SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

While I am not on her holiday card list, best wishes to Stephanie Herseth on her 35^th birthday.

On certain issues Representative Herseth and I disagree. She is less reliable to the conservative viewpoint than Representative Bill Janklow was or her other election opponent, Larry Diedrich would have been. I think she leaves herself some wiggle room but I generally agree with her comments as reported today in the Press & Dakotan concerning the conduct of the War in Iraq. Specifically she said,

"My position is, no, we should not be withdrawing immediately from Iraq, nor should we be setting a specific timetable for doing so," she said. "To start immediately withdrawing when they've got Dec. 15 elections that are on the parallel track of political development, military and security development, and economic development ... it would be a mistake. I respectfully disagree with some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but most notably, of late, with Congressman Murtha."

SD Straighttalk fully supports the War In Iraq and agree with our President that the war is about our national security and we must not settle for less than victory. As I have stated before, Congress does have an oversight role in the war’s conduct but they are wrong to abandon the engagement because the war has become unpopular. Most opposition has been all about public opinion and the next election.

It seems the leaders in the Democrat Party in the House of Representatives do not agree either. Minority Leader Pelosi's position is despicable. She embraces a rapid withdrawal of U S troops from Iraq with no concern for our security or our troops. Of course when the U S is attacked again on our soil and 3000 innocent non-combatants die she will be hugging the President. Contrast her remarks to Minority Whip, Steny Hoyer who said yesterday,

“I believe that a precipitous withdrawal of American forces in Iraq could lead to disaster spawning a civil war, fostering a haven for terrorists and damaging our nation’s security and credibility.”

A proverb says that at age 20 you think with your heart and at age 30 with your head.

Our Representative is growing up. She’ll be interesting to watch and see if she continues getting wisdom with age.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!