Hardly breaking news, but former Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared on Face The Nation to let the world know that yes, he is still a Republican in spite of what Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney say. Read more about it below, see photos and a video.
Colin Powell
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is warning that conservatives like former Vice President Dick Cheney and radio talker Rush Limbaugh have gained a stronghold over the Republican party and because of that, the GOP with such a conservative base, runs the risk of shrinking in appeal. Yawn.
Secretary Powell’s warnings were said in context of his answering personal charges in recent weeks from Rush and Dick Cheney, that Powell should just declare himself a Democrat because he is no longer a Republican.
“Rush will not get his wish, and Mr. Cheney was misinformed,” said Colin Powell, who was a military adviser to President Ronald Reagan, Cabinet member for President George W. Bush and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush’s father. “I am still a Republican.”
It may be quite true that Secretary Powell has served well in three Republican administrations but there is no doubt that his politics have definitely moved to the left in that time. Case in point, his speech at the Republican Convention in 1996 when he said this about taxation:
“We are the party committed to lessening the burden of taxes, cutting government regulations and reducing government spending, all for the purpose of generating the higher economic growth that will bring better jobs, wages and living standards to all our people.”
“All of us must be willing to do with less from government if we are to avoid condemning our children and grandchildren with a crushing burden of debt that will deny them the American dream.”
Yet it was just a few months ago that he said this:
“The Republican Party is in deep trouble. Americans do want to pay taxes for services,” he said. “Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less.”
And then there was that little “endorsement” thing…
It was back in late October of 2008 when Colin Powell publically endorsed Barack Obama for President, even stumping for him through the remaining 3 weeks of the campaign. It was juicy news to be sure.
“I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I will be voting for Senator Barack Obama.”
I remember that day well. There had been a lot of buzz that this was going to happen and I so didn’t want it to. I had long admired Colin Powell since I was a young girl following the Gulf War in school. I was thrilled when W chose him as Secretary of State.
I knew what it might mean to moderates in either party who admire Colin Powell. It would most certainly syphon off critical independent voters from John McCain. But it did happen and the Obamamedia ran with it. Secretary Powell in his news conference extolled The One’s “steadiness, intellectual curiosity, and depth of knowledge” even praising Obama’s choice of Senator Joe “Gaffetastic” Biden as his vice presidential running mate! In his steady and confident way, Powell questioned John McCain’s choice of running mate, Sarah Palin, saying:
“I don’t believe she’s ready to be President of the United States, which is the job of the Vice President.”
The passing of time is an interesting palate cleanser is it not? In hindsight, his comments are incredibly laughable, disingenuous and naive for such an accomplished, well-respected man. I guess he drank some of the glow-y juice because I just can’t explain it any other way.
So now we can all sleep at night knowing that Colin Powell is really a Republican even though he supported far left socialist candidate Barack Obama in the last election. And since the Republican Party should be a big tent according to Powell, maybe he hopes to head up the far-left, socialist, high government taxation, cut-and-run wing of the GOP.
Colin Powell Photos
Colin Powell Video
May 24th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Wow, you have a fairly prominent link to this blog post on Google News. Must be providing you with a great deal of traffic right now. Folks that are seeing your blog for the first time, like me.
Shame that you’re a moron. Wait, is there more than one blogger here? Okay, shame that Cathryn is a moron.
Are there any brains at all in the right-wing blogosphere? Or, frankly, right-wing anything these days? There are no admirable conservative intellectuals anymore. Just a big gang of idiots writing for the Weekly Standard and appearing on Fox News.
Damn knuckleheads. Listen to Colin Powell and Tom Ridge. They’re adults and they’re trying to save the Republican Party.
Freaking idiots.
May 24th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Ooooh another right wing blogger out of touch with reality and who doesnt know what ’socialist’ actually means!
You guys are a dime a dozen.
May 24th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Two scotts had the exact same comment at the exact same time.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
When electing the next president, it’s qualification that matters, not party affiliations. Between the two, Obama is clearly the better candidate. Powell made the right choice, and so did most of the American voters. Republicans really need to differentiate what is right and what is wrong, and make better choices in the future.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Colin Powell is just another idiot who believes Obama could walk on water.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Sorry, my name is not Scott.
All I have to say about the future of the Repugnican Party is…
You betcha.
And also
May 24th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I don’t know if you are a brainwasher or just one of the brainwashed. Some people just swallow this drivel, but when you are actually far, far right, everything begins looking like extreme left wing to you. That’s been the main downfall of the current Republican party. They call the center (as in “mainstream liberal media”) the left. They call the moderate left “far left”. By the way, “mainstream” is where the Republicans are not.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Just to be clear, I am a big fan of Colin Powell, and he is a great man. I am a big fan of John McCain as well.
You are really pushing it to much with “…even though he supported far left socialist candidate Barack Obama”. Far left socialist? What do you think about Canada then? Is it a stalinistic communist dictatorship?
May 24th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
It was easy to tell, Ms. Friar, that you are just like Dick Cheney: all about the Republican Party as long as it’s good for the Republican Party. At least Colin Powell cares about America.
