent!