Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) hasn’t exactly impressed anyone as a mental giant, but he seems anxious to establish a reputation for true nuttiness.
During a luncheon speech to 100 constituents in Spartanburg, DeMint also took issue with the now widespread belief that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, saying the executed Iraqi dictator had “stockpiles of chemical weapons” that still exist.
DeMint devoted most of his comments to the current immigration debate in the Senate. But he spoke about the war when a woman in the audience stood and asked him how long U.S. troops will remain in Iraq.
“Al-Qaida knows that we’ve got a lot of wimps in Congress,” DeMint said. “I believe a lot of the casualties can be laid at the feet of all the talk in Congress about how we’ve got to get out, we’ve got to cut and run.”
Sweet Jeebus. I expect a certain degree of unhinged nonsense on right-wing blogs and talk radio, but this is a U.S. Senator, making comments in public. It’s almost as if DeMint had heard that Inhofe was named The Senate’s Craziest Member and said, “Wait! I’d like to be in the running, too!”
Just for entertainment value, let’s unfold his comments a bit.
First, DeMint believes Saddam Hussein had “stockpiles of chemical weapons” — and that these imaginary stockpiles still exist. This contradicts every intelligence report, every post-war analysis, and even the White House’s own rhetorical line. DeMint has rejected our reality and replaced it with his own. The WMD debate ended years ago, but this poor schmo hasn’t caught up.
And did I mention that DeMint is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he’d presumably learn a few things about Iraq?
Second, there’s the bizarre notion that there are “wimps in Congress,” who disapprove of the president’s tragic war policy, and that they are responsible for U.S. casualties in Iraq. I might be mistaken, but I think this is a first — Republican lawmakers routinely denounce the Dems’ withdrawal policies, some have gone so far as to suggest Bush’s rivals are bringing “comfort” to the enemy, but I think DeMint is the first GOP lawmaker to literally blame war critics for American deaths in Iraq.
I’m tempted to use language that’s probably not appropriate for a family blog, but instead, I’ll just quote a statement I received from VoteVets.org.
Jon Soltz, an Iraq veteran and cofounder and chair of the largest political group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, VoteVets.org, said, “As someone who has never worn the uniform, it may be tough for Jim DeMint to understand this, but we fight to protect America and our democratic system of government, which encourages debate and deliberation. If anything, it is reassuring to those of us who serve to know that America’s system is working. Because we have no voice when we’re in the field, we depend on our elected officials to ask the tough questions in Washington: Are we doing the best we can to protect our troops and keep our military strong? Are we employing a strategy that gives our troops a chance to succeed in their mission and come home as quickly and safely as possible? Have we deployed our military as a last resort and with just cause? Jim DeMint owes us an apology for saying we ought not advocate for troops in Washington.” […]
[Soltz added], “Wimps are people like Senator DeMint who don’t want to ask the tough questions or face facts, which is why he’s idiotically clinging to the idea that there were WMD in Iraq. Any stockpiles of weapons found in Iraq were useless – either inert or rusted and unusable because of their age. Senator DeMint is living in some sort of twisted fantasy land, where democracy, not failed policy, is responsible for too many American lives lost in Iraq, and where bad intelligence is miraculously valid. He should click his ruby slippers three times and join us back in the land of reality, or resign from the Senate.”
I’d only add that DeMint’s comment reeks of desperation. It suggests war supporters simply have nothing left, so they’ve decided to go out in blaze of unhinged shame.
It’s quite sad, really.