Doug Ross @ Journal

My Speech at the RNC

Here is the full text of my speech at the RNC.

To: National Desk Contact: Darlene Iverson of the Republican National Committee Communications Office, 202-555-5024; NEW YORK, Aug. 31 /US World Presswire Exclusive/ -- Below is transcript of Doug Ross' speech at the Republican National Convention Transcript follows: News flash for John Kerry: We are at war. Our enemies do not simply want to defeat us. Nor are they hoping that we retreat. They want to kill us - and they want to kill the American way of life. They want to destroy freedom, both here and abroad. They want enslavement - of women, ideals and hope. They have admitted it is their religious duty to destroy freedom using chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. A senior Al Qaeda representative said it plainly when he proclaimed a goal of killing four million Americans. Yes, their goal is to murder at least four million Americans. But John Kerry has a short memory. He seems to have forgotten the horror of 9/11. He seems to have forgotten the threat that global terrorism represents. Most importantly, he has forgotten that we are at war. Unfortunately, this is a characteristic that we have seen all too often, both in his voting record and his public statements during his entire tour of duty on Capitol Hill. John Kerry spent less than a minute during his hour long speech at the Democratic Convention talking about his 19-year Senate record. There's good reason, if one takes the time to investigate the record of the country's most liberal Senator: Kerry viciously fought Ronald Reagan's attempts to end the Cold War and to save much of humanity from oppressive, communist regimes. History shows that the former President was right and Kerry was wrong. Kerry viciously fought against support for the anti-Communist Contras in Nicaragua. History shows that Kerry was wrong. He voted against funding countless weapons systems, including the B-1, B-2, F-14, F-15, F-16, Tomahawk Missile, Patriot Anti-Missile System, The Aegis Cruiser, among others. He continually tried to gut our intelligence capabilities by cutting funding to frontline agencies. Time and time again, John Kerry was on the wrong side of history. On Iraq, he has changed his position continually, depending upon shifting political winds and opportunism. He has changed positions regarding the Patriot Act. He has publicly expressed support both for and against the Israeli Security Barrier. I think John Kerry is a likable person, but one reason I could never cast a vote for him is that he tries too hard to be likable. He tries to be all things to all people, by modifying his position, by shape-shifting on an almost daily basis. I think the terrorists would prefer John Kerry as President. The terrorists would like his record of equivocation. The terrorists would sense weakness, not strength. Unfortunately for John Kerry, history has shown that extremists, dictators and tyrants never bow to appeasement and negotiation. They bow to force. That much we know. Contrast Kerry's shape-shifting behavior with that of President Bush. After the attacks on 9/11, he stated in crystal clear terms a plan of action. He followed through with persistency and consistency. Today, the Taliban is gone. Saddam Hussein is facing trial. And millions of oppressed people are free. President Bush followed through. Despite ever-changing sentiments and public opinion that waxes and wanes, President Bush followed through. From a strategic standpoint, we now have a Middle East where Democracy is positioned to spread its wings. Freedom -- just as it did with the Communist Empire -- will defeat tyranny every time. President Bush followed through. President Bush has principles, a core, a solid set of beliefs and he sticks with those beliefs even though the political climate may be unfavorable. Conversely, John Kerry frequently deflects attention from the war on terror and talks about the economy, but I have another news flash for him: there was a massive attack on 9/11 that could have decimated the economy. President Bush and his administration acted quickly and decisively to prevent a major recession. In the last year, over 1,000,000 jobs have been created. The economy continues to grow and to provide more and better opportunities for Americans who are willing to pursue their dreams. President Bush not only led the global war on terror, but he also helped rescue the global economy. President Bush has proven, time and again, that he is the right man for the job. The choice is simple: do we elect a leader... or someone who can't make up his mind? A man with convictions, or a weather-vane moving with the shifting winds of poll numbers and political expediency? In this, the age of nuclear terrorism, America can ill afford to choose unwisely. It is my firm belief that America needs a leader - and George W. Bush has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is that man. We need... four more years for our President. Live from New York: It's Four More Years! /// Transcript Ends

Of course, I really didn't speak at the RNC, but this was the speech I would have used had I been invited.

What would the French do?

The French are in trouble, according to Iraq's Iyad Allawi. Instapundit also points out the folly of the French response to the hostage-taking, "which appears to consist of wandering around the Middle East looking for someone to surrender to".

