Powell: 'I am still a Republican'

[47of74]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell struck back Sunday at critics of his decision to support Barack Obama's presidential candidacy last year.

Calling for his divided party to widen its ranks, Powell declared, "I am still a Republican."

In an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation, Powell responded to attacks from former Vice President Dick Cheney and talk show host Rush Limbaugh, saying they are "not members of the membership committee of the Republican Party."

"Rush will not get his wish, and Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican", he said. "I would like to point out that in the course of my 50 years of voting for presidents, I have voted for the person I thought was best qualified at that time to lead the nation. Last year, I thought it was President Barack Obama. For the previous 20 years, I voted solidly for Republican candidates."

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/24/powell-i-am-still-a-republican/

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Ha ha, Rush won't get his wish. Probably throwing a temper tantrum right now.

[Solly Mack]

1. Yes he is

with everything that means

[Zhade]

49. And still a cowardly war criminal who knowingly lied to the UN.

NT!

[mitchum]

2. Yes, and they need to keep that lying sack of shit

[No Elephants]

6. +1

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. The UN Iraq lies.

He could vote for Obama 1000 times & it won't change anything.

[elleng]

8. Don't you remember?

He didn't know it wasn't the truth? He was lied to.

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. Right, anyone reading a McClatchy newspaper knew that it was all lies at the time.

He is stupid or complicit. Take your pick.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

22. I'll go with complicit.

And that was probably the biggest mistake of his life. The U.N. presentation was his permanent undoing. A very tragic figure.

[tblue37]

43. Don't forget his work to help cover up the My Lai massacre.

I'm sure he felt it was tragic when all that effort was undone and the massacre became public after all.

The man is scum. His son learned his opportunistic values at Daddy's knee.

[go west young man]

11. I hope your being sarcastic.

To present what he presented as evidence at the UN in regards to Iraq's so called weapons program he has to have been a complete fucking idiot or a lying sack of shit. There is no middle ground no matter what he says. That "evidence" was a bloody (1 million dead) joke. The UN weapons inspectors had dismantled that entire program backk in 1991 and he knew it. He knew they had not reconstituted it. He is a bold faced joke of a lying sack of shit in my mind.

[george_maniakes]

19. I would say rather he didn't do a good enough job of getting to the truth.

I wonder when he really found out how disliked he was by the cheney-rumsfeld crowd.

[tblue37]

42. Which is why he threw the sheaf of papers detailing the info he

was to present up into the air and called it all "bulls**t." Obviously he no idea.

[onehandle]

4. Good for him. Stand up to the racists in your party.

You don't see me running away when I disagree with others.

Good for him.

[cyclezealot]

38. And why.

Sure he'll be comfortable with their list of leading personalities. For leadership they have Sarah Palin, Rush, Hannity, Coulter.

[Captain Hilts]

5. A Republican who was loudly cheered at the Obama Inauguration. nt

[izquierdista]

7. How is this 'Latest Breaking News'?

I suggest moving this to the "Who Cares" category.

[donco6]

9. Sounds like: "I am not dead"

Just Republican.

[theoldman]

12. I disagree with all of the attacks on Powell.

Yes, he screwed up and who has not made a mistake in their life. Even Jesus probably regretted some of the things he said. There are some Democrats who are far worse than Powell.

[Ezana]

15. Jesus is Perfect: no sin, no regret.

[Honeycombe8]

46. I don't think Jesus' argument that he was perfect. That's partly why he died on the cross?

I'm not overly familiar with the Bible, but that's how I recall it.

[Zhade]

51. Most mythological figures ripped off from prior mythologies are.

NT!

[tblue37]

44. Are you unaware that he was part of the My Lai massacre coverup? nt

[Zhade]

50. HE KNOWINGLY LIED TO THE UN ABOUT NONEXISTENT WMD.

FUCK your pathetic quailing away from truth.

[tj2001]

13. Powell is irrelevant

He screwed up, and historians will remember him for that.
Now history marches on without him

[Downwinder]

14. Time for a tell all book. With names and dates. n/t

[Radical Activist]

18. No. Time for a trial by congress or war crimes international court.

A money making book tour doesn't cut it.

[Radical Activist]

16. Powell: Still a lying asshole.

He lied for Bush I. He lied for Bush II. Don't trust him for a second.

[stlsaxman]

24. Powell was also involved with the Mai Li Massacre cover-up, right? n/t

[george_maniakes]

17. I wish he would have pushed a little further in the interview and get to the ultimate question...

at what point do you sacrifice the constitution for possibly saving lives? It seems like the cheney answer is: whenever. What would powells answer be? Or obama's? Or any americans? I always thought it was "liberty or death!", not "take my freedom and save me from death."

[Downwinder]

21. We saved lives?

I submit that we caused many many more deaths than than we prevented.

[suchadeal]

20. He's also still a war criminal and liar.

On the other hand, he does like old Volvos and old Ted Koeppel, so that's something to consider in measuring his character. Right?

