Top GOP Concern: American Safety or Scoring Political Points?

With the nearly instant attacks by the GOP against President Obama in the aftermath of the attempted terrorist airplane attack on Christmas, I think the Republicans have stooped to new lows. Rep. Hoekstra, after accusing liberals of having a "weak knee reaction on terrorism" actually raised money off of this recent national security threat (The DNC-rightfully so- blasted him for that.) "It was shameful that Republicans like Mr. Hoekstra would attempt to play politics with our national security at all, but raising money off it is beyond the pale," read a statement from the committee's Press Secretary Hari Sevugan. "Republicans are playing politics with issues of national security and terrorism, and that they would use this incident as an opportunity to fan partisan flames and raise money for political campaigns tells you all you need to know about how far the Republican party has fallen and how out of step with the American people they have become. The American people simply will not tolerate the likes of Mr. Hoekstra and the Republican Party playing politics with the serious issues of national security and terrorism - especially after the mess they left this country in both domestically and on national security after eight years of failed leadership." From TPM: Other GOP representatives and FOX News continue to take aggressive swings at the president for waiting too long to speak about this or not putting enough fear into the hearts and minds of Americans. Well, as reported by Huffington Post, apparently Bush waited 6 days to comment on the shoe bomber and the GOP stood silent without one complaint. How strange. Is it me or is the hyprocrisy really getting out of hand?  The bellowing by Republicans over the Obama administration's supposedly lackadaisical response to the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit seems as much about political posturing as legitimate national security concerns. How else to explain the GOP's relatively quiet reaction eight years ago to President George W. Bush's detached response after a similarly-botched terrorist attack? On December 22, 2001, Richard Reid -- known more infamously as the shoe bomber -- failed in his attempt to blow up a Miami-bound jet using explosives hidden in his shoe. Coming less than four months after September 11, there already were deep concerns about a potential attack during the upcoming holiday break. Nevertheless, President Bush did not directly address the foiled plot for six days, according to an extensive review of newspaper records from that time period. And when he did, it was only in passing. The day of the attempted attack, for example, the Associated Press reported that "White House officials" were monitoring the situation throughout the afternoon and that "President Bush received two briefings" on the matter while at Camp David for the holidays. Spokesman Scott McClellan, meanwhile, told reporters that administration officials were consulting with acting Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift -- the plane Reid boarded made an emergency landing at Boston's Logan International Airport. I can only hope the Democrats, led by President Obama, come out forcefully against this nonsense and call the Republicans out one by one, including how they are holding up an important TSA nomination and voted against funding for better airport security. They may need to grab the Republican playbook on this one because clearly the GOP is not acting out of any sense of patriotism right now. So I ask: what is the top GOP concern? Safety for the American people or scoring cheap political points? I think we all know the answer and it is truly shameful Source: Republicans For Obama email. Social Media Consulting, Web Presence, Call Center Technology Book A FREE 1/2 Hr. Phone Consultation