# Question for right-wingers/conservatives... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 2, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812 "2004-09-02T18:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/41 "2004-09-03T04:59:19Z")
Do you actually have any opinions of your own, **Shayna**. Or do you merely enjoy cutting and pasting from John Kerry’s website? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/42 "2004-09-03T06:07:52Z")
Tsk, tsk, **Mr. Moto**. a) That quote isn’t even from John Kerry’s website, it’s from _The Washington Post_. And once again, I must remind you to be more diligent when reading my posts. You keep getting it wrong, and it’s annoying. b) What does my opinion matter wrt your demand for alternatives to what we’re doing now and specific suggestions on how we can do better, when _I’m_ not in a position to actually _do_ anything about it? Since it would be either John Kerry or George W. Bush who would actually set and enact the policy, and it’s them between whom we’re choosing for the job, isn’t is _wise_ and _important_ to know where each of _them_ stands? Besides, when you ask us that question, aren’t you really asking us what we’d suggest _John Kerry_ do differently? And isn’t that precisely the answer I gave you? But since you asked so nicely, my _own_ opinion is that John Kerry is exactly right in his approach and I look forward to him taking over the reigns and re-establishing cooperative relations with our allies so they can help us maintain order, rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure and get our troops out of there asap. What do you suggest we do, keep shooting from the hip and racking up the body count? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/43 "2004-09-03T06:16:15Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#): > > In that vein, [here is a link](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html) to Bush’s press conference on March 13, 2002. Actually I had already linked to and quoted from that press conference in an earlier post. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/44 "2004-09-03T06:19:39Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#): > > In that vein, [here is a link](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html) to Bush’s press conference on March 13, 2002. The OP’s quote (which is found elsewhere on the net, but almost always in conjunction with the first quote; I have been unable to find any reference to _that_ quote, especially in anything said by Bush on Sept 13, 2001) is, at best, a paraphrase of the following: > > I have no love for Bush, and have no intention of voting for him come November. But I also have a particular distaste for “quote mining” and paraphrasing. It’s easy enough to come up with stuff Bush really did say or do without having to resort to rhetorical trickery (which I’m not saying **Equipoise** did intentionally, since these two quotes have been floating around for some time). I’ve been searching for a long time. Arianna Huffington’s use of the quote was the first instance I found that attributed an official source, the March 13, 3002 press conference. I read the press conference, and though he says similar things, that exact quote wasn’t in it. I’m paranoid enough to wonder if the transcript has been scrubbed. I’ve registered at Snopes to see if I can get any more info; there’s nothing there on this as yet. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/45 "2004-09-03T06:22:20Z")
1. duh. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/46 "2004-09-03T06:24:10Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > So he’s either a flip-flopper, a liar, or shameless? 😉 Let’s move that sentence around: **Bush is a lying, shameless, flip-flopper.** ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/47 "2004-09-03T14:47:13Z")
Ahem, **Mr. Moto**. Y’know, if you’re going to get your knickers all atwisted over those who don’t offer alternatives, or over **Shayna** and her use of Kerry’s website to refute your nonsense, then don’t you think it behooves you to respond when I offer some alternatives? Post #20 in this thread, to be precise. If, that is, you’re capable of doing so. Too, I’m more than a little curious as to how you would define “success” as used here: > [@](#): > > I don’t agree with every move made in this conflict, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq. And certainly bin Laden must be caught. But we knew, or should have known, that this would be a long process. I believe it will be the work of a decade or more. And I believe we’ll ultimately be successful. If, that is, you’re capable of doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/48 "2004-09-03T15:22:09Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Hey, **Equipoise** : How about providing a link to a primary source for the 2nd quote in your OP, or ask a mod to close this thread? As much as I’d like to continue the Ann Coulter musings, we are supposed to be fighting ignorance here. I wasn’t ignoring this, I just haven’t been around. I’d been seeing this quote for several months, usually coupled with the first quote. I thought I saw the video too, but that’s more fuzzy, and even if I did, I couldn’t say where I thought I saw Bush saying those words. It could have been Fahrenheit 9/11, it could have been Uncovered, it could have been The Daily Show, or a snarky show like Countdown. I got nothin’ so there’s no cite there. I’ve looked and looked, and I’ve read this thread now, where you and others have looked and looked (thanks), and it seems that I owe everyone an apology, because a cite for that quote is not to be found. Damn, my face is red. I don’t believe everything I read. I’m actually quite a skeptic, but seeing the quote so often, coupled with thinking I actually saw Bush say it on video, made me trust it as an actual quote, rather than an obvious paraphrase of what Bush said at the Press Conference you cited. I apologise to all for making it seem like an actual quote, when I should have checked beforehand for the source. I don’t apologise for the point of the OP, which was that Bush flip-flopped on being gung-ho about finding Osama, and then not being very concerned about him. [ACTUAL BUSH QUOTES](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html): “So I don’t know where he is. You know, I just don’t spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you.” “I’ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.” I know the context, and I understand it, but it’s still a stunning change of heart. I’m not going to request that the thread be closed because for one, I’m still trying to hunt down where this