The Nethercutt for Senate campaign has released a new ad featuring a video clip of Patty Murray making her infamous statement praising Osama Bin Laden for "building daycare facilities" and for having "made people's lives better". That statement has been widely reported, but I hadn't seen an actual video until today. It has to be seen to be believed how naive Patty Murray is, and how unsuited she is for a position of leadership during the war against Islamic terrorists.
UPDATE: How the Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer report on the ad, here
UPDATE 2 (Oct. 1) The Seattle Times embarrassed itself today with its blindly partisan editorial slamming the ad, calling it "sleazy" and "insults the intelligence". I think those epithets are more apropos to the Times' editorial and Sen. Murray respectively.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 29, 2004 10:04 AM | Email ThisI saw the tape and spat at my monitor, thinking of what British PM Tony Blair (no right-wing yob, fan of activist gov't) said yesterday:
"There are two views of what is happening in the world today.
One view is that there are isolated individuals, extremists, engaged in essentially isolated acts of terrorism. That what is happening is not qualitatively different from the terrorism we have always lived with.
...
The other view is that this is a wholly new phenomenon, worldwide global terrorism based on a perversion of the true, peaceful and honourable faith of Islam; that's its roots are not superficial but deep, in the madrassehs of Pakistan, in the extreme forms of Wahabi doctrine in Saudi Arabia, in the former training camps of Al Qaida in Afghanistan; in the cauldron of Chechnya; in parts of the politics of most countries of the Middle East and many in Asia; in the extremist minority that now in every European city preach hatred of the West and our way of life.
...If you take the second view, you don't believe the terrorists are in Iraq to liberate it.
They're not protesting about the rights of women - what, the same people who stopped Afghan girls going to school, made women wear the Burka and beat them in the streets of Kabul, who now assassinate women just for daring to register to vote in Afghanistan's first ever democratic ballot, though 4m have done so?
They are not provoked by our actions; but by our existence."
SOURCE: http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200409/093edecc-52f9-48c2-b891-d7b33fea0c39.htm
Paddy said about bin Laden, quote, "Made their lives better," unquote. Gimme a break!
Posted by: Josef on September 29, 2004 02:40 PMYou don't see this on TV, but it is happening. We are building far more schools and hospitals than OBL built day-care facilities.
Besides, who cares if the militants despise us? The militants would kill us not for what we do but for who we are. We are there to kill them on their soil, as well as building schools and hospitals. The Iraqi people are not like the militants.
Besides, the militants kill the Iraqi people on a weekly basis, and attempt to destroy infrastructure just to create chaos and undermine the new Iraq government. Any Iraqi who cooperates with the Iraq government and tries to bring peace and stability, is a target of the Islamo-facist militants.
Picking sides in this battle is pretty easy. Why "Osama Mama" Murray praises OBL is hard to understand. I suppose that Stalin and Hitler had a few good qualities. Mussolini could make the trains run on time. Think about what you are saying. Was Murray right to praise OBL for building day-care facilities? No. Don't defend her on this issue.
Posted by: Tim Ford on September 29, 2004 04:56 PMMs. Murray's comments are essentially recut and the content and intent of her words are ignored in favour of 'guilt by association'.
Many people seem to recast her words as support for Bin Laden, but that is not correct. Her words were a mere statement of fact. Misusing them later is the ultimate in "how low can you go".
Regards,
-ryan
BTW: “Way to go, Ryan!!!!”
I certainly cannot - there's a dearth of evidence backing her up and she refuses to apologize for this sickening assertion. Remember, bin Laden was helping the Taliban. Remember, the Taliban wanted to beat women up. And remember what Tony Blair said...
Posted by: Josef on September 29, 2004 08:11 PMOBL came from a Saudi family with a long history in construction. He put these skills to use building roads and other infrastructure to facilitate his war making abilities. There is no evidence that he built housing, healthcare or other infrastructure for any reason than to support attacks against his enemies.
OBL is certainly popular in some parts of the Arab world. Only he owes his popularity to his successful terror campaigns against the West. It's these little successes in a culture where the shame of so many failures is a burden Islam cannot bear.
The shamefulness of the remarks by Senator Murray is her absolute failure to understand the world she describes with her silly stories. This is an unserious person in the Senate representing Washington. Votes on life and death issues deserve better.
I hope the Times and the PI raise a big stink about "dirty politics." More voters need to hear Patty's words and decide for themselves.
We could indulge Clinton when the world seemed less threatening. We didn't realize our holiday from history was an illusion. We can no longer afford the Murray's of the world, it's time for grownups.
The proposition that Patty was merely telling the truth is utterly unbelievable.
Posted by: Gary B on September 29, 2004 09:11 PM"Many people seem to recast her words as support for Bin Laden, but that is not correct. Her words were a mere statement of fact. Misusing them later is the ultimate in "how low can you go"."
in this point, i make only 1 point which is may be untrue, that being "Her words were a mere statement of fact." If I rewrite my comment without that, we end up with:
----
For shame - this Ad is misusing important world issues for petty partisan politics.
Ms. Murray's comments are essentially recut and the content and intent of her words are ignored in favour of 'guilt by association'.
Many people seem to recast her words as support for Bin Laden, but that is not correct. Misusing them later is the ultimate in "how low can you go".
---
And the message of my comment remains the same. Your message primarily concerned itself with the truthfulness of that one sub-statement, which is now missing. Can you please recomment in light of this update?
I'd also like to add, I find it highly dubious and questionable whenever _anyone_ compares a Senator to a "terrorist mastermind" (other's wordings, not mine). This is guilt by association, and tactics like this weaken the US democracy. I don't believe it's ok when anyone does it.
A few remaining facts:
-"OBL" is more popular than the US in many countries. Why is this? Your explanation is merely a statement which has to be taken at face value - something I can not do. Please demonstrate that this is true.
- The Taliban was a US supported government - at least during the 80s.
- You seem to suggest there is a distinction between what you call 'Clinton's world' and 'reality'. Again, mere statements, without evidence. I might offer this explanation: The reason why the world seems dangerous is because actions of the last 3 years have given motive to those who were not actively hostile to the US. The US invasion of Iraq has significantly played into the hands of OBL in this regard.
Finally, as Kate has made it abundantly clear this is merely a side debate and not necessarily about the issues. Why all the mud slinging?
Posted by: ryan on September 29, 2004 11:55 PMShe deserves to be hammered on this. She has only herself to blame.
Posted by: Tim Ford on September 30, 2004 11:10 AM