Rep/Dem Quote Guessing! (warning, politics/Iraq)

[Luke B.]

Okay, so the way it goes, for each quote, you gotta guess whether it was made by a Demorcat, or a Republican.

Warning, it's hard to tell on a couple of them.

Answers at the bottom - I got most of them wrong my first try, I hope you guys do better.

1) I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.

2) Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons. There's no question about that. ... I believe in negotiated solutions to international conflict. This is, unfortunately, not going to be the case in this situation where Saddam Hussein has been a repeat offender, ignoring the international community's requirement that he come clean with his weapons program.

3) I applaud the President on focusing on this issue and on taking the lead to disarm Saddam Hussein. ... Others have talked about this threat that is posed by Saddam Hussein. Yes, he has chemical weapons, he has biological weapons, he is trying to get nuclear weapons.

4) Every nation has to either be with us, or against us. Those who harbor terrorists, or who finance them, are going to pay a price.

5) There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the United States and to our allies. If Saddam persists in thumbing his nose at the inspectors, then we're clearly going to have to do something about it.

6) We stopped the fighting [in 1991] on an agreement that Iraq would take steps to assure the world that it would not engage in further aggression and that it would destroy its weapons of mass destruction. It has refused to take those steps. That refusal constitutes a breach of the armistice which renders it void and justifies resumption of the armed conflict.

7) It is the duty of any president, in the final analysis, to defend this nation and dispel the security threat. Saddam Hussein has brought military action upon himself by refusing for 12 years to comply with the mandates of the United Nations. The brave and capable men and women of our armed forces and those who are with us will quickly, I know, remove him once and for all as a threat to his neighbors, to the world, and to his own people, and I support their doing so.

8) I mean, we have three different countries that, while they all present serious problems for the United States -- they're dictatorships, they're involved in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- you know, the most imminent, clear and present threat to our country is not the same from those three countries. I think Iraq is the most serious and imminent threat to our country.

9) Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don't have the judgment to be President, or the credibility to be elected President.

10) I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.

11) Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power. We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.

12) We must combat an unholy axis of new threats from terrorists, international criminals, and drug traffickers. ... Saddam Hussein has spent the better part of this decade and much of his nation's wealth not on providing for the Iraqi people but on developing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them.

13) The threat from Iraq is real, and it cannot be permanently contained. For as long as Saddam Hussein is in power in Baghdad, he will seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. We have no doubt that these deadly weapons are intended for use against the United States and its allies. Consequently, we believe we must directly confront Saddam, sooner rather than later. Mr. President, all indications are that in the interest of our own national security, Saddam Hussein must be removed from power.

14) YES (voting for or against the use of US Armed Forces against Iraq)
15) YES (voting for or against the implementation of the Patriot Act)
16) YES, AGAIN (voting for or against reauthorizing the Patriot Act)

Okay, got all that?

Now, for the answers!

1) Nancy Pelosi, 1998; http://www.house.gov/pelosi/priraq1.htm
2) Nancy Pelosi, 2002; http://www.accuracy.org/newsrelease.php?articleId=375
3) Nancy Pelosi, 2002; http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin ... 002_record
4) Hilary Clinton, 2001; http://www.wavsource.com/news/20010911a.htm
5) Howard Dean, 2002; http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/face_092902.pdf
6) Harry Reid, 2002; http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin ... 002_record
7) John Kerry, 2003; http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030331&s=lizza033103
8) John Edwards, 2002; http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/24/le.00.html
9) John Kerry, 2003; http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/dec03/ ... rmat=print
10) John Kerry, 2002; http://www.johnkerry.com/news/speeches/ ... _1009.html
11) Al Gore, 2002; http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... text_x.htm
12) Bill Clinton, 1998; http://clinton5.nara.gov/textonly/WH/SO ... dress.html
13) Joseph Lieberman, Jesse Helms, John McCain, et al, 2001; http://www.house.gov/ford/12_06_01a.htm
14) Hilary Clinton, John Edwards, John Kerry, Harry Reid, et al, 2002; http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/r ... vote=00237
15) Hilary Clinton, John Edwards, Harry Reid, Edward Kennedy, et al, 2001; http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/r ... vote=00313
16) http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/r ... vote=00029

Damnit, now I'm all depressed. Tell me again, aside from who's currently in power, what's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?

