War of words over war in Iraq
Like bickering siblings who know just how to push each other's buttons, Republican Jim Ogonowski and Democrat Niki Tsongas have been squabbling all afternoon over positions on the war in Iraq.
It started around noon, when Ogonowski sent out a press release suggesting Tsongas was being irresponsible by supporting existing legislation that would set a 9 month timetable for withdrawal. Ogonowksi, who opposes a timetable, says removing troops quickly would destabilize the region.
Ogonowski also included a line from a Lowell Sun article in July that said Tsongas "acknowledged that withdrawing troops from Iraq would destabilize the country and require the U.S. to maintain enough troops in the region to deal with any al-Qaida presence there and help continue training the Iraqi army."
Tsongas fired back a few hours later with a press release of her own.
"Mr. Ogonowski is twisting the truth," she said. "I have made my position on this issue very clear from day one. I want to bring an end to the war in Iraq and bring our troops home quickly, safely and responsibly. I believe the best and most responsible way to do this is to set a timetable that requires the Iraqi government to step up to the plate and that finally engages the international community to bring about a political solution."
Tsongas then said, "On the other hand, Mr. Ogonowski has continued to march in lockstep with President Bush’s policy on the war."
"Jim Ogonowski’s statement is a deliberate attempt to confuse voters, a political tactic lifted directly from Karl Rove when in 2000 he had President Bush run as 'a uniter, not a divider,'" she continued. "This is not surprising since Mr. Ogonowski attended a two-day National Republican Congressional Committee training school in Washington, DC last May where Karl Rove was prominently featured."
Two hours later, Ogonowski's campaign manager released a statement.
"No matter how loud Ms. Tsongas protests, she can’t hide the fact that she wants to keep some of the troops there indefinitely," said campaign manager Dustin Olson. "To make it worse, she is trying to make people believe that Jim shares her position. Jim wants to bring home all the troops safely and responsibly; that means not leaving any behind in harm’s way. That’s the problem with running a campaign based on sound-bytes."
