Republicans Who Were Against the War Before They Were For the War

Digby links to Kos who finds several quotes from Tom DeLay opposing the Commander in Chief as well as quotes from Trent Lott, Rick Santorum, Joe Scarborough, and Sean Hannity who collectively said there was not a defined mission for going to war, that we would lose many American lives, and that we’d be there for a generation. Kos even quotes Karen Hughes and George W. Bush opposing going to war:

“If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy.” – Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush.

“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.” – Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

Of course, these Republican leaders were opposing the Kosovo War – where the mission was to stop ongoing genocide, we did win in a few years, and no American lives were lost. Digby quotes Senator McCain:

We didn’t have to get into Kosovo. Once we stumbled into it, we had to win it. This administration has conducted a feckless photo-op foreign policy for which we will pay a very heavy price in American blood and treasure.

Look – the point cannot be that all Republicans have poor judgment and are complete hypocrites as I know a lot of Republicans with both good judgment and integrity. The point, however, seems to be the unfortunate habit of the Republican Party of letting their worst rise to the top.