The Republican Party is using Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to attack House Democrats in the wake of her much-derided comment that “the system worked” in response to the near-bombing of Flight 253.
(Napolitano was speaking of the response to the attack after the fact, but her detractors are understandably more focused on the intelligence failures before the event.)
The NRCC has put out a new press release against swing-seat Democrats on the Homeland Security and Government Oversight committees, calling on them to demand that Napolitano testify to Congress: “Will (member name) finally demand answers from Secretary Napolitano, or will (he/she) continue to silently endorse her alarming statement that ‘the system worked’ in the face of building evidence that the administration is unable to confront serious threats against the American people?”
Interestingly, one of the Dems on the receiving end of this press release is Rep. Chris Carney (PA) — who was being courted by the GOP last week to switch parties, and even got a phone call from Sen. John McCain. Carney then put out a statement turning down the offer, but also thanking the GOP and declaring “their outreach a sure sign that I have worked in a truly bipartisan manner.” Now they’re attacking him in a press release. It looks like that courtship was over as quickly as it began.
The full press release is available after the jump.
Here is the version targeting Mary Jo Kilroy (OH). Other Democrats on the target list are: Chris Carney (PA), Steve Driehaus (OH), Bill Foster (IL), Jim Himes (CT), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Eric Massa (NY), Chris Murphy (CT), Bill Owens (NY), Loretta Sanchez (CA) and Dina Titus (NV).
Does (Member Name) Think ‘The System Worked?’
Will Homeland Security Committee Dems Line Up Behind Napolitano Statement?Washington- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently made headlines with her declaration that “the system worked” when a would-be terror attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight was thwarted thanks to a faulty explosive device. So far, Mary Jo Kilroy has let Napolitano’s absurd statement go unchallenged. Given her position on the House Homeland Security Committee, Americans are rightfully wondering what it will take for Kilroy to speak up and demand that Napolitano be held accountable for her words and her agency’s glaring oversights.
“Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday that the thwarting of the attempt to blow up an Amsterdam-Detroit airline flight Christmas Day demonstrated that ‘the system worked.’
“Asked by CNN’s Candy Crowley on ‘State of the Union’ how that could be possible when the young Nigerian who has been charged with trying to set off the bomb was able to smuggle explosive liquid onto the jet, Napolitano responded: ‘We’re asking the same questions.’
“Napolitano added that there was ‘no suggestion that [the suspect] was improperly screened.'” (Jonathan Martin, “Napolitano: ‘The System Worked,'” Politico, 12/27/09)
“Secretary Napolitano’s patently false statements only further the widespread perception that this administration and Democrat-held Congress don’t have a strategy to confront the terrorist threat and keep America safe,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Every member of the Homeland Security Committee, including Mary Jo Kilroy should be condemning Janet Napolitano’s absurd statements that ‘the system worked’ and calling for her to testify before congress. So far the silence from Democrats on Capitol Hill on this gravely serious matter has been deafening.”
Will Mary Jo Kilroy finally demand answers from Secretary Napolitano, or will she continue to silently endorse her alarming statement that ‘the system worked’ in the face of building evidence that the administration is unable to confront serious threats against the American people?