Mr. Powell stated that America does need two parties to keep the debate going amongst us. This is so true. It’s just too bad for the Republicans that their leaders, Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh, are pushing the centrists to the left.
And Ms. Friar ~ if you don’t realize by now that Sarah Palin is in no way, shape, form or fashion capable of leading this country, then could you at least admit that she’s not doing a very good job as Governor of Alaska?
May 24th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Marginalized, oh so marginalized.
Is that coffie I smell.
Nope. It’s gunpowder fron Dick’s shotgun.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Was Colin Powell an idiot in leading Desert Storm? Was he an idiot as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? Was he an idiot when Bush chose him as Secretary of State?
Well, maybe so. He did look and then feel like an idiot when he swallowed the weapons of mass destruction line from Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld. Did you and Rush decided he was a Democrat at that point? Or was he really just great for all that time until the idiot voted for Obama?
May 24th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
definately
def-in-ate-ly?
Ever heard of the word “definitely”?
Def-in-ite-ly
Like with the word “finite”, there is no “finate”.
So, with such mind-bending genius, keep Republicans on the path to extinction; that is clearly the brilliant strategy.
Dickhead Cheney.
Rush Limpballs.
Karl Rove.
Three of the biggest all-time jackb*stards, disingenuous pieces of crap, and simply loathsome human beings to ever disgrace the realm of politics and America itself.
Just what the hell are you people thinking?
Lincoln, laid to rest in his grave, is pointing a gun at his own head and squeezing the trigger in light of what his party has become…
Roll over, Eisenhower.
What a patent shame, with the writing on the wall, before your very eyes.
Keep up the good work.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
You spelled “definitely” wrong.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
******************************************
THE QUESTION IS NOT
“ARE YOU A REPUBLICAN”
OR
“ARE YOU REGISTERED REPUBLICAN”
BUT
“ARE YOU BEHAVING LIKE A REPUBLICAN”
AND
“DO YOU STAND BY CORE REPUBLICAN VALUES”
CLEARLY, POWELL DOES NOT.
SO RUSH, CHENEY ARE CORRECT
AND POWELL, HE JUST PULLED A PELOSI
“I WAS NOT BRIEFED. I WAS TOLD”
**********************************************
May 24th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Wow, HuntingMoose is another right-winger that thinks by SCREAMING with ALL UPPER CASE, he will get his point across. As Homer Simpson once said, “Bart, you mother makes a very loud point.”
And I imagine that the moose reference means that you are still holding up Sarah Failin’s calendar with one hand.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Mr. Powell has always voted for the man, rather than the Party.
And it’s hard to envision him shouting.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Let me see: You think Powell is a lefty because he said, “Americans do want to pay taxes for services.”
Who do you think pays a US soldier’s salary? Where do you think we got the money to fund the trillions of dollars for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? How do you think your sewer system is paid for? Your road maintenance? Your garbage collection? Your rehab? Hint: Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney could care less about how these things work.
You really need an education in city planning and town government. No wonder your party is dying. You have no real reason to get up in the morning.
You’re supporting liars like that silly-a$$ed TX governor who said he didn’t need any stimulus money from Obama. Right. Not until he decided to use stimulus money to rebuild his governor’s mansion a week or so ago.
Wise up, for chrissakes. You’re just saying sh*t to keep the partisan foolishness alive. You are doing nothing to contribute to the resolution of America’s problems.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Please, keep posting this. Post it far and wide, and keep screaming that any intellectual Republican centrist is a traitor, a deserter, a fawning follower of the anti-Christ. Keep driving moderate conservatives and centrists away from the Republican party, so that only the Palin-pushing hillbillies are theoring their votes to the right, and neocon nationalist corps are the few elected to sit on the right side of the aisle. You’re saving the Democrats a heck of a lot of campaign money, ensuring the irrelevance of the Republicans in at least the next few major election cycles, and most importantly, ensuring that Obama will have a full eight years to try and bring us out of the enormous pit of debt and embarrassment that George and Dick dug for us.
All I can say is “Thank you!”
-Jon
May 24th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
This is on google news headlines?
Ah well, the plus side is this is probably the largest amount of intellegent people who have read this blog in its history.
Keep on crying Republicans. Your tears are like wine to me.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Definitely.
“Is there a full moon? I am definitely hearing baying!”
Definitely.
Thanks to all of you who pointed out my misspelling of ‘definitely’. I think I have a mental block about that word because I do it often.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
The anger. The sweet, sweet anger.
Your angst will sustain me over the next 4 years.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
it is easy to remember if you think of the word
definite as opposed to definate
and i though i had a knack for getting men upset, you are a champion kate
May 24th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Scary Bob – still got Sarah on your mind, huh?
May 24th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Kate, try disabling virus slurping IE and install Firefox. Their spellchecker saves me every day. Firefox is pro-choice, IE is not.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Im suprised half these comments havent been deleted yet, considering how quickly this idiot blogger seems to be prepared to be the thought police.