(hat tip: GayOrbit)
House GOP Seeks Quick Vote On Iraq Pullout – AP
House Republicans, seeing an opportunity, maneuvered for a quick vote and swift rejection Friday of a Democratic lawmaker’s call for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq. “We want to make sure that we support our troops that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. “We will not retreat.” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California had no immediate reaction to the idea of a quick vote before Congress leaves Washington for two weeks.
GOP leaders decided to act little more than 24 hours after Rep. John Murtha, a hawkish Democrat with close ties to the military, said the time had come to pull out the troops. By forcing the issue to a vote, Republicans placed many Democrats in a politically unappealing position — whether to side with Murtha and expose themselves to attacks from the White House and congressional Republicans, or whether to oppose him and risk angering the voters that polls show want an end to the conflict.
Murtha offered a resolution that would force the president to withdraw the nearly 160,000 troops in Iraq “at the earliest practicable date.” It would establish a quick-reaction force and a nearby presence of Marines in the region.
House Republicans planned to put to a vote — and reject — their own resolution that simply says: “It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.” Most Republicans oppose Murtha’s plan, and some Democrats also have been reluctant to back his position.
As Don at GayOrbit says to Democrats…. sometimes you get what you ask for.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha. The Party of Surrender gets to have its Members go on the record in support of its defeatist platform.
You can rest assured I will print all of the “YES” votes right here later on tonight.
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
But do note that the GOP’s legislation is much more a shrill inflammatory demand than Murtha’s more nuanced and, if you agree with his premise, more sensible, proposal.
Just another example of the GOP hiding behind flag waiving and “support the troops” rhetoric. It’s of little substance but has much rancor. Sure they could find better things to do with their time and my tax dollars.
Is there some reason that they don’t want a vote on Mutha’s proposal as written? Could it be that it doesn’t provide quite the nasty sound-bites they need for their campaign commercials next year?
Or are they afraid some in the GOP might actually seriously consider Mutha’s proposal?
Are any Gop’ers going to come forward and rightly denounce the House for using the excuse of “Support the Troops” for such base manipulative political maneuvering? Just look how the GOP demonstrates it’s “support”. They are more interested in making good negative commericals for their re-election campaigns next year than in supporting “the troops.”
(crickets)
Murtha’s “nuanced and sensible approach” is to surrender to the terrorists, and tell al Qaeda that if they kill enough Americans, they will get what they want. Furthermore, he’ll prove that Osama was right in calculating that Americans had no stomach for a serious fight.
I know Gryph is rather desperately trying put a spin on what Murtha said, so let’s haul out Murtha’s exact quote. “My plan calls to immediately redeploy U.S. troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces.” Read: Our soldiers are getting shot at. That’s not what soldiers are for. Let’s get them into DayCare immediately.
Oh, and if you read Murtha’s Press Release, he explicity calls for pulling out troops before the Iraqi elections in three weeks. “I believe before the Iraqi elections, scheduled for mid December, the Iraqi people and the emerging government must be put on notice that the United States will immediately redeploy.”
Poor Pussy…..sucks when you’re outmaneuvered, doesn’t it?
By forcing the issue to a vote, Republicans placed many Democrats in a politically unappealing position — whether to side with Murtha and expose themselves to attacks from the White House and congressional Republicans, or whether to oppose him and risk angering the voters that polls show want an end to the conflict.
You hit on exactly what the problem is — the House Republicans have figured out how to deal with the Democratic spin tactic of releasing inflammatory statements demanding action, then backpedaling. They have in essence said, “This is what you claim you want; we’ll repeat it verbatim, and you can vote on it publicly.”
Just like we do here with people like you, Pussy, who like to claim that Democratic support of antigay state constitutional amendments is “pro-gay” and “gay-supportive”.
Looks like Murtha may have an ethics problem.
But, I am sure exposing these inconvenient facts will just be called “Smearing” by the left.
Now, I’m just spit-ballin’ here, but suppose you were a Democrat congressman, and you knew you were about to be the subject of an ethics investigation… over something considerably easier for the voters to understand than a technical violation of an obscure campaign finance law. Would it occur to you that one way to get the media on your side, and make the pending ethics investigation look like a smear campaign, was to pull a Cindy Sheehan and call for immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq?
Is that plausible, or am I in “Hillary killed Vince Foster” territory?
Nope, V the K. You are definitely in Fort Marcie Park.
Regards,
Peter Hughes
Here’s what the AP is reporting:
“The fiery, emotional debate climaxed when Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, the most junior member of the House, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.
“He asked me to send Congress a message – stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message – that cowards cut and run, Marines never do,” Schmidt said.
Democrats booed and shouted her down – causing the House to come to a standstill.
Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., charged across the chamber’s center aisle screaming that it was an uncalled for personal attack. “You guys are pathetic. Pathetic,” yelled Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass.”
I say Rep. Schmidt and that unnamed colonel was right. And libs – the truth hurts, doesn’t it??
Also – doesn’t it make you squirm to see Rep. Ford going after a woman like that? Where is your sense of decency? Oh, wait – she was a Republican and that doesn’t count. You can be black or female and still be denigrated and maligned by the democRATS because you’re GOP. My bad.
Let’s hear it for the Murtha Focker, guys, and how he’s really stepped in it! I smell GOP victory in 2006.
Regards,
Peter Hughes
My quick scanning of right-wing waco blogs(my favorite kind) shows a great deal of enthusiasm for putting the Dems on the spot with this resolution. Emotionally, I applaud the maneuver. Rationally, I am reminded that this is just one small skirmish in a long war with the Left. This has been going on since at least the 1930’s and will probably continue well past our life spans. The battle is heating up. So, what counter thrust will the Lefties in Congress come up with? By aligning themselves with Communists, Baathist, Islaoterrorists, etc., in the past they have made the world a much more dangerous place no matter how soft their rhetortic may sound. The Left supported hundreds of bombings of American government offices during Vietnam, they can be expected to do no less this time around.
Richard — you hit the nail on the head. The Democrat Party post-FDR has a history of slow and building appeasement to anti-American forces throughout the world. I wish this House Resolution was forced on Congress during Vietnam.
“Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., charged across the chamber’s center aisle screaming that it was an uncalled for personal attack. “You guys are pathetic. Pathetic,” yelled Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass.”
I say Rep. Schmidt and that unnamed colonel was right. And libs – the truth hurts, doesn’t it??
Also – doesn’t it make you squirm to see Rep. Ford going after a woman like that? ”
And I say you are full of shit. If she is such a conservative woman why isn’t she keeping here mouth shut and making coffee? It’s easy for someone born with a draft-exemption between her legs to talk all warlike, isn’t it? And who is that p-u-s-s-y to call anyone a coward?
That Schmidt woman may actually have something useful to say on the subject of foreign policy, but on matters of courage and the conduct of war she will never be anything but an ignorant civilian twat. She might have someone with a little more credibilty say it for her, don’t you think? There are obvious good reasons to stay in Iraq and continue, I happen to think. But when some Kraut cunt get up in the US Congress and insinuates that a 37-year Marine Corp veteran is a coward, she is just discrediting an otherwise reasonable position. Someone really, really needs to get a muzzle on her.
Sort of like they need to muzzle Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Rodham-Rodham, right Jimmy ole girl?
And as for your remarkably sexist “conservative women making coffee” comment, you are just showing your true colors as a demoncRAT who doesn’t want their base wandering that far off the plantation.
Face it – a (GOP) woman’s place is in the DOME!!
Regards,
Peter Hughes