Democrat David Obey attacks "idiot liberals"

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TRANSCRIPT:

Tina Richards, identified as a military mom: (Introducing herself to Obey). Tina Richards. I had left a poem that my son had written (unintelligible) and I was wondering if it had ever gotten to you. He's a United States Marine. He's done two tours in Iraq. And he's ready to be deployed for a third tour.

OBEY: I honestly don't know...

[Richards discusses son's suicide attempts and problems with the VA.]

Richards: Are you going to be voting against the supplemental?

OBEY: Absolutely not. I'm the sponsor of the supplemental.

Richards: For the, um, to continue to the war?

OBEY: (Getting agitated). It doesn't--we're trying to--the President wants to continue the war. We're trying to use the supplemental to end the war. But you can't end the war if you vote against the supplemental. It's time these idiot liberals understand that. There's a hell of a difference between de-funding the troops and ending the war. I'm not gonna deny body armor. I'm not gonna deny funding for veterans' hospitals and for defense hospitals so you can help people who have medical problems. And that's what you do if you vote against that bill.

Richards: But there should be enough money in the regular defense bill...

OBEY: Well, there isn't...

Richards: ...without continuing the funding for the war.

OBEY: There isn't. There isn't. That's not the way it works. The money in the defense bill -- it pays for a standing army. But it doesn't pay for these recurrent costs. We're going to add over a billion dollars more to it than what the President was asking for in that bill so we can deal with some of exactly the problems here you're talking about. How the hell are you going to provide money to the hospitals if you don't provide the money?

Richards: Well, then, are you going to be in support then of--

OBEY: I HATE THE WAR! I voted against it to start with. I was the first guy in Congress to call for Rumsfeld's resignation. But we don't have the votes to de-fund the war. And we shouldn't. Because that also means de-funding everything that you've got in that bill to help the guys who are victims of the war.

Richards: Well, there's an amendment to the supplemental that's being proposed to fully fund the withdrawal of the troops [Ed.: The Lee Amendment] --

OBEY: THAT MAKES NO SENSE! It doesn't work that way.

Richards: Well, so that the funds--

OBEY: (Gesturing with arms wildly) The language we have in the resolution ends the authority for the war. Makes it illegal to proceed with the war. You don't have to de-fund something if the war doesn't exist!

Richards: Oh, I didn't know that was in the--

OBEY: That's the problem! That's the problem! The liberal groups are jumping around without knowing what the hell is in the bill! You don't have to cut off funds for an activity that is no longer legal. We're shutting it off.

Second man in hallway interrupts: Congressman, what about the Church Amendment that helped end the Vietnam War in, what was is, '72-'73.

OBEY: It took us 31 different efforts to get there. I was here for that!

Man: Didn't that help end the ground war in Vietnam?

OBEY: No, it didn't. The political pressure on the administration finally ended the war. The amendment that finally ended the funding was the [unintelligible] amendment. I was the sponsor of that--

Man: But if you pass a resolution, isn't he still the commander-in-chief?

OBEY: (Gesturing wildly again) WE DON'T HAVE THE VOTES TO PASS IT! WE COULDN'T EVEN GET THE VOTES TO PASS A NON-BINDING RESOLUTION ONE WEEK AGO! How the hell do you think we're gonna get the votes to cut off the war?!

Man: You stop the funding.

OBEY: (Shouting) HOW IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE VOTES?! It takes...

Man: Filibuster his supplemental request.

OBEY: There is no filibuster in the House!

Man: Well, in the Senate they could do it.

OBEY: I'm sorry...No, I'm not gonna vote for it [Lee amendment].

(Pointing finger) I’m the sponsor of the bill that’s going to be on floor. And that bill ends the war. IF THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, YOU'RE SMOKING SOMETHING ILLEGAL!

Man: No, I'm not, sir.

OBEY: You’ve got your facts screwed up!

Man: (Crosstalk)

OBEY: We can’t get the votes! You see a magic wand in my pocket? How the hell we going to get the votes for it? We ain’t got the votes for it. We do have the votes if you guys quit screwing it up. We do have the votes to end the legal authority for the war. That's the same as de-funding it--YES IT WOULD!

Walks away. Slams office door.

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The euphoria of the Clinton years lives. If we want it, we can have it. The concept of "not enough votes" simply doesn't register with these people. Of course Congressman Obey suffers from a similar mental disorder, which, along with Pelosi, Skelton, and Murtha, makes them believe it is alright to sidestep the checks and balances of our government as long as something they want is achieved. With the bill they are sponsoring, they are making foreign policy and military decisions which they have no authority to make, and undermining the authority of the Commander-in-Chief.