DCCC: Obama 'more aggressive in fighting al Qaeda' than Bush

Democratic strategists Wednesday asserted President Barack Obama "has been far more aggressive in fighting al Qaeda" than the previous administration .

In an e-mail this afternoon to supporters -- which incidentally excoriated Republicans for politicizing the attempted bombing of Flight 253 -- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) stressed it was President George W. Bush, not his successor, who relegated the fight against the terrorist network to the back burner by turning "its focus from al Qaeda to Iraq."

Ultimately, the DCCC's charge on Wednesday is but a direct response to a new fundraising pitch by Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) -- a petition Democrats say exploits the terrorism plot in an attempt to raise campaign dollars.

Hoekstra, who is running for governor in Michigan, asked voters in a letter on Tuesday "who will stand up the Obama/Pelosi efforts to weaken our security" to donate to his gubernatorial war chest.

"It is insulting that The Obama administration would make such a claim, but then again, these are the same weak-kneed liberals who have recently tried to bring Guantanamo Bay terrorists right here to Michigan!" Hoekstra wrote earlier this week.

Of course, that enraged Democrats, and the DCCC quickly pounced on Hoekstra's remarks, claiming he was "playing politics" at the expense of Americans' lives. They also fired a separate political shot at congressional Republicans, who the DCCC said "repeatedly [refused] to back up their tough talk with actual votes to keep Americans safe."

“It just goes to show how extreme and out of touch House Republicans have become that their members would try to score political points and even raise money off the terror plot to blow up a plane and kill innocent Americans on Christmas," DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) explained.

“It’s long past time for House Republicans to put country before political party and work with President Obama and Congressional Democrats to learn from this episode and act quickly to protect the American people," Van Hollen added.

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