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| Jules Crittenden: shattered Dems recoil from crushing defeat in Iraq |
| 2007-05-25 |
It’s been a rough seven years. Gore. Kerry. Now this:WASHINGTON — Bowing to President Bush, the Democratic-controlled Congress grudgingly approved fresh billions for the Iraq war Thursday night, minus the troop withdrawal timeline that drew his earlier veto. 80-14 in the Senate. 280-142 in the House. Ouch. The Dems can’t muster those kind of votes. Even with graft. It's a quagmire, I tells ya! A quagmire! Hillary, who was for it before she was against it, went with Obama. That’s what you want in your commander-in-chief. A vote against troops in the field fighting al-Qaeda and anti-American Iranian stooges. “This debate will go on,” vowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That has a kind of non-binding sound to it. There’s a fair amount of self-loathing going on. “I hate this agreement,” said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who played a key role in talks with the White House that yielded the measure. And yet he voted against it. Has a bit of a for it before he was against it. Meanwhile, there’s the against it before they were for it crowd. “I cannot vote … to stop funding for our troops who are in harm’s way,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I simply cannot and I will not do that. It is not the proper way that we can bring this war to an end.” Dawn over Capitol Hill. But I don’t think he really means that. Anyway, here’s the reaction from the party unfaithful. There seems to be a lot of surprise and disgust that the people who advocate surrender practice it. Odd. You try to make sense of it: Matt Stoller at MyDD: How dare they surrender when we are trying to force a surrender? Don’t they understand you can’t win by surrendering? Greg Sargent at TPM Cafe: Oooooooooo, scary! He adds: But look, what’s done is done. And now that we’re finished popping off, it needs to be said that generally this new Dem Congressional leadership has repeatedly defied expectations with its willingness to take on the White House. Just not this time. Gentlemanly that he doesn’t want to kick his people in the head while their down, but I’m not sure what he’s talking about. The non-binding resolution? The trip to Syria? Kos wants to know “when beltway Democrats will realize that no one likes Bush or his war? And when will they realize that every time he opens up his trap, his poll numbers drop another few points?” I dunno, Kos. They’re gutless but they aren’t morons. Maybe they know something you don’t. Crooks and Liars (Good name for an antiwar Dem website, ain't it!) takes comfort in anti-war polling numbers. But seems to sense that Americans really don’t like losers: The Democratic Party has a 53% favorable rating to only 38% for the Republicans… “Americans also choose the Democratic Party as more likely to make the right decisions about U.S. foreign policy, the war in Iraq, and immigration.” I wonder how this will change in the new polling… Good question. If polls are what guide you. Newshogger sees a bright spot. At least the Dems didn’t act on principle. They demanded to be bought off! A profoundly dispirited Shakesville, Dems gave in to bullying! OK, but I thought it was called a veto they couldn’t override. Sparkypuppypuddle smells coffee: Surrender-happy Defeatocrats aren’t going to start winning just because the calendar flips over to September. An awful lot of earnestness over at Huffpo. Meanwhile, at last check, MoveOn is still leading with a campaign to get Congress to vote no. Time to move on. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #3 Mark my words, after Iraq is pacified, all the DONKS we claim the they were "Just trying to prod the administration and Iraqis in action and never EVER would have allowed a retreat or srrender." |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2007-05-25 17:15 |
| #2 Saw the headline, thought "Anbar" |
| Posted by: Grunter 2007-05-25 12:03 |
| #1 A profoundly dispirited Shakesville, Dems gave in to bullying! Considering that what the whole existence of the netroots is about, it only repeats the lefty mantra - one set of rules for me, a separate set of rules for thee. Shocked! Shocked they are that someone else can bully Donks! Didn't put that bullying power under double super secret exclusivity, huh? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-25 10:40 |