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We’re Tired of Our Own Politicians Demanding Our Defeat in Iraq

Captain Ed notes: [1]

John Warner has declared that he will filibuster his own non-binding resolution [2] on the surge to protest the conduct of Harry Reid in limiting votes on alternatives, such as John McCain’s proposed language [3] that supports the President’s new strategy for Baghdad and Anbar. The GOP says they can organize all 49 Senators in their caucus, which would keep any resolution from proceeding to a vote:

Sen. John W. Warner will join his fellow Republicans in voting Monday to block the resolution he wrote rebuking President Bush’s Iraq war policy.”Senator Warner supports the Senate Republican leadership’s effort to establish a free and open debate on Iraq on the Senate floor, including possible amendments,” a spokesman for the Virginia Republican said yesterday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Warner told colleagues during a closed-door strategy meeting at the Library of Congress that he opposes the manner in which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, is conducting debate on his resolution, which condemns Mr. Bush’s plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

Senate Republicans are opposed to a vote on the Warner resolution unless they also get votes on two other resolutions. One of those alternatives supports Mr. Bush’s plan, and the other would prohibit cutting funds for the war. Republicans also want each resolution to require 60 votes to pass.

Look, I think Warner is an idiot for having written the resolution in the first place.  Still, in this, it would appear he’s proven useful.  As Ed Notes:

Mitch McConnell seems to have aroused more opposition to the resolutions than first thought. He appeared on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show this week, and McConnell told Hugh that he was aware of the NRSC pledge effort to deny the Senate Republican election committee any funding if they lost their nerve on the war. That message seems to have been heard by the caucus, and the sudden reversal by Warner makes it clear that we have made them nervous about the outcome.

Now if only they applied some of those teeth while the Republicans were still in power…. Or, before Warner opened his yap to drop this little bomb of a resolution on Congress and the country, and on the troops. I think the NRSC action, here, is if nothing else, reflective of a country that is sick to death of politicians demanding defeat for the United States. Dean Bartlett [4]correctly says:

” The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body is worse than useless during this, the fight for our lives. That being the case, I wish they’d just have the common decency to shut up, raise money, kiss babies and let serious people like Dave Petraeus take care of business.”

Indeed.