Frist on Feingold: ‘I Was Hoping Deep Inside That Iran Was Not Listening’

[kpete]

Frist on Feingold: ‘I Was Hoping Deep Inside That Iran Was Not Listening’
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) responded this morning to Sen. Russ Feingold’s call to censure President Bush over his warrantless spying program. Frist condemned the censure for “the signal that it sends that there is in any way a lack of support” for President Bush, and said he was “hoping deep inside that the leadership in Iran… not listening.” Watch it:



Full transcript below: (full transcript of Frist & Feingold also avail at:http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Full_transcript_Feingold_announces_he_will_0312.html

STEPHANOPOULOS: You heard Senator Feingold there. He wants Democrats and Republicans to come together on the censure resolution he’ll introduce tomorrow. I can’t imagine you’re going to support that.

FRIST: George, what was interesting in listening to my good friend, Russ, is that he mentioned protecting the American people only one time, and although you went to politics a little bit later, I think it’s a crazy political move and I think it in part is a political move because here we are, the Republican Party, the leadership in the Congress, supporting the President of the United States as Commander in Chief, who is out there fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and the people who have sworn, have sworn to destroy Western civilization and all the families listening to us. And they’re out now attacking, at least today, through this proposed censure vote, out attacking our Commander in Chief. Doesn’t make sense.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you’re against it. Are you going to allow it to come up for a vote?

FRIST: Well, George, this is the first I’ve heard about it. I really am surprised about it because Russ is just wrong. He is flat wrong. He is dead wrong. And as I was listening to it, I was hoping deep inside that that the leadership in Iran and other people who have the U.S. not in their best interest are not listening because of the terrible signal it sends.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You’re saying that censure resolution weakens America abroad?

FRIST: Yes. Well, I think it does because we are right now in a war, in an unprecedented war, where we do have people who really want to take us down and we think back to 9/11 and that war on terror is out there. So the signal that it sends that there is in any way a lack of support for our Commander in Chief, who is leading us with a bold vision in a way that we know is making our homeland safer is wrong. And it sends a perception around the world and, again, that’s why I’m saying as leader at least of the Republican side of this equation, that it’s wrong, because leadership around the world of our sworn enemies are going to say, well, now we have a little crack there. There is no crack. The American people are solidly behind this president in conducting this war on terror.

video of Feingold and Frist Available at:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/12/frist-attacks-censure/

[rodeodance]

1. Frist has a certain look about him--mostly expressionless.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. I think he should be removed from life support.

From looking at that picture I can make a sound medical diagnosis: persistent vegetative state. Pull the plug!

[Seabiscuit]

12. "persistent vegetative state"? How about "post vegetative state"?

I've seen trampled banana slugs that look more alive than Frist.

[Retrograde]

15. what I call the Republican look

a lot of GOP congresspeople and senators seem to have this sort of look: unlined face, expressionless - as if they are totally unaffected by anything that goes on in the real world.

W. is losing his GOP look - something is definitely bothering him

[blue4barb]

2. Got a laugh out of "...my good friend Russ..."

[laheina]

27. It made me want to

:puke:

I don't know why he couldn't have just used "distinguished colleague." It is more honest.

[hfojvt]

3. "the American people are solidly behind this President"?

This might be a good time to check the latest polls. Let's hope you learn in 2006, just how little the American people are behind this President.

[Nickster]

7. All 34% of them. N/T

[bklyncowgirl]

9. ...solidly behind him and ready to push him off a tall bulding. nt

[lilly_j]

25. hehe

:rofl:

[Sparkly]

18. "If you build a bandwagon, they will come...?" nt

[stray cat]

4. This American is strongly behind Russ Feingold!

[Joanne98]

6. STFU Frist or we'll talk about DAYTRADING for awhile.

[KaryninMiami]

8. Perhaps Dr. Frist needs to change his medications?

Delusions are symptoms of some type of condition aren't they? I think he needs to see a physician-- ooops -- my mistake. He is one. So, he clearly needs to write out a new perscription for himself.

Is there something he can take for simply being a schmuck?

[opihimoimoi]

10. Bwahahahaha...Frist is the death of the Pub Party...along with BushCo

Part of the Prob and IN THE WAY...he continues backing a BAD IDEA...what/why does he do this...he wants Bushies Base for one..2 he donnu any better...

He is no Leader by any standards. Better the Pubs get Mongos brother,, Mel Brooks...

[Joe Fields]

11. Don't you know ...

"You are verboten to speak against der fuhrer!"

[spanone]

13. NOTHING makes more sense than attacking George W. Bush*.

This asswipe Frist, my senator by the way, is the worse kind of politician. Spineless and Thoughtless. I am ashamed he was elected by Tennesseans. I am even more ashamed that he won the straw vote in the Republican Convention they just held. Americans are not nearly as educated and one might think.

[me b zola]

21. An interesting note about that straw vote

Tweety was on msnbc this morning and said that collage students were paid to come and participate. He said that he asked by who but did not get an answer.

[Rob H.]

14. Why do they keep giving that crooked wanker face time on TV?!

Yeah, yeah, he's Senate Majority Leader, but he probably can't even think the word "integrity" without getting a migraine.

Newsflash, cat killing moron: Bush swore an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. He violated that oath. Censure is a slap on the wrist and not nearly enough, imho.

[Sparkly]

16. Chimpy is "out there fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban and bin Laden?"

He's "out there fighting?!?" When did THAT happen? :rofl:

[BlooInBloo]

17. Funny how they weren't concerned with weaking America abroad...

... when the Big Dawg was President...

Lying, treasonous, hypocritical sacks of shit.

[laheina]

28. Good point.

I'm also thinking about the port deal.

I think that they need to write a new script. :eyes:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. "The American people are solidly behind this president"

Damn, I'm furriner and don't even know it.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. Why would Stephanopoulos say that?

"I can’t imagine you’re going to support that."

Why would any so-called journalist propose in advance that an idea to censure Bush would not be something that everyone should support, and only seek that Frist ratify his opinion? Instead, Stephanopoulos should take the position, "you mean Senator Frist that you're NOT going to support this action in spite of everything President Bush has done?"

And instead of saying "you're saying the censure resolution weakens America abroad", echoing Frist's statement instead of challenging it, why isn't Stephanopoulos saying "WHY specifically Senator Frist do you think that a censure resolution would weaken America abroad?".

Is it too much to ask that so-called journalists occasionally put the extreme right on the spot? I haven't watched Stephanopoulos in several years but I guess he's turned into a media whore just like the rest.

[Texacrat]

26. If Stephanopoulus thinks that Frist would support censure, he's on crack.

Fortunately, he's not on crack, so he made the legitimate journalistic comment.

[Radical Activist]

22. So Basically, First believes in having a dictatorship.

Dictators have always used the threat of outside enemies to demand total and unquestioned obedience to their authority. That's what First is advocating here. He would turn Bush into a dictator with a rubber stamp legislature.

[Beelzebud]

23. Their fear-mongering about Iran is fucking pathetic.

This is the same bunch of criminals that lied us into Iraq.

How can anyone be so fucking stupid to believe them about ANOTHER country supposedly harboring WMDs?

Anyone want to loan me some money to move to Canada? I'm getting sick of this shit-hole.

[killbotfactory]

24. Screw the elections, too WE ARE AT WARRRRR!!!!

Endless war!