A Real Head-Banger
One of the standing riffs at Eschaton is a request to use Water Tiger's desk to pound one's head on. A sure-fire way to evoke the riff is the report of another dopey move by the Democrats in Congress. An article in today's Los Angeles Times should fill the bill nicely.
Frustrated with the fierce partisanship of the war debate, moderate lawmakers on Capitol Hill are intensifying their drive to craft compromise measures to break the congressional impasse over U.S. policy in Iraq.
Democrats and Republicans involved in the efforts say they want to pressure the White House to change course so American troops can start coming home. But their proposals stop short of setting a withdrawal deadline, the centerpiece of the Democratic legislative campaign to force an end to U.S. involvement in the war.
And why should the Dems give in on this issue? Well, "moderate" Republicans say it would be a good idea.
"There may be a significant common ground that is not apparent from the political rhetoric or the intensity of the conflict in Congress," said Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), one of the leading advocates of a bipartisan House plan endorsed by Pelosi to compel the president to report regularly to Congress on plans to redeploy troops. ...
Though English has vehemently opposed Democratic withdrawal timelines, he said Wednesday that he believed a measure to change Iraq strategy that did not order a withdrawal could influence the president -- if it attracted substantial GOP support. [Emphasis added]
Oh, please.
You mean like how the President was influenced by the substantial GOP support for the Stem Cell Research Bill? Or the expanded Children's Health Insurance Program Bill? Is that what you mean, Phil?
Look, one thing that we've learned the past six plus years is that nothing influences The Deciderer once he's made up his mind on an issue. Oh, he'll give a genial nod to Congress on occasion, just to ackowledge that there appears to be such a body, but that's about the extent of the influence Congress has.
And when it comes to what the President obviously considers his most important contribution to humankind, the Iraq War, nothing short of cutting off all the funding is going to get his attention.
The White House has no intention of voluntarily withdrawing any troops (beyond a symbolic and deplorably small drawdown two weeks before the next election). He has made that abundantly clear. He will move the goal posts, change the rationale, lie about the progress the Iraqi government has made, but he will not withdraw the troops.
Last November, the American electorate made it clear that it wanted this war over and gave Congress to the Democrats to effect that. If the "moderates" in Congress want to honor that election, they had better do something more than offer weak suggestions to the White House in the hopes of "influencing" the President.
Move over, Water Tiger. I need to borrow your desk for a time.
Frustrated with the fierce partisanship of the war debate, moderate lawmakers on Capitol Hill are intensifying their drive to craft compromise measures to break the congressional impasse over U.S. policy in Iraq.
Democrats and Republicans involved in the efforts say they want to pressure the White House to change course so American troops can start coming home. But their proposals stop short of setting a withdrawal deadline, the centerpiece of the Democratic legislative campaign to force an end to U.S. involvement in the war.
And why should the Dems give in on this issue? Well, "moderate" Republicans say it would be a good idea.
"There may be a significant common ground that is not apparent from the political rhetoric or the intensity of the conflict in Congress," said Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), one of the leading advocates of a bipartisan House plan endorsed by Pelosi to compel the president to report regularly to Congress on plans to redeploy troops. ...
Though English has vehemently opposed Democratic withdrawal timelines, he said Wednesday that he believed a measure to change Iraq strategy that did not order a withdrawal could influence the president -- if it attracted substantial GOP support. [Emphasis added]
Oh, please.
You mean like how the President was influenced by the substantial GOP support for the Stem Cell Research Bill? Or the expanded Children's Health Insurance Program Bill? Is that what you mean, Phil?
Look, one thing that we've learned the past six plus years is that nothing influences The Deciderer once he's made up his mind on an issue. Oh, he'll give a genial nod to Congress on occasion, just to ackowledge that there appears to be such a body, but that's about the extent of the influence Congress has.
And when it comes to what the President obviously considers his most important contribution to humankind, the Iraq War, nothing short of cutting off all the funding is going to get his attention.
The White House has no intention of voluntarily withdrawing any troops (beyond a symbolic and deplorably small drawdown two weeks before the next election). He has made that abundantly clear. He will move the goal posts, change the rationale, lie about the progress the Iraqi government has made, but he will not withdraw the troops.
Last November, the American electorate made it clear that it wanted this war over and gave Congress to the Democrats to effect that. If the "moderates" in Congress want to honor that election, they had better do something more than offer weak suggestions to the White House in the hopes of "influencing" the President.
Move over, Water Tiger. I need to borrow your desk for a time.
Labels: Iraq War
posted by Diane at 4:07 AM
2 Comments:
America has been stunned into submission by Bush. As a whole, Democrats just cannot fathom the meanness, audacity, and just plain psychopathology of this man. We can't admit the greatness of our mistake in allowing him to take power.
Bush struggles with an inborn difficulty with language and his thinking. It causes him great anxiety. This gets projected out onto his countrymen. If we really think about what a problem he is, it produces unfathomable anxiety.
The fish rots from the head down.
What these people are saying is that there will be no withdrawl without signing the Iraq Oil Giveaway Law. Dems and Repubs are in on it together, they all get $$ from Big Oil. See WGG's post yesterday.
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