Gary Gerard has again failed to provide a balanced analysis of an issue.
Gerard writes a column questioning the integrity of politicians who regret voting for the war on Iraq. Gerard gave a reason for why he thinks the politicians are changing their tunes: "Now that the war is unpopular, politicians on both sides of the aisle are ready to jump ship." Gerard may be right. But if politicians on both sides are running from this war, where are the Republican quotes?
Well, here are just a few quotes from Republicans who voted for war against Iraq but now regret their decision:
When asked if they would vote for the resolution they previously voted for:
Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb.: 8-19-04
"Knowing now what I know about the reliance on the tenuous or insufficiently corroborated intelligence used to conclude that Saddam (Hussein) maintained a substantial WMD arsenal, I believe that launching the pre-emptive military action was not justified."
Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H.: 1-5-07
"No, I would not. I know now there are no weapons of mass destruction. Everyone thought he had weapons of mass destruction. As far as I know - and I saw a lot of intelligence, what every other U.S. senator saw - intelligence briefings indicated that Hussein had WMD that he could use perhaps against Israel or neighboring countries."
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa: 1-5-07
"I believe that had we known Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, the Congress would not have authorized the invasion of Iraq. ... we operated on faulty intelligence."
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX.: 1-5-07
"If I knew then what I had known now on the weapons of mass destruction, which was a key reason I voted the way I did, I would not have voted to go into Iraq."
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey R-TX.: 2-5-07
"The resolution was a resolution that authorized the president to take that action if he deemed it necessary. Had I been more true to myself and the principles I believed in at the time, I would have openly opposed the whole adventure vocally and aggressively. I had a tough time reconciling doing that against the duties of majority leader in the House. I would have served myself and my party and my country better, though, had I done so."
So you see, Republicans, just like the Democrats, have expressed regret and remorse for their votes. This is not a sign of being disingenuous. It's a sign that they are willing to admit their mistakes and try to correct them. That is called maturity. A quality that President George W. Bush has yet to show us.
