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| Anti-War Left to Turn on Democrats | ||
| 2007-05-27 | ||
| After a contentious, three-month battle with the White House over Iraq, congressional Democrats limped out of Washington Friday with their sights trained on July for the next round -- but antiwar activists are spoiling for a fight far sooner than that. The Democratic rank-and-file left for the week-long Memorial Day break with a slate of talking points on Congress's accomplishments whose top bullet point boasts of "working responsibly to end the war." In the past 100 days, virtually every Democrat has voted to demand troop withdrawals, and a majority of them effectively voted Thursday night to cut off funds for the war. But to antiwar groups, the only tally that mattered was Congress's easy approval of a $120 billion war spending bill that was stripped of timelines for troop withdrawals. A majority of House Democrats may have voted against it, but the Democratic leadership in both chambers facilitated its passage. "Voters elected this Congress to lead the country out of the mess in Iraq," Democratic leaders argue that for the first time Congress had required the Bush administration to track military and political progress in Iraq in 18 prescribed areas and to report back to Congress as soon as July. Horsehocky. Reports are currently being made weekly and quarterly (26 pages long) Some nonmilitary aid could be jeopardized if the Iraqi government fails to make progress. The funding bill's passage "was the start of a whole new direction in Iraq," declared House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.). "I think that the president's policy is going to begin to unravel now." But that message was undermined by her vote against a measure she herself had dismissed as "a fig leaf" and "a token." Pelosi praised the 140 Democrats who voted against the bill. She said the "no" votes communicated "No more funding." But the praise struck a dissonant note, since she was flanked by House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (S.C.) and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), all of whom had voted for the funds. {snicker} "There are 232 Democrats in the House of Representatives," Hoyer said. "There are 232 Democrats that believed that our policies in Iraq are failing."
Maybe Ned Lamont will run again? "This is not partisan anymore. This is not about staying away from Democrats to make them look good or attacking all Republicans to make them look bad," Such sentiment is only being compounded by Democratic presidential candidates who are reveling in their opposition to the war funding bill as they appeal to core Democratic voters. Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) established a Web site to encourage voters to mobilize during Memorial Day weekend. And when Republicans hit front-running Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) for their votes against the war spending bill, the Democrats hit right back. "Governor Romney and Senator McCain are still supporting a war that has cost us thousands of lives, made us less safe in the world, and resulted in a resurgence of al-Qaeda," Obama said, after Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and the Republican National Committee all accused him of abandoning the troops. "It is time to end this war." Eager to address other issues, such as soaring energy prices, and to complete unfinished business on homeland security and ethics bills, House leaders hope to give Iraq a rest. Chairman John P. Murtha (Pa.) of the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense plans to strip Iraq issues from the 2008 defense spending bill when it comes up in July and prepare a separate war funding measure for consideration in September, when Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, is to report to Congress on the war's progress. The Dems won't believe his report, just like in his first briefing, which they almost didn't bother to attend. But the Senate will return to the war in late June, when it is scheduled to take up a defense policy bill. The Armed Services Committee released the legislation Friday, and although it includes no Iraq withdrawal language, Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.) said Democrats would seek to require troops to begin leaving within 120 days of the bill's passage. "The Iraqi leaders will realize that their future is in their hands only when they are forced into that recognition," Levin said. There are some signs Carl is right - the Iraqis do seem more motivated of late. Maybe Karl is behind the whole thing? Another Senate war bill, expected to be introduced early next month, would adopt the Iraq Study Group recommendations as official policy. The group was headed by former secretary of state James A. Baker III and former congressman Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.). The legislation, which has gained bipartisan backing, ...
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| Posted by:Bobby |
| #17 whenever I think of media resonating, I'm drawn to "what's the frequency, Kenneth" ROFL! |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-05-27 18:54 |
| #16 Murat, the Turkish lap-dancer and Antiwar were a 1-2 punch of stupidity and hate-America |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 18:50 |
| #15 I'm clearly overtired. I read the headline properly earlier today, but this time I flashed on poor dear Antiwar from Australia, who was so proud of her reading list. Some of you old timers will remember her trollery, and how she and that Turkish lad seduced the previously gallant Mr. Davis from the side of his loving wife. The rest of you will either disappear into Fred's archives (is 2004 the right year?) or think me mad. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-27 18:05 |
| #14 whenever I think of media resonating, I'm drawn to "what's the frequency, Kenneth" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 17:44 |
| #13 Bright Pebbles and Mike (#9 and 11) - Ya think it's easy writing headlines that resonate? The Washington Post headline was Democrats Prepare for Another Funding Battle - How boring is that? Anyway, if resonates means you liked it, I am pleased to be in your service! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-05-27 17:35 |
| #12 The big news this week is that Hillary sold out the troops as her way of celebrating Memorial Day. May buy her the Democrat nomination, but she just lost the vote of any American that gives a damn about this country. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-05-27 16:48 |
| #11 "Anti-War Left to Turn on Democrats" resonates with "Hunt for 'traitors' tears Taliban apart" Indeed. |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-05-27 15:42 |
| #10 Anti-War Left to Turn on Democrats This is a problem? (yea, cheers) Proves Dems stupidity, that they actualy want this rabble? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-05-27 14:28 |
| #9 Anti-War Left to Turn on Democrats resonates with Hunt for "traitors" tears Taliban apart |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan 2007-05-27 12:18 |
| #8 Blast. That last one was Me. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2007-05-27 11:57 |
| #7 Yes, Mike, registering at DU would be bad. That was your concern, right? |
| Posted by: Kos 2007-05-27 11:57 |
| #6 If I did that, would that make me a bad person? Well, maybe from their perspective, but certainly not mine. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2007-05-27 11:49 |
#5 There's a part of me that wants to register over at DU and Kos and start posting comments like this:For all their rhetoric, Pelosi and Reid have always been reliable stooges for BushCo and the neocons. They voted for the war, and they've voted for every funding bill Shrub asked for ever since. They're as much the enemy as BushCo. If I did that, would that make me a bad person? |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-05-27 11:39 |
| #4 I was thinking "only 3.2 mil?" I thought there were a lot more of them than that... They are particularly noisy, shrill, and annoying beyond their numbers. Looks like the donks are losing their base. What now? They are counting on global warming as the election issue. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-05-27 11:09 |
| #3 that's what tehy would like you to think, Sea. I bet the numbers drop after they realize how ineffectual they really were. Just ask Sen Ned Lamont |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-27 10:47 |
| #2 MoveOn was running VERY specific radio ads (on conservative talk radio!) explicitly calling on Steny and the dems to vote moveOn's way, "brought to you by the 3.2 million members of MoveOn". I was thinking "only 3.2 mil?" I thought there were a lot more of them than that... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-05-27 09:43 |
| #1 Upset that you realize you're only a tool of the entrenched power brokers? Should have figured that out when even in New England you couldn't defeat Joe which was the one and only real contest based upon the war. You think the Donks want to give up their recently reacquired power by playing to your losing strategy? They don't exist for you, they exist for power and while you help them in achieving that, you can also destroy that. They're not going to place themselves voluntarily back out of power. Yeah, it much more fun and enjoyable not to be a tool, but that is what you chose. Now have a hissy fit. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-27 09:06 |