Warner "Standing on One Principle, Voting on Another"; Webb says White House "turned up the heat"

[DeepModem Mom]

Warner's cowardly betrayal of his Virginia colleague, decorated Vietnam vet Jim Webb:

WP: Standing on One Principle, Voting on Another
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, September 20, 2007; Page A02


John Warner was with an antiwar colleague all the way -- almost. (By Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Just two months ago, the courtly Virginia Republican went to the Senate floor and sided with his Democratic colleague from the commonwealth, Jim Webb, on a plan that would shorten troop deployments in Iraq. Yesterday, he went to the same place to announce that he would now vote against the same bill. "I endorsed it," Warner said. "I intend now to cast a vote against it." With those dozen words, the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee put a surprise end to the latest efforts in Congress to limit the Iraq war.

Democrats had been hoping that Warner, who last month endorsed the start of a pullout from Iraq, would bring enough Republicans with him to vote for their best plan to accelerate the troop withdrawal: Webb's plan to limit the troops' deployments. But this effort, like previous ones, ended in failure.

"Senator Webb's amendment, I would say without any equivocation, is designed to help protect the concept of the all-volunteer force, and it was for that reason that I joined him," Warner explained in his discursive floor statement, which led to the conclusion that "I will have to cast a vote against my good friend's amendment." Pro-war Republicans, who had been grumbling about Warner's perfidy for weeks, suddenly celebrated him as an American hero....

Webb was rather less pleased to discover that Warner had retreated from their shared foxhole. The White House "turned up the political heat, and that made people, like particularly Senator Warner, uncomfortable," he deduced. And when did Webb learn of the betrayal? "Um," Webb replied, "he told me five minutes before the debate began this morning."

Webb should not have been surprised. In January, Warner drafted a Senate resolution opposing President Bush's "surge" of additional troops into Iraq. Then, on Feb. 5, he voted against bringing up his own resolution for debate. The surge went ahead, unmolested. In the spring, Warner repeatedly flirted with opposition to Bush, but each time he returned to the fold....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091902153.html?hpid=topnews

[rodeodance]

1. My guess is that he probably would have brought a few Senators along with

him to vote AYE (if he had not changed his mind).

[DeepModem Mom]

3. A tragic "if only." Shame on him! nt

[rodeodance]

2. He can take his 'courtliness"-----and walk into a bog as far as I am concerned!

[sallyseven]

4. The president is insane nd the republicans

follow him any way. What the hell is the matter with them? They don't care about their constituents only bush and power. Lets get them all out in 2008.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Burn in hell, Warner.

[izzie]

6. Are we talking about the same Warner that was for the Cuba base?

Give me a brake, this guy has never stood up for my values or many I like to think goes with the Am. mind. He sure does talk down to us very well.

[0007]

7. John Warner is a senile feeble-minded person that bows to junior and his dick


"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world. "- George W. Bush

[madrchsod]

8. did you mean "blow"? n/t

[0007]

11. LOL!! That'll work too . . . I've been so nasty in the past I guess I'm

trying hard to clean up my act.

[madrchsod]

13. it`s really hard to do is`t it...

i`ve been writing fuck a lot more than usual....

[demnan]

9. I guess he forgot this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMpNRxHi5BQ

[Baby Snooks]

10. "Not all there..."

Sounds like Senator Elizabeth Taylor isn't all there anymore. Some would say he never was there. When he was first elected, someone commented that Virginia had elected the three biggest boobs in the country. Sort of sums him up.

He ran as a "gentleman farmer" as I recall. Fortunately he will be retiring to the farm soon.

[pattmarty]

12. You have to have principles to stand on, this motherfucker would drown in bullshit.

[ShortnFiery]

14. Warner wedged a figurative knife in Webb's back 5 minutes before floor debate.

These evil "war profiteering" corporations know all the under-handed tactics so they can keep sucking our tax dollars out of the government teat. And dumb-ass John Warner fell for it! :grr:

[Karenina]

15. The concept of a "professional" military

is NOT healthy to a democracy...

[MasonJar]

16. Did Warner give any reason for changing his vote? He certainly

does not have anything to lose since he is not running for re-election. I hope a dem gets that seat. Warner (D) has a good chance.