The hostage ordeal has hit France hard. It is a gloomy rebuttal of the theory held by some-though not by most French government officials or those knowledgeable about Islam-that France's anti-war, pro-Arab policies had inoculated the country against such aggressions. Meanwhile, Iyad Allawi is giving the French some advice, which Greg Djerejian has translated. Excerpt: The French, like all democratic countries, can't content themselves with adopting a passive position. The Americans, British and other nations that are fighting in Iraq are not only fighting to protect Iraqis, they are fighting to protect their own countries. The governments that decided to stay on the defensive will be the next targets of the terrorists. Terrorist attacks will occur in Paris, in Nice, in Cannes or in San Francisco. The time has come to act against terrorism, in the same fashion...that Europe fought Hitler. Every day, tens of people are killed in Iraq. They are not dying because we are going through a major national crisis, but because we have decided to combat evil. That's why the entire international community must assist us, as rapidly as possible, to improve the security of our country. ...the U.S. decided to disembark in Normandy, to eliminate Hitler. They suffered heavy losses to accomplish this objective. The same thing is happening today. People must assume their responsibilities. The decision to assist Iraq is courageous. Let me tell you that the French, despite all the noise they make--'We don't want war!'--will shortly have to fight the terrorists.

Instapundit: Allawi's advice

The Swiftvets' Open Letter to John Kerry

The Swiftvets keep on hammering away. They have delivered the following open letter to the Kerry campaign.

Senator Kerry: Tell the Truth and We'll Stop the Ads Dear Senator Kerry: As you prepare for your address before the American Legion in Nashville, Tennessee, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth encourages you to use this opportunity to clarify your actions in Vietnam and your statements about your fellow Veterans and shipmates when you returned home. Since you have made your four-month tour in Vietnam the centerpiece of your campaign, we respectfully insist that you be truthful. The public is owed a full and honest accounting of your actions. Veterans are owed an apology from you and an acknowledgement that there was no basis in fact for the accusations you made against them. We urge you to: 1. Apologize for your conduct once you returned from Vietnam. Your exaggerated testimony before the US Senate; the blanket indictment of your fellow veterans; throwing away medals and ribbons; all of these actions dishonored America and the armed forces. Your rhetoric and actions were not only wrong, they aided the enemy and brought great pain to POW's, veterans and their families. 2. Clarify the conflicting accounts involving the Bay Hap River incident of March 13, 1969 (Bronze Star and 3rd Purple Heart). You have now described three different versions of this incident...

Senator Kerry: Tell the Truth and We'll Stop the Ads

Kerry Interview in GQ

The Kerry interview appeared in GQ and Hugh Hewitt weighed in with some interesting analysis.

The Kerry interview in GQ is on stands now and it is pretty bizarre, as well as venal. Kerry brands the Bush operations as "craven," "pathetic," and "stupid." These are terms for surrogates and the punditry, not the nominee. Unless the nominee is defeated and embittered. Which Kerry is increasingly behaving as. So now he's about to jet off to the American Legion to try and appear to be other than avoiding interviews, but he continues to avoid interviews. If the nominee isn't tough enough to talk to Tim Russert or Chris Wallace, is he tough enough to deal with the terrorists? ... Kerry isn't displaying much in his refusal to meet the charges of his old comrades-in-arms head-on, with cameras-rolling and the questions unrestrained by preconditions... Kerry's off in a strange world of his own making. In the real world, at least a dozen innocents were blown up in Israel this morning --a country that Kerry didn't mention in his acceptance speech. In the real world, Iran should not be shipped nuclear fuel, which John Edwards proposed doing yesterday, and which left Roger Simon speechless when I told him about it yesterday. There's a serious party with a serious nominee, and there's a silly party led by a narcissist and inspired by a repugnant propagandist [ed: Michael Moore]. The contrast will continue to emerge with devastating political impact tonight.

Hewitt on Kerry's Interview in GQ

John Kerry's Iraq - A documentary

If you have a spare ten minutes, check this out. Warning: it's very, very scary.

"Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, in Boston to stump for President Bush, saw the 11-minute video yesterday and called it ‘scary’ and ‘extremely difficult to watch.’ ‘This is a time when you don’t need someone to sit in the White House and not be sure of [his] commitment,’ Kerik said."

Watch the video