John Larson: “Someone who has sent that message consistently also hails from Washington State, the senior member of the delegation…”

“Someone who has sent that message consistently also hails from Washington State, the senior member of the delegation, Jim McDermott, a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee. (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Larson for yielding. I want to thank him for organizing this event this evening to give us a chance to spend a little extra time talking about what is going on. I think the American people, as they look at this situation, have every reason to be very confused about what is going on in Iraq; and I want to try to help them understand it. The first thing you have to understand is that everything that is happening on this floor and in the other body has to do with the 7th of November, the election. Don't ever lose sight that what is being done here is to influence the American people to keep the Republicans in power in the next election. Now, the confusion you feel is being created by the very people who want to retain power. If you ask yourself where are we today, well, on Saturday in the morning they announced in the London Times that Prime Minister Maliki wanted reconciliation. He wanted to have a reconciliation plan coming out, and he wanted to meet with the Sunnis and try to defuse the situation. You would think that would be in everybody's interest. Did you hear one word from the White House about the Iraqis standing up and trying to defuse the situation?…”