paraphrase came from in the first place, and two, the point still stands. Thanks to everyone for their contributions. Sorry. (quote to irk lissener) I’m a dirty bird (/quote to irk lissener) ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/49 "2004-09-03T15:33:08Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > “The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our Number One priority and we will not rest until we find him!” > > George W. Bush - September 13, 2001 > > “I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and I really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.” > > George W. Bush - March 13, 2002 I’m sure this is the progression of sentiment that most Americans experienced as well. Think about it. In the Trade Center aftermath, the name “Osama Bin Laden” was being thrown around America and Network TV as if he were the lone person in charge of the attacks. I’m sure that most Americans, at the time, after seeing possibly tens of thousands of Americans (if you’ll remember, at the time, the death toll was thought to possibly be over 10,000, rather than between 2,000 and 3,000) killed in cold blood, cared about one thing and one thing only as far as international issues were concerned: finding the son-of-a-bitch who was responsible. Bush’s first quote, only 2 days after the attack, reflected this sentiment. Americans then had the time to calm down and think things rationally. They also learned that Al-Qaeda is a network of terror, in which one cell going down does not mean the end of the network. Al Qaeda is not a hierarchal organization in which the removal of the leader spells the end of the network. Bush’s second quote, 6 months after the attack, also reflected this sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/50 "2004-09-03T16:02:28Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I wasn’t ignoring this, I just haven’t been around. BTW, I did not mean to imply that you deliberately misquoted Bush. He certainly has let ObL slip into the background where he was once Topic A, which probably explains why the quote is easy to believe. Anyway, I don’t think that, even in the Pit, we should keep threads with inaccurate quotes in the OP. If that were Kosher, I can just imagine what this forum would degenerate into… ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/51 "2004-09-03T16:15:43Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > It’s not Anybody But Bush, it’s John Kerry, and I’m not crying, bitching or moaning (at least not this very minute), I plan to vote, and vote hard. No one else will probably find this funny and I may just be wasting a bit o’ bandwidth, but I just can’t get the following out of my mind. [scene] Equipoise strides purposely into his polling precinct and approaches the sweet, little old lady (SLOL) handing out ballots. Equipoise: Hand over a ballot, bitch! SLOL: There’s no need for such language, young man. Now just give me your name and… Equipoise: Name this! (Grabs self suggestively). Equipoise reaches out, snatches a ballot, and stomps away. He marches past people waiting in line and heads to the nearest voting machine, which is inconveniently in use. Equipoise: Move it, little man! (Grabs voter by neck, casts him aside). Equipoise: Boom. Take that you wussy little chad! (slams pen through spot for Kerry. Pulls out ballot and begins to rush towards ballot box, blind to everything around him. Kindly retired volunteer (KRV) tries to step in and stop commotion. KRV: Sir, please the voting precinct is no place for such behavior. Equipoise rears back, punches KRV in the stomach. As KRV doubles over, Equipoise brings knee to head knocking KRV out. Equipoise slams his ballot into the box. Equipoise: That’s democracy in action, jerkoffs! (gives an elaborate series of crotchchops, fingers, and inarticulate howls as he exits.) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/52 "2004-09-03T16:24:42Z")
> [@Engineer Dude](#): > > I’m sure that most Americans, at the time, after seeing possibly tens of thousands of Americans (if you’ll remember, at the time, the death toll was thought to possibly be over 10,000, rather than between 2,000 and 3,000) killed in cold blood, cared about one thing and one thing only as far as international issues were concerned: finding the son-of-a-bitch who was responsible. The first time I saw you attempting to form an assertion from the comparison of the 10,000 figure to the 3,000 figure, it certainly raised an eyebrow. But now that it is a mantra, I simply must ask — what the hell are you saying? That it is easier to stomach the mass murder of 3,000 than 10,000? Because it isn’t, at least not to me. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/53 "2004-09-04T22:32:26Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Did Bush actually say this? If you look at the text of his [press conference on Mar 13, 2002](http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/03/13/bush.transcript/), he doesn’t. What he does say is: > > …snip of exact quote… > > I tried googling the exact quote, and all I get is references to blogs or sites like this one. No primary sources. It’s typical. The libs will distort GWB’s words any way they can. Here, he said something that vaguely sounded like he didn’t care about OBL. Now the libs are parroting the Bush Doesn’t Care About OBL line all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/54 "2004-09-05T03:36:16Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > It’s typical. The libs will distort GWB’s words any way they can. Here, he said something that vaguely sounded like he didn’t care about OBL. Now the libs are parroting the Bush Doesn’t Care About OBL line all over the place. “Vaguely sounded”? > [@George W Bush](#): > > “So I don’t know where he is. You know, I just don’t spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you.” > > “I’ll repeat what I said. **I truly am not that concerned about him**.” How much more like “I don’t care about OBL,” short of the actual words “I don’t care about OBL,” would you consider less than vague? Yes, it’s a Bad Thing that a bogus quote is in play (just like it’s a Bad Thing that there are bogus Kerry quotes in play and it was a Bad Thing that the RNC put bogus Gore quotes in play last election) but while the exact wording of the quote is wrong the sentiment behind it is spot on. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812/55 "2004-09-05T07:21:53Z")
…as opposed to Republican-led total distortions of quotes from prominent Democrats, such as “Al Gore claimed he invented the internet.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-right-wingers-conservatives/262812.md?page=2)