Washington — Hours before she was sworn in Thursday as a U.S. representative, Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka, spoke about Iraq policy during an interview with ABC News.
Boyda, who sat with two other house freshmen, said she would support a decision by President Bush to send more troops to Iraq if the commander in chief presented a clear mission.
"But the polls would indicate and indeed, so many voters when they came out of the ballot box said, 'We're voting because we want something done about the war, and we want the troops home,'" said interviewer Charles Gibson during the ABC's World News Tonight interview that aired nationally Thursday evening.
"They should have thought about that before they voted for President Bush not once, but twice," Boyda responded.
On Friday, Boyda's staff said she was not taking a jab at voters in her predominantly Republican district. Throughout the campaign, Boyda criticized Bush's handling of the war and said an exit strategy must be shaped. Boyda denied her position being "cut and run" after it was labeled as such by opponent Jim Ryun.
Her top staffer on Friday said Boyda's remarks were "a sound byte that sounded out of place."
"She was really referring to the options Congress has," said Shanan Guinn, Boyda's chief of staff, about the comments regarding voters. "Nancy has the utmost respect for all of her constituents whether they voted for her or not."
Guinn also denied that the comments to support sending more troops represented a change in Boyda's position on the war.
"Nancy has been very clear stressing to vote to support the troops on the ground," she said. "I don't think anybody expects her to pull support from the troops while they are in harm's way."
Bush is expected to unveil changes in Iraq policy decisions next week, but anti-war groups have pressured Democrats in Washington this week to bring the troops home.
During an interview earlier in the week, Boyda said Bush needed to articulate a clear mission with goals and policies for the war. If he couldn't, she would not support sending more troops and that Congress would take a more active role in oversight.
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opinion (anonymous) says…
I can see where her spokeswoman was coming from when she said that Mrs. Boyda was referring to the options Congress has up until she said "They should have thought about that before they voted for President Bush not once, but twice,"
That is the same attitude I got from her when I asked her several pointed questions while she was shaking hands at a small town festival several years ago. I was standing with my generally left leaning friends when she came up to our group to introduce herself. She got a lot of smiles and "go get'em" from the crowd. After hearing how my friends were going to vote for her because they didn't want Ryun I asked her about HER plans. She gave me the deer in the headlight look turned the question into "well Ryun is bad at this and Ryun is bad at that..." IE she did little more that shift and deflect. She is making a fine politician. I think she is in for a surprise though because I get the feeling, those that voted for her are going to hold her to her bold statements.
classclown (Class Clown) says…
Am I alone in this or are other people tired of politicians always needing other people to explain "what they really meant" after saying what they do?
How about this politicians? Instead of having to rely on others to to explain it, and leaving the rest of us to speculate on whether you really meant it or not, why not just make sure to say what you mean the first time?
Take a few seconds, gather your thoughts, choose your words carefully, and then say it. Let there be no doubt that you are speaking your mind. What is so hard about that?