In her maiden speech as the newest member of the HoR, Jackie Speer said:
Why, indeed? Pubs, when did it become unacceptable just to listen to speeches, on the House floor, that say what you don’t want to hear?
If I had known the game is played like that, I would have written my Congresscritter to organize a nationally-televised Dem walkout during each of the last five SOTU addresses.
I’ve always thought the House of Representatives should be more like the parliaments of other countries, where the members are constantly booing, grunting loudly, shouting over one another, chugging beer, and occasionally engaging in brawls.
Me, too. I’d like that. (If both/all sides felt equally free to do it.) But walking out is even less mature behavior.
I suppose they eventually came back? 
The Senate used to be a lot more fun:
I’ll play.
Why should the Republicans sit still and listen to a flat-out lie?
John McCain never suggested sacrificing four generations of Americans to anything - and Representative Speer knows this. So she is a liar. And while we can argue for years about what Bush knew or didn’t know heading into Iraq (and we have) there is no question at all about what McCain said and meant.
I’d walk out as well. I’d boo as well. And if Speer’s daughter needed to be spared this spectacle, then Speer should not have lied.
From what I’ve heard about Speer, she’s tough enough to take it, so nobody should be ashamed to dish it out if she earns it. She is an admirable woman in many respects - but that doesn’t insulate her from anything.
So what did McCain say and mean? Did he say that US troops need to stay in Iraq for 100 years or not? And how is it a “lie” to say that means sacrificing four generations of Americans? – Not that McCain would say that, but that that is a reasonable implication of what he has said.
She said he “suggests we could be there for 100 years.” That is a completely factual statement. It is also factual that 100 years = four generations. McCain absolutely did say that. Calling Speier a “liar” is ridiculous.
She didn’t lie, but it’s funny that you’ve only now discovered a capacity to be offended by the thought of elected officials lying.
The Pubs who walked out behaved in a petulent, childish manner because somebody else disagreed with them. But I’ve got news for you – 70% of the American people agree with Speier. That’s why the Republicans are going to lose their shirts in November.
Not only did she lie, she did it in front of people she wasn’t going to sway in the first place. Dumb move on her part, IMHO.
Translation: “I think they did something less than mature. Had I known they were going to do it, I would have done the same thing.” :rolleyes:
I don’t know why, but this clip seems an appropriate rebuttal to that comment (aside from the whole cliff argument):
ETA:
But not in the current state. He was referring to the same way we’re in Japan, Korea, and Germany, where solders aren’t dying every day. I’m strongly opposed to a McCain presidency, but even I realize that.
But, surely you thought it was over the line when Congressman Phil Gingrey answered Stephanie Speier’s question, “Why are they booing my mom?,” with “Because your mom is lying whore. And we don’t like whores around here.”
What did she lie about?
I added the boldings.
So it is clear that McCain is not calling for sacrificing four generations of Americans and that assertions that he is are indeed lies.
Yeah. That’s pretty fucked up. But, um, cite?
Dio, maybe “misrepresented” would be a beter term. I added an ETA to my post above.
So she was telling the truth. He said he’d be ok with leaving four generations of troops in Iraq. The qualification of “as long as they’re not being harmed,” does not get him out of the box because, if there isn’t any danger then why would they have to be there?
It’s also disingenuous because the troops are being harmed and his suggestion is that we should stay there no matter what. I’ve never heard him say we should leave under any circumstances.
She didn’t lie and the Republicans acted like fucking babies. It’s going to be a pleasure to take this country away from the neocons and see President Obama put an end to that abortion in Iraq.
So, how is the US going to maintain a 100-year military presence in Iraq peacefully? It’s in places like Japan and Korea because those governments and people are generally happy with a US military presence – perhaps as a counter-balance to China and North Korea. You don’t have Japanese and Korean militias launching suicide attacks against the US military. However, given the recent past, that would seem likely to continue in Iraq for the foreseeable future. So the analysis that this requires continued American sacrifice is not a lie: it’s a reasonable argument about what McCain’s plan means in reality.
So make that argument intelligently as you just did - not in a simpleminded fashion like most Democrats, including Speer, have done.
You don’t have to lie about what McCain said to pick it apart.
I don’t know if it was a lie, but it certainly was a misrepresentation of what McCain said. If someone said we were sacrificing 2 generations of Americans in Korea, most of us would call that person delusional. And McCain clearly stated he was talking about a situation similar to Korea. I think it was ridiculous for the Pubbies to walk out-- if either party did that anytime someone “misspoke”, both parties would hardly ever be there. Hey, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad…!
I’m looking forward to President Obama, too, but I won’t believe that he’s going to get us out of Iraq until I see it. I’ll be shocked if we don’t have at least 50k troops still there in Jan 2012.
It has been confirmed that she did NOT lie.
In your fucking dreams.