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The Lonely Republican Takes on Obama

May 4, 2009

Mark debates Republican strategist Mike Lane on the Obama record and asks him whether Republicans would like to have a say in governing or “just say no” to Obama.

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  • Robt May 7, 2009 1:12 am

    I have heard some conservatives recalling back to when Bill Clinton was President, that they can regain some sort of credit for balancing the budget during the Clinton years and the Republican congressional majorities.
    Did republicans work with Clinton?
    They will say yes! Because they want to claim that balanced budget fiscal responsibility that they misplaced.
    So if they can work with Bill Clinton (Democatic President), why not Obama?
    There is a difference, During Clinton’s years Cons had a majority in congress and now they are a minority.
    A deservable minority I might ad.
    How humble and bi partisan were republicans during there majority?
    Perhaps Mike can answer thissince he attempts to decry fowl of the Dems majority and that big bad mean Nancy Pelosi?
    I bet Mike Lane thinks Nancy Pelosi is more tougher than Newt? Smarter? A better chess player?
    Mike and his advise to his republican minority in congress best be along the lines of offering “realistic and humble pie ideas” while in the minority. They might be there for quite some time. most of all, the republicans need to understand they are the minority party and need to accept their place. lest they intend to lose what seats they have left. And I am telling him this from the Red Republican state of Nebraska. If republicans lose Nebraska altogether, they lose Cheney’s private campaign ATM.

  • Jeff May 5, 2009 5:54 am

    Mark, here’s some logical ammunition for next time you debate torture. here is an audio link to the transcript excerpt below.
    http://www.democracynow.org/2005/11/22/colin_powells_former_chief_of_staff
    I hate to quote so much of another website here, but it’s only a small part of the interview. This is Amy Goodman questioning Lawrence Wilkerson, Chief of staff to Colin Powell. He cites at least 70 deaths of detainees that he discovered EARLY ON. I don’t know how this REPUBLICAN man so high up in the chain, in the military too, could deliver these words and they fail to take root.
    The quetion you whould ask is “Is interrogation that leads to death torture? It happened at least 70 times.”
    AMY GOODMAN: Explain these discs that you found. You found them in December 2002?
    COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON: No, this is what I discovered was the first occasion—this was available to me in open source information, too, because The New York Times had done a really fine job of beginning an investigation of this. And what I found was these two deaths, and the suspicion was aroused in me, because at the time the Army coroner had declared the deaths homicides, and the Army had declared the deaths as a result of natural causes. And so, as I began to investigate, and as others began to investigate and began to talk to me and to feed me information, and as I began to look at the documents that were official and otherwise, I began to construct a case that showed that the Army had obfuscated, it had blocked at every level of command, trying to get to the bottom of these two killings.
    And let me just add, when I left the State Department and had to turn over my papers, the deaths were up to over 70. And I have sources inside the government now that tell me the deaths may be up to 90. Now, this is people detained by the United States, either the armed forces, the Central Intelligence Agency or others, and these are people who have died in detention. Now, all of these cases, I hope, are not murder. But many of these cases still need to be investigated, and something needs to be done in the way of accountability.
    AMY GOODMAN: And these are deaths in Afghanistan?
    COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON: These are in all of our facilities.
    AMY GOODMAN: In Iraq.
    COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON: In Iraq, at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan.
    AMY GOODMAN: And what do you know about the secret detention facilities?
    COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON: I can’t give you any insights into that. I did not know anything about that when I was in government. Those things, presidential findings, if they exist, are usually kept very close hold. Only very few people know about them. I have my suspicions. I suspect that if the Vice President is lobbying the Congress of the United States on behalf of torture, that we must have some kind of clandestine operation going on, but I can’t offer you any insights into that.