Oops, They Stole My Thunder
That's what John "Wanna See My Hat?" Kerry has got to be saying to himself right now. As he's punting the family dog, of course. After all his telegraphing how he was planning to introduce a measure to require an American withdrawal from Iraq, he got flanked by a pretty slick political move. Kerry got smoked on the vote, too.
Today's 93-to-6 Senate vote came after a maneuver by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the second-ranking Republican, who introduced a measure that he said was taken from a proposal by Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, calling for President Bush to agree with the new Iraqi government on a timetable to withdraw most troops by Dec. 31.
Mr. Kerry has not yet offered his own measure because, he said, language is still being worked out. He and other Democrats accused Republicans of gamesmanship by engineering a surprise vote today, according to The Associated Press, and said they would push for an authentic debate next week. The vote was to table a proposal that only those forces essential to completing the mission of "standing up" the Iraqi security forces remain in the country in 2007, and it reflected a deep reluctance in both parties to commit to a firm withdrawal schedule.
The six "no" votes were cast by Senators Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy, also of Massachusetts; Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, Barbara Boxer of California, Tom Harkin of Iowa and Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, all Democrats.
93 to 6 is pretty convincing. The measure used the words, "that it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of the United States armed forces from Iraq." Which pretty well wraps it up.
Kerry painted himself into a corner on this one with his blatant play to the left. Cue the hamster. Keep working on the words, Kerry. You ought to about have them down in 2085. Or a bit later.
By Shawn, Thursday, 15 June , 2006 @ 9:16 pm
I was on the Robert C. Byrd Parkway (I think it was Parkway…it may have been called something else) recently. Twice…going to North Carolina and returning from there. Both times I felt a desire to stop and urinate on it. The six that voted for this (and we need to create a term for them, such as “The Syncopate Six”) are among the most partisan and polarizing members of Congress. Kerry is flip-flopping again (no surprise there) and anyone with any amount of cognative ability realizes that cutting and running now would virtually guarantee a bloody civil war in Iraq that would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
By Gaius, Thursday, 15 June , 2006 @ 9:19 pm
The Sycophant Six has an outstanding ring to it!
By Sarge, Friday, 16 June , 2006 @ 3:56 am
My roommate and I were just discussing this issue last night, about what it would mean if we pulled out of Iraq in the near future. We got a rather urgent reminder last week of the sacrifices our servicemen have made over here. If we left now, this country would collapse, and all the American men and women who gave their lives to bring these people a future will have died in vain. George Orwell once said, “the quickest way to end a war is to lose it.” If we pull out now, we lose everything we’ve fought for.
By Gaius, Friday, 16 June , 2006 @ 4:19 am
Absolutely right. The best way to make the whole effort futile is to pull out too soon.
Which is what the sycophants want.
By Sarge, Friday, 16 June , 2006 @ 4:45 am
Self-correction: it isn’t just Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. My apologies for leaving out the fact that several countries have lost soldiers in this war (including members of the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police), and they also deserve to be remembered.
By Gaius, Friday, 16 June , 2006 @ 5:07 am
Very true and worth remembering that there have been heroic sacrifices by many from many different countries both in Iraq and in Afghanistan.