Richardson Slams Hillary On Her Flip Flop

[Carrieyazel]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/richardsonclinton/

[MGKrebs]

1. Bad link?

[calteacherguy]

3. Here's the link.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/richardsonclinton/

[calteacherguy]

5. You may now cross Richardson off Hillary's VP short list. nt

[Carrieyazel]

4. Its been fixed in the original post.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. You forgot "falsely" in your headline

Richardson misquoted her, then said her position is a flip-flop from something she never said.

Very nice.

I imagine it's easy to create flip-flops if you get to make up what someone's "previous" position was.

[0007]

6. Perhaps Richardson is just pissed that Henry Kissinger endorsed

John McCain and gave him a pass.

Then again Monica Lewinsky gave Richardson the pitch also, huh?

[Cha]

7. Yeah, there're always

ulterior motives when you're pointing out the facts. I don't want hillary in a position where she's playing politics with our Soldiers' lives(and the Iraqi's lives and now the Iranians) like she's has been doing for the last five years.

[0007]

11. Neighter do I .....

[K Gardner]

8. Just Google "Hillary and 2013".. plenty of quotes there to see where she stands/stood

.. if you can figure it out

CLINTON RECORD
Refuses to Pledge to Get Our Troops Out by 2013, the End Of Her First Term
RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, Democrats all across the country believed in 2006, when the Democrats were elected to the majority in the House and Senate, that that was a signal to end the war, and the war would end.

You have said that will not pledge to have all troops out by the end of your first term, 2013. Why not?

CLINTON: Well, Tim, it is my goal to have all troops out by the end of my first term. But I agree with Barack. It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting. You know, we do not know, walking into the White House in January 2009, what we're going to find. What is the state of planning for withdrawal?
-- From 9/26 DNC Debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Clinton: up to 60,000 Troops

Clinton has stated that, "she would keep a reduced military force there to fight Al Qaeda, deter Iranian aggression, protect the Kurds and possibly support the Iraqi military."
-- From: "If Elected... Clinton Says Some G.I.'s in Iraq Would Remain." By Michael R. Gordon and Patrick Healy. The New York Times. 15 March 2007.

The kind of residual force Clinton describes is similar to that elaborated upon in reports by the Center for American Progress, and the Center for a New American Security, both that describe a residual force of 60,000 or so troops.
-- "Strategic Redeployment 2.0: A Progressive Strategy for Iraq." The Center for American Progress. By Lawrence Korb and Brian Katulis. May 2006.
-- "Phased Transition: A Responsible Way Forward Out of Iraq." Center for a New Ameican Security. By James N. Miller and Shawn W. Brimley. June 2007.

Additionally, Senator Clinton voted on September 21st in support of the Levin Amendment 2898 that Senator Levin himself estimates, if enacted would only, "cut troop levels in Iraq by more than half."
-- From: "Senate Blocks Bill on Iraq Combat Tours." By Anne Flaherty. Associated Press. 19 September 2007.

[2rth2pwr]

9. In Sept he attcked Biden for flip flopping on Iraq

and Biden called him out on it.-

"No settlement or political agreement can be reached until we get all our troops out of Iraq, with no residual forces left behind. Senator Biden's plan to leave troops in Iraq means his plan has very little chance to succeed. … Hastily devised, foreign imposed partitions have had catastrophic results in the past."- B Richardson

Richardson's attack came just months after Richardson publicly praised the very same Biden plan during a Democratic debate and an interview.

So, Biden hit Richardson that same day with a charge of flip-flopping:

"Governor Richardson's remarks today on my Iraq plan were surprising. First, he was in favor of my plan, now he's attacking it. First, he said he would take all of our troops out in six months, and now he acknowledges it would take a year. First, he said he would leave residual forces in Iraq, and now he says he wouldn't. … I suggest that Governor Richardson go back and review his record and statements and reconsider today's remarks.” http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2007/oct/17/biden-richardson-used-to-like-my-plan/


Richardson has zero credibility calling out anyone for being inconsistent.

[gateley]

10. During one of the earlier debates, Richardson said he'd get all the toops out

in 6-8 months. When questioned, he said that he had been told by military advisors that this was doable.

Now he's committed to get them out by the end of 2009, so he's changed his mind about the 6-8 month timeline.

Although I understand the point he's trying to make, he's guilty of the same thing he's accusing Clinton of.