NBC: 11 Republicans Berate Bush Over Iraq In Private White House Meeting

[ProSense]

NBC: 11 Republicans Berate Bush Over Iraq In Private White House Meeting

In a sign of the growing fissure between the White House and its congressional allies over the war, NBC News reports tonight that 11 Republican members of Congress pleaded yesterday with President Bush and his senior aides to change course in Iraq.

The group of Republicans was led by Reps. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Charlie Dent (R-PA), and the meeting included Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Karl Rove, and Tony Snow. One member of Congress called the discussion the “most unvarnished conversation they’ve ever had with the president,” and NBC’s Tim Russert said it “may have been a defining pivotal moment” in the Iraq debate.

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Watch the report:

Republicans have been MIA on Iraq since Bush lied and launched the invasion. They're coming to the realization (I hope) that wait-and-see isn't a policy or oversight. What other choice do they have but to eventually throw Commander Guy under a bus?

[peacetalksforall]

1. Kirk and Dent - not exactly household names - perhaps that's

will represent the way Bush receives them. He will have had Rove give a loyalty report before meeting with him, also which could affect the reception. Anyway, it doesn't make much difference - Cheney appears to be carrying the message that Halliburton, KR, Blackwater type companies haven't made enough money yet and the oil deals aren't signed. Just ignore - I am very bitter this evening about the war. I have a feeling that we're not going to be able to afford the usual things in the lives of most of us - especially the soldiers and their familes - lots of healing to be done.

[Cha]

10. THis is gonna backfire,

big time on those OIL hungary maggots!

[bklyncowgirl]

2. Fear of losing an election does strange things to politicians

The 06 election spooked them and however much they prattle on about winning the war they can see as well as anyone that it just is not happening.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. My thoughts exactly.....

If only I could believe that their concern was with the lives of our friends & family in Iraq, and not their political lives I might be more accepting of this very LATE gesture on their part. I don't think they care one whit about the daily loss of life in Iraq, but their just trying to save their political hides.

JMHO.....

[Brundle_Fly]

11. it's there accountability moment

THANKS JON!

[calimary]

13. Yep. As Barbara Boxer said to that whiny idiot asshole inhofe while

brandishing the gavel of the committee chair (that she now is) - "Elections have consequences."

They're seeing a LOT of handwriting on the wall and they're rather terrified by what it's saying.

This is not the Goldwater Moment I had in mind, but it's a start.

What I DO NOT BUY FOR A SECOND, though, is what bush purportedly said about how he doesn't want to hand this off to the next president, especially the next Democratic president. Yeah, SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURE. That's EXACTLY what he's still hoping to do - run out the clock so he and his can all come back and say things were going great while they were in charge and that we were winning, until the damned Dems got into the White House and absolutely pig-fucked the war and lost it for us all. The rest of 'em are seeing the clock running out NOW about a year and a half ahead of schedule.

[aquart]

3. Plead with that creep? He's destroying you, you fools.

Tell him to change or YOU will bring the charges.

Don't tell me they don't know where at least some of the bodies are buried.

[journalist3072]

4. Was this the 2007 version of the long walk Repugs took to the WH to talk to Nixon back in the day??

I was just thinking how this seems to be the 2007 version of the long walk the Republicans took to the WH and essentially told Nixon game over.

[Canuckistanian]

12. Big difference - Nixon had respect for Goldwater

Shrub respects No-bo-dy.

[Infomaniac]

5. I bet all 11 are in swing districts and are trying to

avert an electoral massacre in 2008. 60% of Americans want benchmarks or a timetable and don't care for the happy horse-shit the kool-aid drinkers are doling out. The war and the corruption exposes yet to come are going to cook some republic gooses. Throw in a good sex scandal - not hard with the degenerates that seem drawn to the repukes - and it's game over.

[Strelnikov_]

6. Good cop/bad cop

GOP inoculating themselves, with the Administrations blessing, from an unpopular lame duck President.

[Straight Shooter]

8. If they want to get anything done, they need to remove rove and rice from the room.

bush doesn't make a move without those two pulling his strings, especially rove. He holds too much power over those in power. This is the most dysfunctional administration ever to stage a coup.

[spooky3]

9. They apparently had little impact--he threatened another veto today:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070510/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

"WASHINGTON - The White House threatened on Wednesday to veto a proposed House bill that would pay for the
Iraq war only through July — a limit Defense Secretary Robert Gates said would be disastrous.
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The warnings came as Gates also told reporters that his evaluation of force levels in Iraq in September will not lead to a rapid troop withdrawal, and that at least some U.S. forces are likely to be in Iraq for a protracted period of time."

snip

"Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia said he presented recent polling data from his suburban Washington district showing Bush's unfavorability ratings exceeded his approval ratings.

"We asked them what's Plan B. We let them know that the status quo is not acceptable," he said. Davis said the president responded that if he began discussing a new strategy, the current one would never have a chance to succeed."

Uh, Rep. Davis, I don't know if it is you or the AP writer who doesn't seem to get it, but your Fairfax County district has STRONGLY disapproved * for a long time. It is only because you have been entrenched so long and done so many favors for so many constituents that you are not facing more risk of losing your seat.

[ProSense]

14. Blair followed Bush to a 28% approval rating

From Think Progress:

Tony Blair, a man “whose decade of achievements have faded into the shadows of the Iraq war,” said Thursday that he will step down as British prime minister on June 27. As the war “turned from a military cakewalk to the nightmarish years-long aftermath, Blair’s popularity ratings dived; they stand at just 28 percent today,” the same level as President Bush.