Old Fogey's Quotes for Monday/Tuesday

"In the interests of American national security, our troops and our taxpayers, the open-ended commitment in Iraq that you have embraced cannot and should not be sustained. . . . We need to take a new direction."
12 Democrats, including liberals and moderates, in a letter to Bush, asking for a start to removing troops this year
Democrats Unite to Call For Iraq Pullout

"Katherine, though it causes us much anguish, we have determined that your campaign faces irreparable damage."
Florida Republican Party, in letter to Senate candidate Katherine Harris
'Dear Katherine' Letter Failed to Dissuade Harris

"This attempt at political blackmail is not going to work."
Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) regarding the coupling of the minimum-wage hike and the estate tax cut
Drama in the Senate: Rich Plan, Poor Plan

"[There are] grave concerns about testimony provided by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Frank Record at a July 20, 2005, hearing on U.S. Nonproliferation Strategies -- testimony that is, on its face, highly misleading if not intentionally deceptive."
Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and William D. Delahunt (D-Mass.), top members of the House International Relations subcommittee on oversight and investigations., in letter that accused the Bush administration of misleading Congress by withholding key information about India when the House voted last week to support U.S. plans to sell nuclear technology to New Delhi
Drama in the Senate: Rich Plan, Poor Plan

"This is politics. It's no surprise when you're an incumbent, it helps to have more people on the ballot."
Republican incumbent Rick Santorum, regarding the GOP pouring thousands of dollars into the campaign of the Green Party candidate in PA to dilute the strength of his Democratic opponent
GOP Aids Green Candidate Carl Romanelli

“The events in the Middle East will have a negative impact on democracy in Iran.”
Ibrahim Yazdi, secretary general of Freedom Movement, an Iranian opposition political group
Conflict a Setback for Iran Reform Movement

“They just wrote down numbers on paper and claimed losses. It was just like fantasy baseball, except the taxes not paid were for real.”
Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich), regarding the findings of an investigation into tax fraud schemes
Tax Cheats Called Out of Control

“A conservative who stays simply at the level of fighting policy battles may win some significant victories, but he’s still playing the liberal game of tweaking big government.”
Charles R. Kesler, who runs the Publius fellowship program for Claremont
Passing Down the Legacy of Conservatism

''I am further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army, but we both have the same symptoms, I just have a higher fever.''
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, regarding his claim that more than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready due largely to vast equipment shortfalls
Gen.: Army Nat'l Guard Not Combat Ready