Here is my response from my Senator...Martinez, a puke.

[spartan61]

Dear XXXXX:

Thank you for letting me know of your thoughts about efforts within the Senate to debate resolutions regarding the war in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.

As you know, there have recently been several proposals provided by Senators from both parties that would address the current strategy for success in Iraq. Senators Biden, Warner, McCain, Levin and others have all provided resolutions that would express the sense of the Senate regarding our war efforts in Iraq. It is vitally important that any resolution regarding Operation Iraqi Freedom or any of the parts of the Global War on Terror fully support our men and women in uniform without undermining their mission.

On February 5, 2007 the Senate voted on a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 470, a bill to express the sense of Congress on Iraq introduced by Senator Carl Levin. This cloture motion did not pass by the sixty vote majority needed to invoke cloture on a piece of legislation. Unfortunately, due to the terrible effects of several tornadoes in the central Florida region, it was necessary for me to be in that area at the time of this vote. However, please know that had I been able to vote on this measure, I would have joined my colleagues in the Senate in voting to deny cloture on this motion to proceed to S. 470.

Many in the news media and elsewhere have claimed that this denial of cloture was a move by the Republican party to keep the Senate from debating the strategies in place in the war in Iraq. This is not the case. The Senate has and will continue to debate all issues surrounding the war in Iraq; however, this discussion must not be a one sided debate. All options for success must be fully vetted on the Senate floor, and I do not believe that the restrictions of the attempted cloture motion would have allowed free and open debate from all sides of this important issue.

One of these options is the legislation recently proposed by Senator McCain (S. Res. 70). This resolution, which I support, would express the sense of the Senate that Congress should ensure that General David Petraeus, Commander of Multinational Forces-Iraq, and all U.S. personnel under his command have the necessary resources to carry out their mission in Iraq. S. Res. 70 also requires that the government of Iraq make visible progress toward meeting the political, economic, and military benchmarks enumerated in the resolution.

Additionally, Senator Gregg offered a measure that would have expressed the sense of Congress that Congress should not take any action that will endanger the military forces of the United States in the field, including the elimination or reduction of funds . I would have supported this resolution as well; however, the Democratic majority in the Senate would not allow either of these pieces of legislation to be considered under their proposed cloture motion. It is for this reason that I would have denied cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 470.

It is vital that Congress examine the president’s plan, and I hope that we can pull together – Republicans and Democrats to solve the most intractable and serious problem we face today. Please know that I will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the ongoing War on Terror. Further, I will continue to work with my colleagues and with the Administration to see that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines receive every tool they need and every benefit we can afford during this time of war.

Again, thank you very much for sharing your concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any additional comments or questions. For more information on issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Mel Martinez
United States Senator

I'm not surprised that he likes McCain's and Gregg's proposals. Also, why does he think it is "vital" to examine the President's plan? None of his plans have ever worked in the past. Why should this one be any different?

[Mojorabbit]

1. I got the same letter

It just makes me want to pull my hair out.