Clinton Says GOP Blindly Follows Bush By Dan Balz, Washington Post Staff Writer
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said, “We’re not blindly united like the other side is, where they are like the three monkeys — ‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil,’ ” she told reporters after a speech to the Democratic group NDN. “They’re not going to say anything negative about the president, the vice president, the secretary of defense or anybody else. I think that’s irresponsible. It’s negligent.” …
“When people say, ‘Gee, the Democrats seemed not to have a unified position,’ I can very straightforwardly say I’m proud of the debate that we’re having,” she said. “We are trying to fulfill our responsibilities, in contrast to our friends on the other side, who have abdicated theirs.” …
Clinton said her party’s stance of “honestly and openly struggling” with the issue of Iraq is in contrast to the GOP’s embrace of the White House’s conduct. “There is very little willingness to do what should be done in holding this administration accountable,” she said. …
The aggressive Republican rhetoric throughout the debate caused considerable consternation among Democratic politicians and strategists. … Republican National Committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt offered a harsher appraisal, saying that the Democratic divisions add up to “surrender to the terrorists.”
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