It's hard to tell anymore.

[Tom Flapwell]

Tell me again, aside from who's currently in power, what's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?

Hey, you're looking at only one issue!

[Bocaj Claw]

It should also be noted that nearly everybody in Washington jumped on the "yeah, invade Iraq! Woot" bandwagon when it first started. Its when it started going downhill that some people changed their tunes.

[Fritz]

It should also be noted that nearly everybody in Washington jumped on the "yeah, invade Iraq! Woot" bandwagon when it first started. Its when it started going downhill that some people changed their tunes.

Yes, notice how most of the quotes are either pre-Iraq War or just right after it began.

[CodeCat]

Wow. And I thought the US having just two parties was bad enough. Now they seem to have just one...

When did I see this before? 1933?

[Zaaphod]

Tell me again, aside from who's currently in power, what's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?

The spelling.

[Rooster]

Wow. And I thought the US having just two parties was bad enough. Now they seem to have just one...

When did I see this before? 1933?

I take it you're reffering to the National Socialists gaining control of the Reichstag? Not the same thing, as the Nazis were put there by mulitple other parties involved in political infighting.

But alas, even three parties of the UK don't change it...we've essentially got one. Labour.

I mean, the Tories (conservatives) are seen as posh stuck up twats that'll just give tax cuts to the rich, sod everyone else. Whereas, the Lib Dems are seen as ideologically right, but NO ONE votes for them as they've never been in charge before. So we've got Labour left, and they know that, and they're beginning to take the piss.

[Comrade K]

It's the same here Roo, We've got our tories, who are right wing and currently in power, the Liberals, who are a little left of centre and almost always in power, and the New Democratic Party, who're left wing, and never been in power.

The liberals basically own the country for a decade, then people get pissed at them for becoming arrogant and complacent, and elect the Tories. Then people think "shit, why'd we do that?" and put the liberals back in power.

Nobody ever pays attention the NDP, even though they seem to have real ideas about our problems, unlike the tories, who pretend there is no problem, or the liberals, who concoct a pretend solution to get more votes without actually doing anything.

[The Donmeister]

It doesn't tell you whether the quotes were made by Democrats or Republicans...

[Zaaphod]

It doesn't tell you whether the quotes were made by Democrats or Republicans...

All by Democrats.

[The Donmeister]

I hate America. So much. I thought Democrats were supposed to be smart, and yet...

4) Every nation has to either be with us, or against us.

[Mr. Neign]

Yea at the beginning everybody was so 'sure' that Saddam had weapons we all wanted to invade.. and then we didnt find any.

and yes, i'm sorry we had to break it to you this way don, but everybody will say or do stupid things whether they are right wing or left

In reality this is a moot point. My problem with these things is that yes almost everybody supported it at the beginning, but now we have everybody covering their ass and claiming that they were either A: never for the war or B: blaming it on Bush, who shouldn't have invaded in the first place, even though they supported it. It is done, we have to work with the consequences as they are, not play partisan politics over them.

thats just my two-cents though, you can support it/tear it apart at your leisure

[The Donmeister]

Honestly, I don't really have a problem with the invasion. When you see Iraqi stories of the Saddam regime, the torture, disappearances, beatings etc, it's not that unreasonable that the US did something about it.

[Rooster]

Some of you might remember that I supported the war at the beginning...that stance has changed.

At the start, I honestly believed like many of my former unit, that we could go in and sort it out with the patented British hearts and minds...

How and when did Hearts and Minds turn into Shock and Awe?

Shock and Awe doesn't work, as after the shock and awe has worn off all you have is a bunch of very angry people that probably hated Saddam now hating us (UK and US) more than any other nation alive...

No, this isn't Vietnam...but it has some startling simerlarities in the way the soldiers, mainly the US soldiers but sadly some of our lads too, deal and treat people that we were sent to HELP...

This war prooved to me that I don't want to ever have anything more to do with any armed force anywhere, as even though most soldiers are generally nice people their leaders have their heads so far up their own arses that the lumps in their necks are their noses...

[Muninn]

When you see Iraqi stories of the Saddam regime, the torture, disappearances, beatings etc, it's not that unreasonable that the US did something about it.

Those thing still happen, although it's not Saddam doing it anymore.