CNN’s Cafferty Accuses Bush of 'Crimes'; Attacks Dems For Going Easy on President

Proving that he can be just as hard on Democrats as Republicans, CNN’s Jack Cafferty savaged the Democratic Party--for going easy on George Bush. Appearing on Thursday’s edition of "The Situation Room," the veteran journalist slammed Dems in Congress for stating that they won’t impeach the President, for refusing to cut funding for Iraq, and generally not standing up to Bush. According to Cafferty, this makes them "no better than the people committing these crimes."

The CNN host began by lamenting the agenda of the incoming Democrats:

Jack Cafferty: "But the Democrats are focused on raising the minimum wage. That’s fine, I guess. They’ve already said they won’t impeach President Bush. They’ve already said they won’t cut funding for the war. And several Democrats are hedging on the issue of independent ethics oversight of Congress. Gee, we don’t need that, do you?...If the Democratic Party refuses to confront this administration in a meaningful way on the issues that are threatening the very survival of our nation, then they’re no better than the people committing these crimes."

Cafferty’s complete commentary, which aired at 4:13pm on January 4, follows:

Jack Cafferty: "Well, another day, another outrage. President Bush is now claiming that he can open our mail without a warrant. We’ll have more on that in the next hour. Next week, he’s expected to announce an escalation of the war in Iraq. Tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops being sent into harms way. The administration says it needs another $170 billion this fiscal year to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the Democrats are focused on raising the minimum wage. That’s fine, I guess. They’ve already said they won’t impeach President Bush. They’ve already said they won’t cut funding for the war. And several Democrats are hedging on the issue of independent ethics oversight of Congress. Gee, we don’t need that, do you? Senator Barack Obama suggests, in an op-ed piece in the ‘Washington Post’ today, and he’s absolutely right, that if you don’t have someone to enforce ethics reform, enforce it, nothing is going to change. The voters want something meaningful done. It’s one thing to talk the talk leading up to the elections, but now that they’ve won, it’s time for the Democrats to walk the walk. And there’s some early signs they might be coming down with leg cramps. This country’s being ripped apart by an ill advised war that’s failing and an executive branch that’s run amuck. If the Democratic Party refuses to confront this administration in a meaningful way on the issues that are threatening the very survival of our nation, then they’re no better than the people committing these crimes. So here’s the question: ‘How much faith do you have that the Democrats can stop the war and rein in President Bush?’ E-mail your thoughts to Caffertyfile@cnn.com or go to Cnn.com/Caffertyfile. Wolf?"