Cross posted from Barry’s Blog
Barry Welsh, Democratic candidate for US House in the Indiana 6th Congressional District, released the following statement in response to a speech made by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN06) from the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday in Washington, DC. Rep. Pence’s office released a statement yesterday which is referred to below in Welsh’s response.
Alan Greenspan squeezed and the toothpaste is out of the tube, and it cannot be put back inside. Iraq has been, and continues to be, about oil, not freedom as Congressman Pence pontificated from the floor of the House yesterday. Congressman Pence is once again trying to mislead people, just as he did with his comments comparing Indiana to Iraq.
Mr. Pence advocates blindly following the failed Neo Conservative Bush policies that include the permanent occupation of Iraq as he calls for “tuning out Washington D.C” and thus tuning out the facts.
“Despite the lack of political progress at the national level in Iraq, the military surge is working. Because the surge is working, our troops can start coming home. I urge every American to tune out the rhetoric in Washington, DC, and read the report.
“But don’t just read the testimony of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, read the recent report issued by the more liberal-leaning Brookings Institution. In each case, our men and that liberal think tank found civilian deaths are down, Sunni leaders are cooperating with US forces and al-Qaeda is on the run in Baghdad and al Anbar Province.
“These independent assessments should be read by every American, and every American should be encouraged. For even to a war-weary nation I say, if we do not grow weary in doing good, freedom will prevail in Iraq.”
Congressman Pence needs to answer one simple question. How can a country claim to be bringing freedom during an occupation?
From the floor of Congress Mr. Pence tried to convince America that the war was about freedom in Iraq, of course from that same floor he also bellowed a personal guarantee that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. He wasn’t honest then either. Citizens of this district deserve better representation that aligns with their own common sense values, and that is what I will bring to the district as its next Representative in Congress.
