Posted on 11/05/2005 3:34:12 AM PST by prairiebreeze
Democrats are intensifying efforts to hold President Bush and his fellow Republicans accountable for missteps in the Iraq war, as they seek to exploit a potential GOP vulnerability heading into Congress' midterm election year.
Outnumbered on Capitol Hill, Democrats are embracing the little power they have in the GOP-controlled House and Senate by using procedural techniques to highlight Iraq troubles and issue blistering critiques of Bush's war policies.
At the same time, increasing numbers of Democrats are calling for the president to start withdrawing U.S. troops by year's end and are laying out their own timetables for pulling out of the war-battered country.
"What the Democrats are saying essentially is, enough is enough. It's time to determine the facts and to hold the president accountable for the miscalculations, misjudgments and misrepresentations," said Steve McMahon, a Democratic consultant.
On Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada surprised and infuriated Republicans by invoking an arcane Senate rule to force the chamber into closed session for more than two hours on Iraq and prewar intelligence.
Two days later, Reid's counterpart in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) of California, tried unsuccessfully to get the GOP-controlled chamber to take up a measure condemning Republicans for "their refusal to conduct oversight" of the administration's Iraq war policy and order investigations into it.
In both cases, Democrats say Republican leaders have put political interests ahead of national security by failing in their oversight responsibilities of the Iraq war.
Republicans dismissed the actions as political stunts and accused Democrats of trying to steal news headlines from Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said Senate Democrats were going "to extraordinary and unprecedented measures to obstruct the business of the American people. Because the Democrats have no ideas or agenda of their own, they've made an awkward attempt at changing the subject."
The Democrats' stepped-up campaign coincides with Bush's popularity plummeting to its lowest levels ever, with a new AP-Ipsos poll placing his approval rating at 37 percent.
It also coincides with two other high-profile events — the grim milestone of 2,000 U.S. military deaths in Iraq and the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, in a case that touched on intelligence the president used in the run-up to the war.
Democrats say that gave them an opening to more aggressively press the administration to outline a plan for withdrawal and demand that Congress complete a stalled investigation into prewar intelligence.
Like Republicans, Democrats also have been feeling the heat from their constituents, who are growing increasingly frustrated with the war as casualties climb and costs soar. AP-Ipsos polling shows public support for Bush's handling of Iraq at its lowest point, also 37 percent.
Democrats hope aggressively pushing Bush on Iraq will unify their party and fracture Republicans by forcing GOP candidates to decide whether to stand with the president or distance themselves from him and his policies.
The minority party also is using its intensified effort on Iraq to raise money.
"Make a special donation and send a note of thanks to Harry Reid asking him to keep up the fight," said a fundraising e-mail from Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, sent out the day of the closed Senate session.
In coming weeks, House Democrats, led by Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, plan to force the House to consider a Senate-approved ban on the "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of prisoners in U.S. custody. Members of both parties expect the House to side with the Senate, despite a White House veto threat.
A former Marine who served in Vietnam, Murtha rarely makes such public moves. But when the conservative Democrat speaks on military issues, colleagues tend to listen.
Murtha said Thursday that he has grown so concerned about some of the president's war policies that he plans a speech laying out his recommendations for the war before the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq.
"This war is destroying our ability to meet the threat down the road," Murtha said.
Two other senior Democrats weighed in with speeches as well over the past two weeks.
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts called for a "reasonable time frame" for pulling back troops, and said 20,000 should start returning home in December if the elections go well. And former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said all U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2007.
I posted this piece of you-know-what for this part. See thread Cheney Seeks CIA Exemption to Torture Ban
And Liz, quoting 5 RATs and 1 Republican in your article, while typical of the stone age press you represent, doesn't convince the public to embrace the RATs anti-military, anti-Bush position. In fact, it seems you are force to employ the same tactics as your RAT counterparts. We aren't fooled by your transparent and immature journalism tactics.
Excellent and responsible citizens...... those Dems (sarcasm off).
Let us see. Side A is doing everything they can to protect the security moms and their kids. The other side is doing nothing but whining about what side A is doing.
2006 is going to be ANOTHER great Republican year like 2002 and 2004! These people really are like dehydrated, rock hard insane stupid.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
They really are. They know they are too insanely stupid to run the Govt so they keep blowing their own feet off to make sure they stay in the Minority. Let's see 2002 and 2004 Dems ran on the Hate America 1st Agenda and got their butts handed to them. So OF COURSE, 2006 Democrats should fight on EXACTLY the same issue!!! Stupid is as stupid does.
****This war is destroying our ability to meet the threat down the road," Murtha said******
This war IS the threat down the road. If we lose it we are in deep doo-doo.
Gee; I'll be glad when we take over the House and Senate. It would be nice to have a Republican majority for a change.
I wonder if the Republican Leaders will know how to act when they're in charge?
Only if we can permote Allen or Corburn over Frist and Specter
LOL
We've pledged to gather 20,000 signatures a day in each of the 20 days leading up to Thanksgiving. That's 400,000 signatures and we're almost a quarter of the way there already...Yeah Kerry, keep on dreaming........
It shows you how eager the American people are for a plan on Iraq that makes sense....The plan we have is working, the Iraqis are stepping up to the plate and taking over more each day.
Let Republican Senators bristle at our demands for a full investigation of pre-war intelligence. Let the Bush administration cower in fear that Karl Rove will be indicted for his role in trying to intimidate those who dared to speak the truth. Let Dick Cheney try to explain away his four-year-long campaign of deception, bullying, and misdirection. Kerry thinks Joe Wilson speaks the truth - mind boggling! Our Vice President is right on!
But don't let America's brave armed forces serve another day without a clear, concrete plan for achieving America's goals in Iraq and bringing the majority of our troops home by the end of 2006....Kerry, we have a plan and it is working - what on earth is this man smoking?
Yep. Thanks, I posted this one onto that other thread.
Bears repeating.
I'd suggest the Dems pray we aren't attacked, but that would be a waste of time, wouldn't it? On so many levels.
This country would be better served if the democrat party would join the debate with real policy ideas instead of whining and bitching about republicans.
LOUIS PEPE
Google his name. That's my answer about this cruel, inhuman nonsense! Louis is the prison guard who was held down by two AlQueda inmates serving time for the 1993 WTC bombing. They shoved a sharp comb into his eye & brain.
I have no sympathy for the terrorists. They want to kill us. They will kill their soldier guards in a heartbeat if given a chance. We are at war...get info out of them asap and be done with it.
The dems wish we had 20,000 war dead so they had more to exploit. They are shameless.
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