Senators Call On Rove To Retract Hurtful Partisan Remarks On 9/11 Victims

SENATORS CALL ON ROVE TO RETRACT HURTFUL PARTISAN REMARKS ON 9/11 VICTIMS

Letter to Rove Signed by NY, NJ, CT Senators Asks for Immediate Retraction of Rove's Divisive Comments to Fundraiser in Heart of NYC

Rove Wrongly Seeks to Divide and Conquer at the Expense of 9/11 Victims and Their Families

New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut home state Senators called on chief White House Advisor Karl Rove to retract his divisive partisan comments that exploited the memories of the 9/11 victims at a conservative fundraiser.

Schumer's letter, co-signed by New York Senator Hillary Clinton, New Jersey Senators Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg, and Connecticut Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman asks Rove to retract his comment that "liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

US Senator Charles Schumer said, "The one thing New York has had since Sept. 11 is unity, to inject politics into this and to defame a large number of people is outrageous. It's not what New York and America is all about."

While 9/11 brought out a spirit of unity in New York City, Karl Rove came to the City to divide and conquer. The letter reads, "Your comments were inaccurate and inflammatory. To come into the heart of New York City, which has suffered so deeply and is still recovering from those savage attacks, to try to score partisan, political points at the expense of the 3,000 victims and their families was unacceptable and opportunistic. It was a slap in the face to the unity that America achieved after September 11, 2001. The tragic events of 9/11 have not been, and should never be, used for partisan purposes."

The letter states that there was a broad bi-partisan consensus after 9/11 to stamp out global terrorism, and points out that the Senate unanimously voted to authorize the use of force against any enemy or nation that "planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001."

"The attacks of 9/11 united our states and our country like no other singular event in this generation. Republicans and Democrats - indeed all Americans - were united in a determined and passionate belief that we must put an end to terrorism and to those who would do our nation harm. When the terrorists who planned these attacks were identified, we all came together to quickly and overwhelmingly authorize your Administration to seek those terrorists out and to destroy them where they hid."

Click here to view letter - http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/Letters/2005/06.23.05%20Rove%20ltr.pdf

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR41741.Rove.062305.html