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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Koster Grabs Shovel, Jumps into Foreign Policy Hole with Romney

Posted by on Thu, Sep 13, 2012 at 7:20 AM

Well, not all Republicans are distancing themselves from Mitt Romney's ham-fisted comments on the tragedy in Libya. Ever the good Christian soldier, 1st CD candidate John Koster issued a press release yesterday making his own ham-fisted effort to politicize the death of a US ambassador:

"In a post-9/11 world, especially following the recent and violent revolutions in the Middle East, America's political leadership needs to be on high-alert and maintain constant vigilance of American interests abroad. At this time, it is difficult to separate the lack of leadership from the Obama Administration and the apparent need of the US Embassy staff in Cairo to apologize for America's 1st Amendment," John Koster said Wednesday.

Because nothing says "leadership" like dutifully repeating the lies coming from the top of the ticket.

 

Comments (17) RSS

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1
It's interesting that they find it abhorrent that the embassy is using diplomacy to save lives in Cairo. I'd like to know what Koster would say, if he were in Egypt right now.
Posted by barfy cute on September 13, 2012 at 7:42 AM
Pope Peabrain 2
So let's see, right wing fanatics intentionally inflame the middle east and right wing American politicians blame Obama? Do we see what's wrong with this picture? And John McCain is wrong, wrong, wrong when he says this is proof they see us as weak. What they see is Obama killing terrorist leaders, one after another, and it pisses them off. And American consular officials are killed and desperate Republicans rush in to feed off the corpses. Gutter politics.
Posted by Pope Peabrain on September 13, 2012 at 7:48 AM
3
Oh Goldy, you clueless zionist prick.....

what happened in Libya was not a "tragedy".

It was a premeditated act of war

waged by Islamic terrorists.

A successful terror attack on American soil under the sleepy watch of Obama.

please make a note of it.
Posted by chaching on September 13, 2012 at 7:57 AM
4
I'm watching reporter Richard Engel right now on MSNBC getting asked why the protests in the ME are continuing when the US has disavowed the video. Engel said the protesters are being fired up by hardline leaders who are not the kind of people who will listen to Hillary Clinton or are particularly worried correct facts. So it's easy to see whom many of these Republicans are like.

Posted by seatackled on September 13, 2012 at 8:08 AM
5
Here's the thing that bugs me:

The statement issued by the embassy in Cairo was no kind of apology at all. It was a condemnation of the video, but not an apology.

That's got me thinking that if Mitt Romney condemns the Anti-American violence with the exact same language that the Cairo embassy used to codemn the video, could his statement of condemnation be interpreted as an apology for the Anti-American violence and the murder of our foreign service personnel?

Seriously. Take the Cairo embassy statement and replace the references to the video with references to the violence. It would read as something that Mitt Romney would approve. And that would make him an apologist for the violence - at least by his own reasoning.
Posted by Charlie Mas on September 13, 2012 at 8:32 AM
Urgutha Forka 6
The republicans are trying to start another war.
Posted by Urgutha Forka on September 13, 2012 at 9:11 AM
Max Solomon 7
no one apologized for shit, let alone the 1st amendment. the US govt is under no obligation to support the things that US citizens do with their constitutional rights. they are free to condemn what is said, just not the right to say it.
Posted by Max Solomon on September 13, 2012 at 9:33 AM
Posted by cheakamus on September 13, 2012 at 9:58 AM
9
Romney's asinine statements aren't his biggest problems. That smirk when he's denigrating an Ambassador who died defending the people who were his responsibility, that's what is really going to kill him.
Posted by Mugwumpt on September 13, 2012 at 10:08 AM
dirac 10
@8 HAHAHA @ the expectation that the political environment allows any discussion of this level of nuance!
Posted by dirac on September 13, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Pope Peabrain 11
@8 Thanks!
Posted by Pope Peabrain on September 13, 2012 at 10:44 AM
12
This guy needs to STFU already.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/-Arab…

"The immediate future of democracy in the Middle East is precarious as the 'Arab Spring' appears to be moving the region into an ice-age for democratic ideals."

Does he even know what he's talking about?
Posted by Calvin&Hobbes on September 13, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Pope Peabrain 13
They want war so bad they're making shit up.
Posted by Pope Peabrain on September 13, 2012 at 11:57 AM
14
@ 8, Thanks for the link, a very thoughtful and informed ;) piece of commentary on this current crises. Hope you don't mind but I'm going to steal it.
Posted by Machiavelli was framed on September 13, 2012 at 1:52 PM
15
Remember when you, among others, politicized the Tucson shooting?
Posted by Pot, Kettle, Black on September 13, 2012 at 3:22 PM
16
Now today - we see Hillary down with Romney and Koster. And the topic is no longer every other posting on SLOG. Thesis blown there goldstein.

Posted by delbert on September 13, 2012 at 7:00 PM
17
"not all Republicans are distancing themselves from Mitt Romney's ham-fisted comments on the tragedy in Libya."

Shrug. Romney's comments were spot-on. Obama's job is defend our rights, not "condemn" the exercise of them or characterize such exercise as "abuse" of them, let alone to send the MILITARY to a CITIZEN to get him to shut up.

If Bush had done this to a leftwing expression of speech, you'd be all over him. Don't pretend otherwise. The difference is that I'd be alongside you, because I'm honest and have integrity and actually believe in putting the rights of Americans first.

Obama has no damned business condemning an American's exercise of free speech. What he SHOULD have done is tell these assholes to grow up, realize that this is the 21st century and that there's thousands, if not millions, of videos online that are just as insulting, and that WILL NEVER CHANGE, and America is dedicated to the ideal that people can post those ideas, or any others, online, or anywhere else. And we will destroy you before we give up that ideal.

That is what he should have done. What he did instead is say, we disavow the video (fine) and we disagree with its message (fine), but then said not one single word defending its existence or creation, instead slamming its existence and creation, which he has no damned business doing.

(And, of course, this also proves the video is not the cause of these riots. They could have picked many other videos to riot over. This one was not particularly offensive, and people like Goldy say just as terrible things about Christianity all the time.)

"Ever the good Christian soldier"

Ever the bigot you are, Goldy. This has nothing to do with Koster's religion, but here you are, throwing out religion as smears. This puts you in a similar category as the maker of the film the Islamists are supposedly upset about.

"1st CD candidate John Koster issued a press release yesterday making his own ham-fisted effort to politicize the death of a US ambassador"

No, he didn't. It wasn't ham-fisted and wasn't an attempt to politicize.

He simply said that the embassy was attacking the free exercise of our rights (obviously true), and that Obama's leadership is to blame (arguably true).
More...
Posted by pudge on September 14, 2012 at 8:19 AM

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