RUBBER STAMP
Republican Chris Shays
(CT-04)

Republican Chris Shays talks out of both sides of his mouth a lot, but in one area, he's been remarkably consistent: Shays has voted in lockstep with the Bush administration's policies in Iraq since the beginning... the same Bush administration that Shays says "has no credibility". See more of Chris Shays' "cheap talk" below.

Case #1: Timetables

Chris Shays' Rhetoric

  • 1/26/05: Shays Says We Should Not Have a Timetable
    "We should not put out a timetable," he said. "We should leave when they are capable of carrying on and when they want us to leave." [AP, 1/26/05]
  • 6/28/05: Shays Says No Exit Plan Needed
    "The only people who need an exit plan, in my judgment, are the Syrians and the Saudi Arabians and the Iranians," Shays said. "They're the ones that need to find a way to exit out of the mess they're getting themselves into." [CNN, Larry King Live, 6/28/05]
  • 4/22/06: Don't Give the Terrorists a Timeline
    In April 2006, Shays said that he believed "very strongly" that the U.S. shouldn't pull out its troops on a timeline. "I believe very strongly we can't pull our troops out quickly as Americans want us to," Shays said. "I'm having every expert on terror I talk to say the last thing you do to terrorists is give them a timetable." [Hartford Courant, 4/22/06]
  • 6/15/06: "Thank Goodness George Washington Didn't Have a Timetable"
    "Thank goodness George Washington didn't have Congress telling him he had to have a timetable to beat the Brits," Shays said on the Floor of the House. "Thank goodness when all the generals criticized Abraham Lincoln, we didn't say, well, the generals are against Abraham Lincoln, he doesn't have a plan, we better just fold our tent. Thank goodness that didn't happen." [Congressional Record, 6/15/06]
  • 6/20/06: No Timetables
    In June 2006, Shays said that the United States couldn't set timelines. "And I don't think we can leave and set timelines until we cover more of the territory with Iraqis," Shays said. [CNN's "Larry King Live," 6/20/06]
  • 8/3/06: Shays Says Timetable is "Absolutely Foolish"
    "To have a timetable is absolutely foolish," he said in 2006. [WNPR's Where We Live, 8/03/06]
  • 8/31/06: Shays Says Leaving Iraq Prematurely Would be an "Outrage"
    "I believe it would be an absolutely outrage if we left Iraq right now or prematurely," [CNN, 8/31/06]
  • 3/20/07: Shays Supports Timelines, But...
    "I think we do need timelines. I think the president should come to Congress with timelines and state when we remove first our combat troops and then when we remove our support troops. But I don't think we should be the ones setting that timeline. Based on what?" [MSNBC, 3/20/07]
  • 3/23/07: Shays Voted Against Timeline to Bring Troops Home by August 2008
    In 2007, Shays voted against a bill that would set in motion a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. [CQ House Action Reports, No. 110-3, 3/20/07; HR 1591, Vote #186, 3/23/07]
  • 4/16/07: Shays "Doesn't Know" What a Reasonable Timeline Is
    In April 2007, Shays said "I don't know what a reasonable timeline is. All I can say is that I left feeling that my feelings about Gen. Petraeus are deserved and positive." [Hartford Courant, 4/16/07]

The Real Chris Shays Record

  • 8/16/06: Shays Says Troops Could Come Home by Next Year
    Shays said he believes the United States will "start to draw down our troops by next year." [Norwalk Hour, 8/16/06]
  • 8/26/06: Shays Calls for a Timetable
    The Connecticut Post reported that "U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, called Thursday for the Bush administration to set a deadline for Iraq to assume 'the bulk of the heavy lifting' from the 135,000 U.S. troops stationed there." [Connecticut Post, 8/25/06]
    Shays stated, "I believe our troops cannot be there indefinitely. [...] We need to have a sense when our troops can withdraw." [Connecticut Post, 8/25/06]
  • 8/31/06: Shays Opposes Open-Ended Commitment
    "The administration wants an open-ended commitment and that sends a wrong message to the Iraqis." [New York Times, 8/31/06]
  • 8/29/06: Shays Says We Need a Timetable
    After his 14th trip to Iraq, Shays announced that "the only way we are able to encourage some political will on the part of Iraqis is to have a timeline for troop withdrawal." [Washington Post, 8/29/06]
  • 9/2/06: "We Should Have a Clear Timeline"
    "We should have a clear timeline on replacing American troops who are doing police work with Iraqi troops, and that timeline is based on the ability of Iraqis to do the job." [NPR's "All Things Considered," 9/02/06]
  • 2/23/07: Chris Shays Supports Timetables for Withdrawal in Iraq
    "If the resolution had some kind of timetable, I would have supported it," Shays said after voting against a resolution in opposition to President Bush's troop escalation in Iraq. [Connecticut Post, 2/23/07]; HCONRES 63, Vote #99, 2/16/07]
  • 3/29/07: Shays Said He Supported a Timeline
    "Based on my extensive oversight of the operations in Iraq, both by chairing 15 hearings in the National Security Subcommittee and through 15 oversight trips, I believe we need a timeline to motivate the Iraqis to make the tough choices to stabilize their democracy," Shays said in March 2007. [States News Service, 3/29/07]
  • 4/19/07: Doesn't Like Those Timelines
    "I am not against timelines; I am just against timelines in the supplemental. January 1, 2008 is one of them; April 1, 2008 is another; and, if the best happens, September 1, 2008. I am not against a timeline; I am against those timelines." [Congressional Record, 4/19/07]
  • 4/24/07: Deadline is Essential
    "The bottom line is that it is absolutely essential to give Iraqis a deadline." [Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport), 4/24/07]
  • 7/14/07: Troops Should Leave by December 2008
    In July 2007, Shays said that he now backed a timeline that would have U.S. combat troops depart by December 2008. "I believe we need a timeline. I believe the president's wrong." [Hartford Courant, 7/14/07]
  • 7/14/07: Shays Would Prefer to Wait until 2009 to Bring Troops Home
    "My preference would be 2009," he said. "But I felt there was merit in getting the troops out before a new president takes office, so they can start fresh." [Hartford Courant, 7/14/07]



Case #2: Benchmarks

Chris Shays' Rhetoric

  • 2/12/07: Shays Says the Iraqi Government Must Meet Benchmarks
    "Well, I mean, in August I said we needed to have timeline to withdraw our troops to get the Iraqis to take, you know, positive action. I still believe that. The Iraq Study Group said, get Shias and Sunnis to talk. And if they don't sort out their differences, there has to be consequence. The consequences are then we do leave." [MSNBC, 2/12/07]
  • 2/12/07: Iraqi Government Should Have Months, Not Years, To Take Control of Their Country
    "Well, first off, I will tell you, to me it is a matter of months, not years. It is telling the Iraqis they have to move their troops there first. It is telling the Iraqis that Shias and Sunnis have to sort out their differences. So I don't want us to be in the center of a civil war, but if they to that then we should move forward. If they don't, then we should be leaving. I agree with that. And it shouldn't be years, it should be a period of time based on what they do." [MSNBC, 2/12/07

The Real Chris Shays Record

  • 4/25/07: Votes Against Benchmarks that Would Give Iraqi Government Months, Not Years, to Take Control of Their Country
    In 2007, Shays voted against a bill that set a goal of redeploying most U.S. combat troops in Iraq by the end of March 2008, if the president can certify the Iraq government is meeting benchmarks, and by the end of 2007 if he cannot. [HR 1591, Vote #265, 4/25/07]
  • 5/2/07: Rubberstamped Bush Veto, Opposed Benchmarks for Iraq
    In 2007, Shays voted against an attempt President Bush's veto of legislation to require accountability in Iraq. The bill set as a goal of redeploying most U.S. combat troops in Iraq by the end of March 2008, if the president can certify the Iraq government is meeting benchmarks. [Congressional Quarterly; HR 1591, Vote #276, 5/2/07]
  • 5/10/07: Shays Voted Against Benchmarks for Iraqi Government
    In 2007, Shays voted against legislation to require the president to report on progress the Iraqi government has made toward meeting specified benchmarks and goals. [Congressional Quarterly; HR 2206, Vote #333, 5/10/07]
  • 7/12/07: Opposed Accountability in Iraq, Redeployment of Troops
    In July 2007, Shays voted against a bill to require the Defense secretary to begin redeploying U.S. troops and contractors out of Iraq within 120 days of the bill's enactment. [Congressional Quarterly; HR 2956, Vote #624, 7/12/07]



Case #3: Blaming the Administration

Chris Shays' Rhetoric

  • 9/6/03: Bush is Being Honest and Upfront
    "He is being honest and upfront about what we have to do to win. And I can't believe anyone thinks we have any desire to fail in Iraq." [CNN, 9/6/03]
  • 10/7/04: Shays Defends Bush
    In October 2004, Shays said that the President could not be blamed for believing the intelligence about WMDs. "To suggest somehow that President Bush should have known all this intelligence was false is not justified," Shays said. "It would have been foolish and irresponsible not to act." [Connecticut Post, 10/07/04]
  • 11/3/05: Shays Voted to Kill Hearings on Bush Iraq Policy
    In 2005, Shays voted to kill a bid by Democrats for the House to begin conducting oversight hearings into a wide range of administration actions and policies relating to the war in Iraq. [Washington Post, 11/06/05; Motion to Table the Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair, Vote #562, 11/03/05]
  • 6/16/06: Shays Voted to Endorse Bush Iraq Policy
    In 2006, Shays voted in favor of a resolution to endorse Bush's Iraq policy while declaring that the United States will prevail in the war against terrorism. The resolution also took a stand against setting withdrawal dates. [CQ Today, 6/16/06; HRS 861, Vote #288, 6/16/06]

The Real Chris Shays Record

  • 2/10/06: Shays Placed Blame on the Administration
    "The Bush administration hurt itself by saying it wanted to wage war to find weapons of mass destruction, weapons that did not exist," Shays said in February 2006. "Now, when they say things that are truthful, they have no credibility." [Hartford Courant, 2/10/06]
  • 6/16/06: Shays: Bush Trusted Incompetent Aides
    In June 2006, Shays admitted to being wrong about the existence of WMDs in Iraq. "We were wrong, and the president lost credibility," Shays said.
    He questioned whether Bush's inner circle had failed to level with him. "The president values loyalty above everything else," Shays said. "But loyalty can't trump competence, and loyalty can't trump the truth." [Washington Post, 6/06/06]
  • 9/15/06: Shays Says "The President Has No Credibility"
    In September 2006, Shays said "The president has no credibility. Whatever he says, people aren't paying attention and the reason he doesn't have credibility is we were wrong about weapons of mass destruction." [Hartford Courant, 9/15/06]
  • 7/14/07: Shays Says Bush is Wrong
    In July 2007, Shays said that he now backs a timeline that would have U.S. combat troops depart by December 2008. "I believe we need a timeline. I believe the president's wrong." [Hartford Courant, 7/14/07]



Case #4: Abuse of Prisoners

Chris Shays' Rhetoric

  • 6/11/06: Accountability Would Have Prevented Abu Ghraib
    "If more members [of Congress] went into Iraq, [the] Abu Ghraib [prison scandal] never would have happened," Shays said. [Hartford Courtant, 6/11/06]

The Real Chris Shays Record

  • 5/20/04: Shays Opposed Investigation on Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners
    In 2004, Shays voted against the establishment of a select committee to investigate the treatment of detainees in the global war on terrorism, including all allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners. [HR 4200, Vote #205, 5/20/04]



Case #5: Salary Bonus

Chris Shays' Rhetoric

  • 8/26/06: Shays Says That Our Troops "Are Doing the Lord's Work"
    "The people fighting this war are doing the Lord's work." [Los Angeles Times, 8/26/06]

The Real Chris Shays Record

  • 10/17/03: Shays Opposed A Salary Bonus For Our Troops, Guard, Reserve
    In 2003, Shays voted against providing service members a $1,500 salary bonus to every American service member serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, including National Guard and reserve forces. [HR 3289, Vote #554, 10/17/2003]
  • 10/17/03: Shays Opposed Equipment Repair, Quality of Life Enhancements for Troops
    In 2003, Shays voted against $3.6 billion to pay for quality of life enhancements for U.S. service members, including the repair and replacement of damaged equipment, medical and dental screening of military reservists, family assistance centers, pre-paid phone cards for the troops in Iraq, the transportation of troops on rest-and-relaxation leave. [Washington Post, 10/17/03; HR 3289, Vote #547, 10/16/03]



Paid for by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
www.dccc.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.