Democrat leader rages at Bush's 'patriot' claim
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tom Daschle, the most senior Democrat on Capitol Hill, launched an impassioned attack on President George Bush yesterday, accusing him of politicising the debate over Iraq and of making offensive comments about Democrats.
Mr Daschle, the US equivalent of Leader of the Opposition, demanded Mr Bush apologise after the President said Democrats were not "interested in the security of the American people".
"You tell those who fought in Vietnam and in World War Two they're not interested in the security of the American people," said Mr Daschle, his voice breaking with emotion. "That is outrageous."
Speaking from the Senate floor, he added: "We ought not to politicise this war. We ought not to politicise the rhetoric about life and death.
"It's not too late to forget the pollsters, forget the campaign and fund-raisers, forget making accusations about how interested in national security Democrats are, and let's get this job done right."
The mild-mannered Mr Daschle spoke out after Mr Bush said this week that "the Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people". The President's spokesman yesterday said Mr Bush stood by his comments.
Mr Daschle's comments follow criticism from the former vice-president Al Gore, who said Mr Bush had squandering sympathy towards the US and failed to recognise the diplomatic fall-out that would follow war on Iraq.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments