Sensing Momentum From Republican Defections Reid Will Press for an Iraq Exit

[bigtree]

July 8, 2007

Sensing a Shift, Reid Will Press for an Iraq Exit

WASHINGTON, July 7 — {snip} Sensing momentum from the new Republican defections, Mr. Reid and other leading Democrats intend to force a series of votes over the next two weeks on proposals to withdraw troops and limit spending, in an effort to put new pressure on the administration and put Republicans on the record. Democrats are increasingly confident they can assemble majority opposition to administration policies.

“It is going to be harder for Republicans to not sign on to something with bite in it, a clear Congressional assessment that change is needed,” said Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan and chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “I think it is more likely there will be a majority around here that say we should begin to redeploy some forces by a certain date, and I hope it would be a larger majority.”


Mr. Reid said he now sees ending the war as a moral duty, and even if the Senate again falls short, he said, he would turn again and again to Iraq until either the president relents or enough Republicans join Democrats to overrule Mr. Bush.

“I think that each time these people vote to continue what’s going on in Iraq it is a bad, bad move for them and a worse move for our country,” Mr. Reid said.

“Some folks may have anticipated that the war would be stopped the Wednesday after the Tuesday election,” said Senator Jon Tester, Democrat of Montana. “But this is a complex situation that we’ve got in Iraq right now and I think most of the people understand that we’re going to do the best we can do with what we have to work with.”

“Senator Reid was not able to get it done, but ultimately it is the Republicans who are obstructing passage,” said Moira Mack, a spokeswoman for Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.

Democrats hoped to drive that point home in the renewed fight, with the annual Pentagon policy measure as the battleground. The leadership has put much of its muscle behind a plan by Mr. Levin and Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, that would order a troop pullout within 120 days of becoming law and require most combat troops out by next spring.

Mr. Reid has also joined Senator Russ. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, in pushing a more confrontational approach that would end spending on most of the combat and significantly limit the role of American forces by early next year.


more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/washington/08reid.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

[bigtree]

1. Reid: Domenici Must Call For Change of Course In Iraq With Action

July 5, 2007

Washington, DC — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to Senator Pete Domenici’s call for new U.S. military strategy in Iraq:

“Senator Domenici is correct to assess that the Administration’s war strategy is misguided. But we will not see a much-needed change of course in Iraq until Republicans like Senators Domenici, Lugar and Voinovich are willing to stand up to President Bush and his stubborn clinging to a failed policy – and more importantly, back up their words with action. Beginning with the Defense Authorization bill next week, Republicans will have the opportunity to not just say the right things on Iraq, but vote the right way too so that we can bring the responsible end to this war that the American people demand and deserve.

“As evidence mounts that the ‘surge’ is failing to make Iraq more secure, we cannot wait until the Administration’s September report before we change course. President Bush and the Iraqis must move now to finally accept a measure of accountability for this war, implement the Iraq Study Group recommendations, transition the mission for our combat troops and start bringing them home from an intractable civil war.”

http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=278354&

[bluerum]

2. This is their concession - instead of backing impeachment they will appear

to back away from supporting the war.

But when push comes to shove, Reid will be standing there alone, as the republics slink back under their slime covered rocks.

[bigtree]

3. this is just the beginning, the first cracks in the dam

coming from front-tier establishment pugs on the run

[SoCalDem]

4. Yep.. Reid appears to be reading the tea leaves incorrectly

Repubes are bailing out to help their own re-election , and re-elections of their cronies, chances in '08. They are ideological creatures, through and through. They are willing to back the stupidest ideas if it means winning elections. they have no real plan for governance. Their only goal it to remain in office and fatten the bank accounts of their own families and those of their benefactors.

It's all about the money..

reid is mistaken if he thinks they have suddenly started to back him or his ideas. They will cut him off at the knees, but at a time of their choosing.

[bigtree]

5. It should be obvious that he's making a political statement

highlighting the republicans' words and challenging them to act on them as he readies to force votes from them on the Democrat's pending withdrawal legislation. It just makes sense to pressure them while they're looking for a way to bail out. Make them account for their words . . . make Bush react to the dissent in his own party . . . intimidate others into bailing.

[bluerum]

6. The republics will never act on those words. They are baiting the dems

to play their hands to the fullest. Once the dems have spewed forth their rhetoric, the republics that spoke out will slink away. Other republics will come forward to support the demented cowboy president and the war and call the dems all kinds of nasty.

It seems to me, that impeachment is the goal. Anything else is window dressing appeasement.

[bigtree]

7. Enlisting the full Congress to impeach and convict is even more dubious

. . . .much less of a chance that an impeachment would end the occupation;

[bluerum]

8. I see them as two seperate issues. Impeachment won't end the war but

it might bring some justice. Not that the senate would convict even if charges were brought.

I guess that I would not count on any help from the republics until there is a dem president. In the end, they will always back down to the demented cowboy pResident and his helpmate, KKKarl.