Why I like Dave Obey

Rep. Dave Obey of Wisconsin's 7th district fired back at Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) this week. Boehner fired off the tired right-wing talking point of questioning the patriotism of Democrats who continue to question the war in Iraq, and the Bush Administration's prosecution of it.

"I come from the state of Joe McCarthy," said Obey, D-Wausau. "(I) know a third-rate McCarthy when I see one. And we saw one yesterday."

McCarthy, a Republican from Appleton who represented Wisconsin in the Senate from 1947 until his death in 1957, made headlines by accusing the Defense Department of employing unnamed Communists.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that he wondered if his friends who are Democrats "are more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people."

Boehner's comment came in response to Democrats who accused President Bush of using his Monday night speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to build support for the war in Iraq.