Democrats Push Toward Middle On Iraq Policy

[rodeodance]

Source: wpost



Democrats Push Toward Middle On Iraq Policy

By Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 13, 2007; Page A01

Democratic leaders in Congress have decided to shift course and pursue modest bipartisan measures to alter U.S. military strategy in Iraq, hoping to use incremental changes instead of aggressive legislation to break the grip Republicans have held over the direction of war policy.

Standing against them will be President Bush, who intends to use a prime-time address tonight to try to ease concerns that his Iraq strategy will lead to an open-ended military commitment.

Both efforts share a single target: a handful of Republican moderates in the Senate whose votes the Democrats need to overcome the threat of a GOP filibuster. Should enough Republican moderates sign on to a compromise measure, Democrats could finally pass legislation aimed at changing direction of the war.

"We're reaching out to the Republicans to allow them to fulfill their word," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) said yesterday. "A number of them are quoted significantly saying that come September that there would have to be a change of the course in the war in Iraq."...

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202542.html?hpid=topnews

[u2spirit]

1. 1/20/09

That's when we can discuss Iraq in a different way. Until then, the giggling murderer and the feckless dem majority will play footsie.

[HereSince1628]

4. The DCdems will NEVER discuss Iraq differently.

Sometimes things change and remain the same. This is one of them.

[mike_c]

2. "...modest bipartisan measures..."

:nuke:

[FiveGoodMen]

3. I wonder if Hitler's opponents could have settled with him on killing only half the Jews

and invading only half of Europe?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Compromising with war crimes???!!!!

What a bunch of WIMPS!

:banghead:

[subsuelo]

6. "we're reaching out to Republicans..."

oh please

:(

[kysrsoze]

7. Thanks, Mr. Reid, for NOTHING again.

[Vincardog]

8. Do you compromise with the devil? HELL NO. No compromise NO RETREAT get the Fuck OUT of Iraq NOW

Impeach Darth, the Chimp and ever other war criminal in our government.

I am sick of this 60 vote BULL SHIT. We do not need 60 votes to NOT PASS funding for the ILLEGAL OCCUPATION of IRAQ. We simply send a note to jr and his dark friends

"Dear a$$hat;
No more funding for your criminal adventures in Iraq. Bring them home now with the money already appropriated. PS start studying for your impeachment hearings.
Love Congress and the American People"

[harun]

9. Did the Repub's comprimise with Dem's on getting in to this war? (n/t)

[ohio2007]

10. increase distance from the extreme left is what they are doing

not giving up their stand on reducing the footprint in Iraq. Looking for more votes shifting to the middle is also the point,imo

[FiveGoodMen]

11. Define 'extreme left' in policy terms

[wellst0nev0ter]

15. So You Support Democrats Triangulating Themselves Into A Position

where NOBODY likes them? I know the Republican game plan is to saddle the next Dem president with the shitmire that they will have to pull out of so that they can renew their campaign slogans of "Defeatist Democrats" and win again in 2012. But then again, what is the alternative? Presiding over a what is, at best, an unchanging disaster that is destroying the military?

Why are there some Dems too afraid to make Bush take responsibility?

[damntexdem]

19. Yeah, sure, distancing themselves from the extreme left:

such as the majority of the American people -- that extreme left.

[Zhade]

23. I wasn't aware Maoists and Stalinists were a problem for the cowardly Dem leadership.

NT!

[Javaman]

12. In other words...

we aren't leaving Iraq anytime soon.

[feloneous cat]

13. MEMO

WHO SAID WE WERE LEAVING IRAQ?

SINCERELY,

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

[Megahurtz]

14. "Bipartisan"

I'm so sick of that word!:banghead:

If you don't agree with something you don't agree with something and you don't give in!!!

[wellst0nev0ter]

16. That's The Only Thing I Agree With Grover Norquist On

with these repuke clowns, "bipartisanship" is just like date rape.

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. And then you get nothing

Sometimes half a loaf is better than no loaf.

[Zhade]

24. Tell that to the thousands of Iraqis you're consigning to death.

How you can sleep at night is beyond me.

[Freddie Stubbs]

26. You are assumining that tranquility will descend on Iraq if American troops withdraw

What leads you to believe that?

[Zhade]

28. You are putting words in my mouth. Don't ever fucking do that.

Stop assuming you know what I'm thinking. You don't.

[damntexdem]

20. 'Bipartisan' is only applied to the face.

And it sounds so much nicer than 'two-faced.'

[damntexdem]

18. Oh, yeah, that's the place to be -- right in the middle of the quagmire.

As everybody knows, if there's a mine field, then you want to be right in the middle of it.

Sure, let's not stay in Iraq forever -- only for a couple of centuries.

[badgervan]

21. I Nominate...

... Russ Feingold to replace Milquetoast Reid as Dem Spokesman/Senate Leader. Reid and Pelosi are way too naive, polite, vanilla. We need some fire.

[Zhade]

22. Your betrayal will be remembered, you cowards.

There is no "middle" when it comes to murder.

[Generator]

25. As I found out from my thread on DU

nobody voted for the Dems last fall to end the war in Iraq. Apparently we voted for them to talk about trying to end the war in Iraq-but not the funding-which is what keeps us in Iraq. Nice game, heh? Too bad the voters actually want the war to end. Suckers!

[Orsino]

27. Let it be their war, too...

...excepting those that filibuster any war funding.

[Zhade]

29. A filibuster wouldn't be needed if the Dem leadership didn't allow the bills to go to the floor!

NT!