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Sep

27

OH-14 Dem candidate, Bill O’Neill on LaTourette’s “bipartisan” behavior


Two days ago, I wrote this in a Remains of the Day post:

2. I would like to hear Democratic candidate for OH-14, Bill O’Neill’s opinion on Steve LaTourette’s move to join this bipartisan group allegedly saying enough is enough.

The effort is officially known as the Bipartisan Compact on Iraq Debate.  This press release includes the following principles to which the signators say they agree:

We agree that the U.S. Congress must end the political in-fighting over the conflict in Iraq and commit immediately to a truly bipartisan dialogue on the issues we are facing.

 

We agree that efforts to eliminate funding for U.S. forces engaged in combat and in harm’s way in Iraq would put at risk the safety and security of our service members.

 

We agree that there must be a clearly defined and measurable mission for our continued military involvement in Iraq. This mission must be further and continually defined so that the military and the country are aware of the end goal of our mission in Iraq and what progress toward that goal is being achieved.

 

We agree that the Government of Iraq must now be responsible for Iraq’s future course. The Government must continue to make progress on the legislative benchmarks outlined in Section 1314 of the recent Supplemental Appropriations Act (PL110-28).

 

We agree that it is critical for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including members of the reserve components, to have adequate rest and recuperation periods between deployments.

 

We agree that a safe and responsible redeployment of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq, based on recommendations from our military and foreign policy leaders, is necessary to transition the combat mission over to the Iraqi forces.

 

We agree that the continued military mission of U.S. combat forces must lead to a timely transition to conducting counterterrorism operations, protecting the U.S. Armed Forces, supporting and equipping Iraqi forces to take full responsibility for their own security, assisting refugees, and preventing genocide.

 

We agree that U.S. diplomatic efforts should continue to be improved and that the U.S. State Department must engage in robust diplomacy with Iraq’s neighbors in the Middle East to address the Iraq conflict.

None of the representatives who signed, out of 14 Democrats and 14 Republicans, with the exception of LaTourette – are from Ohio.  And none of the Dems are from any of the Midwestern states.

So, I asked and, today, received a response from O’Neill, via Toby Fallsgraff:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2007

CONTACT: Toby Fallsgraff, 440.247.7340, woneill08@gmail.com
HEADLINE: O’Neill Calls LaTourette’s ‘Bipartisan’ Iraq Compact a
‘Political Stunt’

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio – Democratic candidate for Congress Bill O’Neill
(OH-14), who earned a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam and whose
son served in Afghanistan and Iraq, released the following statement
today in reaction to Rep. Steve LaTourette’s signing the “Bipartisan
Compact on the Iraq Debate”:

“I agree that bipartisan efforts are the only way we are going to get
our troops out of harm’s way. But this compact appears to be nothing
more than empty words in lieu of action – an attempt to put a happy
face on what has become a foreign policy disaster.

“It’s hard to take Rep. LaTourette seriously when his record simply
doesn’t match up to his words.

“This compact requires that our troops have adequate recuperation
periods between deployments. But last month Rep. LaTourette voted
against a bipartisan bill that would have done just that (H.R. 3159).
And this compact requires a mission that is ‘clearly defined and
measurable’ – a goal I applaud. But Rep. LaTourette has consistently
voted against such measures.

“It is intellectually dishonest to suggest that defunding this war
places our troops in peril. The truth is that funding without
benchmarks is precisely what has placed our troops in peril over the
past four years.

“This bipartisan compact is nothing more than a political stunt. And
our men and women in Iraq deserve so much better.”

# # #

You can also find it here on his campaign website.

I’d like to thank Toby and whomever else in O’Neill’s campaign who saw my Remains item for reading WLST and then taking the time to convey what they saw and then more time for answering the question.

Political stunt? Probably similar to the wasted time spent on slapping Moveon.org’s wrist over its very poorly chosen New York Times ad about General Petraeus.

Though very much unlike that stunt?  I expect that there will be little to no impact, discussion or other notice of what LaTourette signed.

If I were him, I’d be paying a lot more attention to his upcoming race in the 14th.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:53 pm September 27th, 2007 in Congress, Military, Ohio 

Comments

One Response to “OH-14 Dem candidate, Bill O’Neill on LaTourette’s “bipartisan” behavior”

  1. 1 Keith on September 27th, 2007 4:34 pm

    Methinks O’Neill smells a Trojan Horse. Nothing matters as long as the money for operations continues to flow. If Congress isn’t ready to cut funding, no amount of talk means anything.

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