I'm looking for documented [1] quotes from a senior U.S.
administration official [2] stating that protest or dissent against
the war [3] is "unamerican" or "unpatriotic" [4].
For the purpose of defining the requirements of this question:
[1] "documented" means: official transcripts of national broadcasts,
reports national newspapers or news services (LA Times, NYT, Reuters,
AP, etc), reports in a national magazine (Time, Newsweek, etc.)
[2] "senior administration official" means any of the following: Karl
Rove, President Bush, VP Cheney, Rumsfield, John Aschroft, Paul
Wolfowitz, Condie Rice, or Tom Ridge. Will possibly consider RNC
Chairman Ed Gillespie and Bush campaign chief Marc Racicot as well,
although the very strong preference is for a ranking administration
official.
[3] the very strong preference is that the quote(s) refer to protests
or dissent in general terms.
[4] "unpatriotic" and "unamerican (also un-american)" are key terms. I
will consider quotes that make it clear that strongly insinuate
"unpatriotic" and "unamerican" as well. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
27 Aug 2004 19:39 PDT
This may be as close as it comes:
"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty,
my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode
our national unity and diminish our resolve."
John Ashcroft, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee
His remarks brought about quite a backlash, as I recall.
Is this the sort of thing you're looking for, even in the absence of
the specific terms you asked about? Also, this was not a remark
specifically about anti-war protests, so much as one aimed at anybody
questioning the administration's actions in the aftermath of 9/11.
pafalafa-ga
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Clarification of Question by
constitutional_right-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 01:42 PDT
Well, it's certainly in the right direction, but I'm looking for
something stronger in tone and specifically refer to protestors or
dissent in general. Thanks for asking!
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 04:31 PDT
I'm certain that if Administration officials had used ugly words like
"unpatriotic" or "un-American", that these would have been widely
reported in the press. Instead, the quotes that tend to pop up over
and over are the Ashcroft quote already cited, along with these:
--Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, suggested those who cast
presidential ballots for John Kerry are traitors. "If George Bush
loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins,"...
--Georgia Democratic Sen. Zell Miller [who's *practically* a member of
the current Administration] blasted Americans who were rightly ashamed
of the abuses at Abu Graib prison. He announced that he would refuse
to join a "national act of contrition" that was giving "aid and
comfort to the enemy."
--Ari Fleischer warned: "Americans need to watch what they say, watch
what they do."
--Bill Bennett, head of the right-wing Empower America organization,
warned that "Professional and amateur critics of America are finding
their voices. They're finding their voice on campuses, in salons, in
learned societies and in the print media and on television."
But these folks are all a bit too sophisticated to just go out and do
a Joe McCarthy. I don't think you will find the particular words
you're looking for in any quotes from senior officials.
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Clarification of Question by
constitutional_right-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 18:09 PDT
Hm... Well, I as much as I trust your judgement, I think i'll leave
the question open for a few days and see if anyone else can dig
something up. Is there some way to send you an email outside of GA?
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 18:15 PDT
I think it's a good idea to leave the question open a bit...I'm often
surprised (occasionally embarassed!) at some of the things other
researchers can find that I overlooked.
As for emailing me...'fraid not. Google Answer rules insist that all
contact should be right here in this open forum. But if there's
anything you would like to bring to my attention, feel free to post
another comment here, or to post a separate question to my attention.
Either way, I'll see it...
Good luck with this one.
paf
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