McCain and Bergdahl Release- Daily Kos

Wed Jun 04, 2014 at 08:15 AM PDT

McCain, other Republicans called for Obama to get Bergdahl's release, then condemned it

by Laura ClawsonFollow

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attribution: REUTERS

 

Republicans are executing some Looney Tunes-style moves as they scramble to condemn the deal releasing Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, after having earlier called on the Obama administration to work hard to secure his release:

In the clearest contradiction, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in February that he “would be inclined to support” “an exchange of prisoners for our American fighting man,” like the one Taliban officials had offered in 2012. He has since labeled Obama’s deal “ill-founded” and a “mistake.” [...] Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) — the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee — has also said that the U.S. “must make every effort to bring this captured soldier home to his family.” But appearing on Fox News just days after Bergdahl’s release, Inhofe criticized the administration for agreeing to free “people who have killed Americans, people who are the brain power of Taliban.”

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte ran the same play, focusing repeatedly on the need for Bergdahl's release. Basically, for these charmers, it was "Bring him home, bring him home, why aren't you doing whatever is needed to bring him home? Sure, swap some prisoners, just bring him home" only to be followed by "why did you do that?" once Bergdahl was released. And if President Obama hadn't gone through with the deal and news of that had gone through, McCain would likely have gone charging onto the Sunday morning talk shows to denounce the president for leaving an American soldier in captivity. It's all about opposing Obama with these guys, always. 

Several Republicans also celebrated Bergdahl's release on Twitter, only to delete those tweets as the issue became politicized. Those stalwarts include Reps. Lee Terry and Mark Amodei and Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst. For Democrats, meanwhile, the bottom line continues to be this:

We rescue our soldiers first and ask questions later. If action by justice system is needed, I prefer American justice over Taliban justice.
— @SenatorReid

Originally posted to Laura Clawson on Wed Jun 04, 2014 at 08:15 AM PDT.

Also republished by Daily Kos.