[Loki]

23. I lost whatever respect I had for Mr. Powell

years ago. Let go of the idea that your Republican Party has anything closely resembling ethics and values and you might be able to start a rehabilitation of your reputation. But to remain in that bankrupt pile of vermin and hatred gives your opinion absolutely no validity.

[Old Coot]

25. Powell to Republicans: Listen to moderates, too

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The conservative vs. moderate split threatening to rupture the Republican Party played out across the airwaves Sunday, with Colin Powell and Tom Ridge denouncing shrill and judgmental voices they say are steering the GOP too far right. Karl Rove challenged Powell to lay out his vision and "back it up" by helping elect Republicans.

At stake is the GOP's status as a major party, Powell and Ridge suggested.

"I believe we should build on the base because the nation needs two parties, two parties debating each other. But what we have to do is debate and define who we are and what we are and not just listen to dictates that come down from the right wing of the party," said Powell, the nation's top military officer under President George H.W. Bush and later secretary of state for President George W. Bush.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090524/ap_on_go_ot/us_republican_ruckus

[C_U_L8R]

26. Have the Freeps told him to take a hike yet?

I don't understand Powell's desire to stick around a party that really doesn't like him or want him around.

[AlinPA]

39. Something screwy with him still staying on as a republican. They don't want him,

what is he trying to prove? Not a very smart man.

[CatholicEdHead]

27. Not going to work

"Moderate" is a 4 letter word in today's GOP. It is party purity or nothing. :crazy:

[no_hypocrisy]

28. Moderates are apostates to neocons, fundamentalists, and corporatists.

[Captain Hilts]

29. I know a lot of moderate R's, but they're not running the party. Powell is pissing up a rope. nt

[BlooInBloo]

30. Let us know how that works for you, Powell.

[pattmarty]

31. I say, "keep it up". They'll actually lose more seats in the mid-terms.....................

...................AND, maybe Cheney will be the nominee for 2012. God, wouldn't it be great!!!

[buckrogers1965]

32. It is time.

It is time for we small government conservatives with the desire to get the federal government 100% out of the private lives of individuals to leave the Republican party.

We need to join and influence the libertarian party, and get rules into place now to protect the individual and remove the power of the Chicago style power brokers that run the two main parties now.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KG]

33. gee, you didn't mind cashing the neocons' paychecks and spreading their lies

as long as that worked for you.

go fuck yourself, you scum sucking demon from hell.

[happygoluckytoyou]

34. GOP... it isn't a party... it's a wake ! The CHIPS are gone, the DIPS remain, turn out the lights!!

[PeteytehMawnstar]

36. Why stop at 2 vital parties, how about 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10

The messed up thing, and i think Powell may have this problem as well, is who fricking knows what the Republican party means or stands for anymore. TO make matters worse, they may not have the courage or mind to realize what it has turned into. Granted it took many years, but the last 4 to 5 have been pretty obvious, and depressing if you believe in individualism and limited government. Nowadays, it's like I'm reading a book about Mosley.

[Towlie]

37. What??? "The right wing of the party"?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7667369&page=1

"What we have to do is debate and define who we are and what we are and not just listen to dictates that come down from the right wing of the party," said Powell.

Speaking of the right wing of the Republican Party is like speaking of the racist wing of the Ku Klux Klan. Wake up General Powell, the whole party is right-wing!

[steven johnson]

40. Powell attacks 'rightwing diktats' over Republican party's decline

The Guardian reports that Colin Powell concluded,

"Colin Powell, the former US secretary of state, has joined the battle for the soul of the Republican party by warning that in succumbing to "diktats from the right wing" it risks spending years in the political wilderness. Powell called on the party to become more inclusive and help the poor."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/24/colin-powell-republican

It seems that Colin Powell is a voice in the wilderness.

[DLnyc]

41. Sad to see so many here hostile to moderation in the Republican party.

I, for one, think this country, and this world, would have a better shot at survival if moderates took over the republican party and purged the extremists. It seems a little twisted to hope for the GOP to continue being as extremely right-wing as possible on the assumption that that makes them easier to beat. Encouraging the extremists in the GOP also makes us all a hell of a lot closer to global melt-down. Not a very appetizing strategy.

[Demeter]

45. The Question Is: WHY? Why are you still a Republican, Colin?

Are you some kind of masochist? Optimist? Bigot against Democrats? Unable to read the writing on the wall?

Think the GOP will make a comeback in your lifetime?

It surely cannot be because you espouse the principles of the GOP. Because there aren't any worth espousing. Exposing, maybe.

[opihimoimoi]

47. That dumb ass still don't get it...fuck him and time to move on...

The Pubs can keep him....

[timtom]

48. Why, the man's BRILLIANT!

Such powers of discernment amaze me.

Wotta guy!

Still a Republican, indeed! Good Lord!