GOP congress edges away from Iraq optimism: "NOT POLITICALLY SUSTAINABLE"

[Bluebear]

Faced with almost daily reports of sectarian carnage in Iraq, congressional Republicans are shifting their message on the war from speaking optimistically of progress to acknowledging the difficulty of the mission and pointing up mistakes in planning and execution.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) is using his House Government Reform subcommittee on national security to vent criticism of the White House's war strategy and new estimates of the monetary cost of the war. Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.), once a strong supporter of the war, returned from Iraq this week declaring that conditions in Baghdad were far worse "than we'd been led to believe" and urging that troop withdrawals begin immediately.

And freshman Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters at the National Press Club that if he were running for reelection this year, "you obviously don't embrace the president and his agenda. The first thing I'd do is acknowledge that there have been mistakes made." ...

"It's like after Katrina, when the secretary of homeland security was saying all those people weren't really stranded when we were all watching it on TV," said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.). "I still hear about that. We can't look like we won't face reality."

"Essentially what the White House is saying is 'Stay the course, stay the course,' " Gutknecht said. "I don't think that course is politically sustainable."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901787.html?nav=rss_world/mideast

[MadMaddie]

1. Too little too late...

[blonndee]

4. No shit! How long have we been saying this?

I don't mean just "we" at DU, but people who have been smart and informed about this from the beginning? They have NO EXCUSE AT ALL! They're supposed to be our representatives and policymakers, so how is it that we figured this shit out before them?

Either: they're incredibly uninformed and therefore unqualified to do the job to which they were elected;

Or (and I think it's obvious this is the case): they've known all along, supported it anyway, and now that elections are coming around, are realizing they better get behind what the public already knows.

I even WISH it was the former. Because the truth is, these war pigs see this death and destruction, and putting an end to it, as a FUCKING GAME. Every one of them can kiss my ass. The whole lot of them needs to go.

[cliss]

9. Great rant, and I

agree with you. Couldn't have said it better

(that's tough to do@ :smoke:)

[Beelzebud]

2. I hope the D.C. Dems don't wait so long to become anti-war

that the republican fraudsters beat them to it...

Nothing suprises me anymore, and I wouldn't be suprised if they pulled it off. The American people are fucking dumb...

[Rose Siding]

3. With all the tearful answers to altar calls, it must be an election year

They've all suddenly seen the light. And the polls.

[Bluebear]

5. Oh, absolutely. They could give a shit about the carnage they brought on.

Now it's not "politically" sustainable.

[Straight Shooter]

6. "We can't look like we won't face reality."

Guess what, dimwit. This is the "reality" your Decider and his minions created for you.

[Gman]

7. Cut and Run Republicans

Hide and watch. They'll try to co-op the withdrawal movement.

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. Can they be more obvious?

All the chest thumping and name-calling just a few weeks ago, eg. "cut & run"; "cut & jog", etc. They have finally come around to the reality that the american public has soured on this illegal, misbegotten war and its cheerleaders, and three months away from the mid-terms, they've suddenly & conveniently developed consciences?

I certainly hope the electorate is more sophisticated, and won't allow itself to be played AGAIN.

[PerfectSage]

10. "NOT POLITICALLY SUSTAINABLE" = GOP "QUIT & SPIN"

or maybe "SHIT & SPIN". The GOP are starting to sound like flip goppers.

or Swift Turncoat Goppers for Truth. :toast: