All the unlovely characteristics of the left were on display at a gathering sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future today. Hillary Clinton was heckled and John Kerry cheered. Clinton for failing to advocate the "surrender now" theme favored by John "Magic Hat" Kerry.
With the war looming over congressional elections in November as well as the 2008 presidential campaign, the two Democratic senators and possible White House contenders took opposing positions on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Shouts of "troops out" and "bring them home" competed with boos when Clinton said she did not think it was "smart strategy" to set a date certain for pulling out 130,000 American soldiers.
"I do not agree that it is in the best interest of our troops or our country," the New York senator and former first lady told the left-wing gathering sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future.
Clinton devoted only a few minutes of her speech to the divisive issue of Iraq and tried to strike a moderate tone in what she called a sometimes "difficult conversation."
Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, denounced the war as "immoral" and a "quagmire" founded on a lie. He called President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "arm chair warriors whose front line is an air-conditioned conference room."
Clinton refused to embrace the early troop withdrawal demanded by the Democratic Party's anti-war left and favored by some in Congress, but also said she did not support an open-ended U.S. commitment.
"This new Iraqi government needs to be told they have to take responsibility for their own security and stability, that there must be a plan that will begin to bring our troops home," she said.
Kerry, who spoke after Clinton, talked almost exclusively about the war. He conceded his vote for the congressional resolution authorizing it was "wrong."
"We cannot have it both ways," he said to shouts of "tell that to Hillary."
This will play very well in the heartland. Trust me. Left-wing Democrats, the gift that just keeps giving.
UPDATE: Account from someone who attended.
UPDATE: Washington Post Coverage. Note Pelosi's support for the Murtha official cut and run policy.
Kerry was preaching the opposite at one time. Flip-flop, flip-flop. He obviously learned nothing from the last election. It appears that he is trying to appeal to as much of the left-wing as possible. You would think they would see and loathe his dishonesty, but then the left isn’t known as a group that values integrity and honesty.
Kerry brings the flip-flop to a whole new level. I feel a photoshop coming on.
Their treatment of Hillary proves the nature of these particular hypocritical, ignorant, and violent jack asses this crowd is. Interruptions are an act of violence. They are also highly disrespectful to the speaker, audience, and institution that is hosting the event.
If this is the best the Dems have to offer….man, they have really lost the bubble.
I suspect that Hillary was seething about that too. It’s rude, it’s crass…it’s the militant left.
Funny, I used to think of Hillary as part of the militant left – “feminist in cookie-baking-mom’s clothing” sort-of thing. I guess the mighty have fallen?
She did this specifically to cement her centrist bona fides, I suspect.
Like Tony Blankley recently said about the Left today, they’re just “too loathsome to be seen in public.” Yet, they can’t seem to help themselves, the more they reveal the ugliness and poverty of their true nature, the less likely they are to win elections. It looks like a case of damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.
Lefty activists are truly their own worst enemies, so the more often they get together and expose themselves to public view the better chance America has to avoid being fooled by MSM propaganda. BTW, you’ll know when they catch on, they’ll stop going on camera live and start using animation and cartoon characters.
You mean Gore is REAL? I thought he was an animatronic.
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