By JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Former President Jimmy Carter is accusing fellow Georgia Democrat Zell Miller of "unprecedented disloyalty" for the senator's speech at the Republican convention.
In a letter sent over the weekend, Carter also called Miller's speech "rabid and mean-spirited."
"By now, there are many of us loyal Democrats who feel uncomfortable in seeing that you have chosen the rich over the poor, unilateral pre-emptive war over a strong nation united with others for peace, lies and obfuscation over the truth and the political technique of character assassination as a way to win elections or to garner a few moments of applause,"
Carter's office declined to release the letter Tuesday, but Miller's office confirmed the contents.
Miller responded Tuesday by repeating his contention, made in the convention speech last week, that the security of his family outweighed any loyalty to the party where he has spent a lifetime.
"John F. Kennedy warned about the dangers of extreme party loyalty and once said, 'What sins have been committed in its name,'" said Miller, who plans to retire in January as a Democrat. "My first loyalty is and always will be my family."
Carter also defended himself against Miller's accusation in the speech that Carter was a pacifist. Carter said he served in the Navy from 1942 to 1953 and, as president, strengthened the nation's military.
This isn't the first time the two former governors have clashed since Miller began disagreeing with Democrats on key policy matters.
Last December, Carter said Miller had betrayed the principles he thought the two shared. Carter said former Gov. Roy Barnes' decision to appoint Miller to the Senate was a mistake.
In December, Miller called Carter a friend of more than 40 years who had written him at least a dozen personal notes.
"Half of them are giving me hell, and the other half are bragging on me," he said. "So, I figure I'm doing OK batting .500 with Jimmy Carter."
The best thing I can say about Jimmy Carter is that he builds houses for the poor. And that's a shame since he was President of the United States for four (horrible) years.
He's a disgraceful, classless former ex-President. I wish he'd just stick to building houses for the poor.
I think Carter should stick to peanut farming, but I guess he wasn't very good at that either.
The best thing I can say about Jimmy Carter is that he builds houses for the poor. And that's a shame since he was President of the United States for four (horrible) years.
He's a disgraceful, classless former ex-President. I wish he'd just stick to building houses for the poor.
I believe calling him a pacifist was being polite. I always felt he was a spineless human being and got elected by luck. He has always been a wimp.
I was going to call him a pussy but I like that.v-drive
That coming from the MOST ineffective president in recent history. This is
the guy that didnt want to hurt anyones "feeleings" when islamo-whackos took hostages and HE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT for many, many, many MONTHS. GEEZ, Ross Perot took it upon himself to go get his own poeple ou , because he KNEW Carter was a limp dick....
Rick
I have never been a big fan of Zel Miller. He has a past that I don't like at all. However, I do believe that, since he is retiring, he has nothing to lose and he is being honest (and accurate) in his views on what has happened to the Democratic party.
Carter lost all credibility with me when he attacked Ralph Nader and told him to basically get out of the race before he ruined it for John Kerry. So let me think...here's a man (Carter) who is proud of the fact that he monitors elections in foreign countries to ensure a fair outcome. But here in America, he wants somebody to get off the ticket so one party will benefit. Here's your sign, Jimmy! :messedup:
Who gives a shit what Jimmy Carter thinks? His presidency was a disaster, probablly the worst in the 20th century. Thats four years that should be forgotton. :yuk:
ZELL FIRES BACK.
Wall Street Journal
Telling It Like It Is
By ZELL MILLER
September 13, 2004; Page A20
My critics in the national media are working overtime trying to
paint me as an angry nut who got the facts all wrong in my speech
to the Republican National Convention. Since there's not enough
time to challenge all of these critics to a duel, let me set the record
straight here and now.
First, the anger. A lot has been said about my angry demeanor. I've made enough speeches to
know that you're supposed to connect with the audience by telling a joke or a humorous anecdote
or some amusing tale. It's a tried-and-true formula that I've used for most of my life. But this was
not a normal speech in a normal time.
Today, we are at the most serious moment of history that we may ever know, and I wanted to
connect with the seriousness of this moment, not the audience.
Now, about those facts. I charged that John Kerry is weak on national security, and I listed some
of the many weapons systems he has opposed over the years. My critics tripped over themselves
to point out that Dick Cheney opposed some of the same weapons systems when he was defense
secretary.
But, like with so many things in life, timing is everything. Mr. Kerry was proposing the
cancellation of many of these weapons systems at the height of the Cold War -- the worst possible
time to weaken our military strength. It would be comparable to a senator in 1943 proposing to
scrap the B-29 Bomber or Sherman tank or Higgins landing craft. By contrast, Mr. Cheney waited
until after we had won the Cold War to propose modernizing our forces and replacing older
weapons systems. There's a huge difference. Whether it's the Cold War of yesterday or the war on
terror today, Mr. Kerry has sought time and time again to weaken our military at the exact
moment we need to show our strength.
I also charged that John Kerry and his fellow Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not
a liberator, and that nothing makes this old Marine madder. My critics pounced on that one, too.
Aren't you aware, they sneered, that President Bush has used the term "occupiers"?
Do they mean when the president said this in April? -- "As a proud and independent people, Iraqis
do not support an indefinite occupation -- and neither does America. We're not an imperial power,
as nations such as Japan and Germany can attest. We are a liberating power." Are the people of
Iraq not liberated from a terrible dictator? Did we not transfer sovereignty over to the Iraqi people
exactly when we said we would?
John Kerry and his crowd derisively call American troops "occupiers" because it fits with their
warped belief that America is the problem, not the solution. While more than 50 million people in
Afghanistan and Iraq are enjoying freedom, Mr. Kerry is still fretting over whether the U.N.
crowd likes us or not. The American people will not abide a commander in chief who gets
squeamish over America's role as a liberating force in the world.
And my critics love to point out that I had nice things to say about John Kerry when I introduced
him to a Georgia Democratic dinner in 2001. That's true and I meant it. But, again, timing is
everything. I made that introduction in March 2001 -- six months before terrorists attacked this
country on Sept. 11. As I have said time and again, 9/11 changed everything. Everything, that is,
except the national Democrats' shameful, manic obsession with bringing down a commander in
chief. John Kerry has been wrong many times, but he's never been more wrong than in his failure
to support our troops and our commander in chief in this war on terror.
So, my critics can call me a psychopath and fire spitballs at me and froth at
the mouth when an ex-president sends me a nasty letter. That's the freedom
of speech they all enjoy, courtesy of the American soldier.
But for David Gergen and this newspaper's Al Hunt, among others, to call
me a racist was especially hurtful. For they know better. They know I
worked for three governors in a row, not just one: Carl Sanders, Lester
Maddox and Jimmy Carter. They knew I was the first governor to try to
remove the Confederate emblem from the Georgia flag. And by the way,
when I called each of Georgia's former governors to tell them what I was
about to attempt, Jimmy Carter's first question to me was, "What are you
doing that for?" Mr. Gergen and Mr. Hunt also know I appointed the only
African-American attorney general in the country in the 1990s and more
African Americans to the state judiciary than all the other governors of Georgia combined,
including that one from Plains.
So, they can call me names and ridicule my angry demeanor all day long. But facts are facts. And
the fact is, John Kerry has a long record of proposals to weaken our national security in a time of
war. And I would never put my family's safety in those hands.
Zell has a less than perfect past however he is dead right on with his take on terrorism and his assessment of Bush and kerry.
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