Pataki, Ridge, Issa: Giuliani's Statement on Obama Wrong, but Focus on Why He Said It

[mystery-ak]

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 Pataki, Ridge, Issa: Giuliani's Statement on Obama Wrong, but Focus on Why He Said It
Sunday, February 22, 2015 10:19 AM

By: Greg Richter

Three Republicans said former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani should not have said President Barack Obama doesn't love America, but they agreed the focus should be on what caused him to say it.

Appearing Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Homeland Security Sec. Tom Ridge, and Rep. Darrell Issa said Giuliani's words are a non-issue and talk instead should be about how Obama is governing.

At a private GOP fundraiser Wednesday night, Giuliani told the crowd, "this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America ... he doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country."

He repeated those words the next day on Fox News Channel, and though he clarified them after coming under fire, he has not backed down.

"State of the Union" host Gloria Borger termed the words "hateful," and asked the three Republicans if they condemned them.

"I think it was wrong, but what I understand is that Rudy and I saw the horrible consequences of looking the other way because radical Islamic terror was thousands of miles across the world," Pataki said.

"I don't think Rudy's ever going to get the dust from Ground Zero out of his lungs," Issa said. "He was there during the fall of those towers."

Ridge said he doesn't care for the way Giuliani articulated the statement, but added, "it's typical Rudy."

"It has been rejected by most of his colleagues and his friends, but at the end of the day there's enormous frustration with the presidential leadership or lack thereof," Ridge said. He pointed to how Obama's off-microphone pledge to be more flexible with Russian President Vladimir Putin has led to a Russian incursion into Ukraine, his attempt to get rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad hasn't worked, his pronouncement last year that the Islamic State (ISIS) was a J.V. squad has proved disastrous, and Iranian influence in Baghdad is greater than that of America.

"That's what everybody's concerned about," Ridge said.

[mystery-ak]

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Newsmax
Lindsey Graham: Obama Loves His Country, He's Just 'Failing Miserably'
Sunday, February 22, 2015 10:42 AM

By: Sandy Fitzgerald

Sen. Lindsey Graham, stopping just short of declaring his candidacy for the White House in 2016, said Sunday that he doesn't know if he could win the GOP nomination, but "I'm going to give it a try."

"If I got to be president of the United States, I think I could create a pathway to straighten out the mess we're in," said the South Carolina Republican on ABC's "This Week" program, telling host George Stephanopoulos that he believes he can win his home state and that his steps into Iowa have been "very positive."

However, a poll this past week in South Carolina showed that 58 percent of the state's registered voters said Graham should not seek the presidency, Stephanopoulos pointed out. But Graham said he would not consider a campaign "if I didn't think I could win my home state."

"I'm trying to run a campaign, if I decide to run, that focuses on securing the nation," said Graham. "We have to have a forward-leaning presence...somebody has to get Republicans and Democrats in the room and do what [late President] Ronald Reagan and [late House Speaker] Tip O'Neill did."

Graham said that he would call to fix the nation's immigration issues, and said he's "willing to work with Democrats."

Further, he said, "when it comes to foreign policy, I have been more right than wrong these last three years."

Still, Graham said he has "never been more worried about my country than I am today because of radical Islam, and yes, it is radical Islam."

The radical elements such as the Islamic State have "adopted a theory of religion that will purify the Islamic religion...they're not going to stop unless somebody stops them."

Graham also weighed in on former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's controversial comments questioning President Barack Obama's love of America, saying that he has "no doubt that he loves his country," and "that he's a patriot."

However, he said Obama's primary job is to defend his country and "he's failing miserably."

Graham said that Republicans need to learn that it is not enough to criticize Obama, but to decide what the party would do differently.

"ISIL is a direct result of bad policy choices, not leaving troops behind in Iraq," said Graham. "Not dealing with Syria three years ago. At the end of the day, I want the Republican Party to talk openly about the hard things, like having boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq, American boots on the ground as part of an international force to degrade and destroy."

And Graham said he has no doubt that ISIS can't be brought down without having a larger American component.

When it comes to domestic affairs, the South Carolina Republican agrees with a Texas judge who ruled Obama's executive order on immigration was illegal, but still, he's "willing and ready to pass a funding bill and let it play out in court."

[mystery-ak]

Although Rudy speaks the truth and they all know it...no one publicly stands with him.

[alicewonders]

"ISIL is a direct result of bad policy choices, not leaving troops behind in Iraq," said Graham. "Not dealing with Syria three years ago. At the end of the day, I want the Republican Party to talk openly about the hard things, like having boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq, American boots on the ground as part of an international force to degrade and destroy."

Graham's words right there tell me he would be a disaster as president - would be another John McCain.  Like McCain and Obama, he is obsessed with taking Assad out of Syria.   And there are those words, "degrade and destroy" - straight from Obama's mouth!   

[DCPatriot]

"ISIL is a direct result of bad policy choices, not leaving troops behind in Iraq," said Graham. "Not dealing with Syria three years ago. At the end of the day, I want the Republican Party to talk openly about the hard things, like having boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq, American boots on the ground as part of an international force to degrade and destroy."

Graham's words right there tell me he would be a disaster as president - would be another John McCain.  Like McCain and Obama, he is obsessed with taking Assad out of Syria.   And there are those words, "degrade and destroy" - straight from Obama's mouth!   

Perhaps, not.

What he's merely saying is that GWB had it correct. 

Keep a residual force there and calm the growth of their new government systems and military.  Teach Iraqis that it's not the end of the world to have a Sunni in charge if you're a Shiite or Baathist.  That elections work.  Hatred will eventually evaporate.

Instead, President Obama deliberately destroyed and wiped out all the gains we made for the Iraqi people by purposefully creating a vacuum.

And here we are today.......

[Fishrrman]

[[ Pataki, Ridge, Issa: Giuliani's Statement on Obama Wrong, but Focus on Why He Said It ]]

He said it because he has cojones.

Which is exactly what you three little amigos DON'T have...

[Bigun]

Although Rudy speaks the truth and they all know it...no one publicly stands with him.

Because they are scared spitless by the MSM!