NY1: PoliticsDemocrats Call On Karl Rove To Resign For Bashing Liberal Response To 9/11
June 23, 2005
The president’s top advisor is facing calls that he resign over comments he made in New York City Wednesday in which he claims liberals did not understand the consequences of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In remarks at a Conservative Party fundraiser in Midtown last night, White House Senior Advisor Karl Rove said liberals responded weakly to the 9/11 attacks, and later put American troops abroad in danger by criticizing their actions.
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding to our attackers," said Rove.
Democrats were outraged by the comments. Calling the statements “insulting,” Senator Hillary Clinton on Thursday demanded an apology from Rove and called on Republicans to repudiate his comments.
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NY1’s Rita Nissan filed this report.
The president's top advisor has never been one to mince words, but Democrats say Karl Rove crossed a line at the New York State Conservative Party fundraiser Wednesday night.
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding to our attackers," said Rove.
Democrats call those words partisan and hurtful, especially because they say they were behind the president after 9/11.
“It’s appalling. It's saddening,” said Senator Charles Schumer. “It was clearly opportunistic what he said, but it goes way beyond that.”
Democrats say Rove must apologize or resign.
Senator Hillary Clinton brought Governor George Pataki into the debate. The two rarely criticize one another, but Clinton wants Pataki to speak up because he and Rove stood shoulder to shoulder after he made the comments.
“I would also call on Governor Pataki to repudiate these comments. He was at that dinner last night,” Clinton said Thursday.
But the Republican Pataki says Clinton is a hypocrite. He says she never condemned Democratic Senator Dick Durbin for likening the Guantanamo Bay prison to Nazi concentration camps, and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean for saying many Republicans never earned an honest living.
“Senator Clinton might think about her propensity to allow outrageous statements from the other side that are far beyond political dialogue,” said the governor.
While Pataki defended Rove, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement: "We owe it to those we lost to keep partisan politics out of the discussion and keep alive the united spirit that came out of 9/11."
At the White House, reporters bombarded press secretary Scott McClellan with questions.
“Karl was simply pointing out the different philosophies and different approaches when it comes to winning the war on terrorism,” said McClellan.
McClellan says Rove will not back down.
Michael Long says there's no reason to. He's the chairman of the Conservative Party, and invited Rove.
“I think it was on target, fair and appropriate,” said Long.
The crowd, which stood in applause, agreed. But Democrats will do all they can to prove Rove went too far.
- Rita Nissan
