http://blogs.southflorida.com/citylink_dansweeney/2006/06/its_beginning_to_look_a_lot_li.htmlAll Democrats have to do to turn the tide on this ridiculous war on terror bil being debated today.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for giving me this time. The Republicans have offered a bill for purely political reasons. They say it is to 'support the troops' with more than just platitudes. But the bill itself rules out a timetable for withdrawal, possibly leaving our troops in harm's way for years upon years to come.
Shall we have this debate in the 120th Congress? The 130th? To categorically deny a timetable for withdrawal or an exit strategy is not 'supporting the troops.' Quite the opposite -- it is abandoning them to a hostile land. And so, I cannot in good conscience support this bill.
Of course, that is exactly the answer my Republican colleagues hope for. They hope that Democrats will vote no on this bill, and then they will use that vote in the coming election. They will assert that we do not support the war on terror, because another part of this same bill states that we will win that war. And so, while I cannot vote yes on this bill, neither will I play along with these absurd political games and vote no.
I intend to abstain from voting on this issue. Moreover, I invite all of my fellow Democratic congressmen to follow me in this. These naked political games only have power if you let them. If we stand together, if we walk out of here as one, then we leave the Republicans alone to debate this issue with themselves -- which, given this sad ploy, appears to be their deepest desire. If we do this, then we paint these would-be attackers as the fools they are, instead of them painting us as the traitors we are not.
We will not fall to jingoistic, simple platitudes whose only purpose is to coarsen debate, sever cross-party ties and further sow the seeds of discord in a body that has already traveled too far down that road. I will not vote on this bill. I will not play this game. Who will stand with me?"
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