Saddam Verdict on Nov. 5th. How should Dem's respond?

[Dawgs]

First of all, are any of you concerned about this "November Surprise"? If yes, then how should the Democrats respond?

I have to admit that I am more than a little nervous about it. I truly don't feel that it will matter much (too late), but after seeing how people reacted to Kerry's "botched joke" I can't say that I'm not concerned.

So my question is, should the Democrats ignore it or should they respond to it?

What would you do?

You can be sure the Republicans are preparing their talking points. Here's a link if you want to see the start of it.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/02/snow-saddam-verdict/

I can hear the questions and comments now-

For Democratic candidates
"Do you feel Iraq is better with Saddam or without?"
"If you had a vote, would you given George Bush the authorization to get rid of Saddam?"

from Republican talking heads
"If George Bush wouldn't have gone to war with Iraq we would have never gotten rid of Saddam"
"John Kerry and the Democrats would have left Iraq early, making it difficult to ever get Saddam prosecuted"

Am I overreacting or will this hurt us?

[Hepburn]

1. Frankly....

....I don't think anyone much gives a damn about Saddam anymore. Before I can figure how to respond to anything, I need to know the verdict and see the first spins on it from the Repukes.

[ThomWV]

2. Iraq Was Clearly Better Off With Sadam than Without Him

[WilliamPitt]

14. *wince*

Um...no. Bad idea, bad politics, bad strategy.

[tanyev]

3. Gosh, I wonder what the verdict will be?

:eyes:

[Hepburn]

4. Well...

...that part of this supposed November surprise sure as hell will be no surprise.

[Richardo]

5. What's the 'surprise' part?

...the verdict is a foregone conclusion, and has been since they pulled Saddam out of the hole 3 years ago.

I see no effect.

[LiberalEsto]

6. Blast the timing as a political stunt

and blast it loudly and repeatedly.

As in:

This has been timed simply to give American voters the false illusion of progress in Iraq. Sentencing Hussein two days before the election does nothing to change the fact that US involvement in Iraq has led to chaos and civil war.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. With a great big

YAWN.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Aw, ya beat me to the YAWN comment.

:-)

[Liberal In Texas]

8. If it happens then it won't be much of a surprise.

99% of the country pretty much thinks they're going to hang him (or whatever), it's just a question of when. The RW noise machine will probably try to make political hay out of it, but I think the reaction by the public will be a big <yawn>.

[magnolia]

9. Anyone with half a brain....

....would question why this news is released on a Sunday, two days before the election.

1) This information is too important to be used as a campaign stunt in an election that has already gone over the top.

2) You would have to wonder how much power the republicans have if they can determine when this news is released.

We all know what the verdict will be...that's no surprise. So the news commentators would be left with discussing the timing of it's release. Only the right-wing base would be cheering Rove's last ditch stunt.

[BootinUp]

11. State the obvious:

Good for Iraq that he has been brought to justice.

Bad that the President didn't have the right plan for the war and post war recovery.

[rocktivity]

12. We should be raising a stink about the timing

after all, they raised a stink about the timing of the Foley scandal!

:headbang:
rocknation

[magnolia]

17. We should let the news media raise a stink.

It would make Laura quite the hypocrit for accusing Michael J. Fox of manipulating emotions. Rove is the expert at that and Laura just another pawn.

[WilliamPitt]

13. Honestly?

They should say, "Good, he was a thug and a criminal and a murderer. Now let's elect Democrats so we can fix the mess in Iraq."

No reason to play the other side's game on this one.

[PATRICK]

15. I think other things were

supposed to happen. The shopping cart is empty of successful "terrorist" baggings(Pakistan school bombing, pulling back from field operations on orders of Al Sadr. The economy is an empty show because of the blatant manipulation of oil prices and I have NEVER seen the business and stock market community play such a brazen hand in pimping for their tax cut, lawlessness pals. You could convince people things are great if you actually gave THEM some benefit in wages and jobs besides retreating a few dimes on the gas gouging. All they see is things falling apart on the ground.

Since it is not very impressive in part or in the whole, expect the last media distractions to be shrill, outrageous.

But the Saddam verdict is well telegraphed punch the public is pretty bored with. I suppose nervous Dem high ups from the losing days are willing to absorb but the possibilities of pre-empting or co-opting the nonsense invite a more aggressive approach.

Saddam is gone. WHO is running Iraq now? WHO is making the region safer for our national security or anyone else's? After Saddam, after Castro, etc. Is there any PLAN other than spoiling the ability of the people to democratically determine the aftermath? Our military was handcuffed, the Bush contractors given
the Gold Rush go ahead and the balkanized vulnerable, "liberated" country practically pushed defenseless into the vacuum.

To the extent that Bush or future like-minded imperialist needs another Saddam, a person installed and supported by American executives including Rumsfeld and Bush I. The other alternative will be to grant large swaths to Shiites and region destabilizing Kurdistan, leaving the Sunnis more than ever and prone to turn to things like Al Qaeda.

And while we are getting the "Bad guys" where are the ones we have given up on and who the strongmen who are out "allies"? Nothing has been gained that has not been left to fail. Certainly no change for the better in bringing down Saddam because all the old games continue in the enhanced game of Blood and Oil. Especially including terrorism whose soil we have have ploughed.

[Virginia Dare]

16. They keep saying America is safer without Saddam...

but they never back it up with any facts. Exactly how are we safer today than we were when Saddam was in power? Exactly how is Iraq better off as a whole?

[solara]

18. What surprise?

Don't most people think the verdict is a foregone conclusion? I think most everyone already believes the verdict will be 'guilty'.

What if the verdict is something else? That would surely be a surprise. Saddam knows where lots of bodies are buried literally and figuratively, especially considering his past relationship with the U.S. The way things have been going lately, I don't rule out any possibility. Maybe I am wearing a tin foil hat, but, as Joe Wilson recently said " ...at this point, under this administration "there are no tinfoil hats anymore." :shrug:

( source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/3/01750/2057)

[soothsayer]

19. "Let's try all the war criminals! First Saddam, next Bush, Cheney,

Rumsfeld, and the others"

[Proud Liberal Dem]

20. Sticky

We don't want to be seen (politically) as not acknowledging that Saddam's all-but-assured conviction is a good thing for the Iraqis but we don't want to run the risk of allowing it to somehow legitimize our invasion/occupation of Iraq either even if it did result in his removal from power. However, since a majority of Democrats voted for the war in Iraq (the IWR anyway), it seems fair that most Democrats, at least those whom initially supported the invasion/occupation, should be able to acknowledge it as a positive outcome for the Iraqis (even though I believe that it was largely a US-run "show trial" in most respects) while still pointing out that the whole endeavor was (and continues to be) horribly bungled and mismanaged by Bush and that the GOP-led Congress has not provided any substantive oversight of the occupation in terms of ensuring that reconstruction funds are being properly managed and accounted for and that we are making adequate progress in Iraq in terms of security and progress towards eventual military withdrawal. :shrug:

[WI_DEM]

21. I don't think many people care less--I'm sure everybody expects he

will be convicted. I doubt that the Dems would be stupid enough to go on television and cry tears for him.