Quietly Banging My Head Against The Laptop

The House of Representatives, having seen multiple negative assessments of the success of the escalation, polls showing support for withdrawal in the 60-70% range, etc., etc., is going to pretty much give up on any attempt to get our troops home.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) came out on Wednesday in favor of holding a vote on a bipartisan Iraqi withdrawal bill. Meanwhile, the party’s left wing renewed calls for a pullout and announced a new campaign to block funds for arming and training the Iraq Security Forces.

The bipartisan legislation, authored by Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and John Tanner (D-Tenn.), would order Bush to draft plans to withdraw from Iraq but not require them to be implemented. Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) and two other Republicans have signed on as cosponsors.

“I would like to see us move forward on that,” Hoyer said. “The president ought to come up with a plan for withdrawal.”

You're the Majority Leader of the House and you don't think the Pentagon has withdrawal plans? Who cares if there's a plan when there's no need for it to be implemented? So you can feel good on the way to your cocktail parties?

Kos, a new convert to the cut the funding plan as the only way to end the war, is righteously angry:

Here's the bottom line -- the voters elected a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate in 2006 to get the f' out of Iraq. Democrats don't need to compromise with Republicans. If there's no money, there's no way to continue the war. And with Democrats in total control of the House, and with the ability to filibuster any funding bill in the Senate, our side can hole up any bill that doesn't do what WE want to do.

Republicans have to compromise with us. We have the electoral mandate, not the unpopular Republicans and certainly not Mr. 25%. And the compromise is 1) we give you the money, and 2) you give us the timetable. We can even compromise on #2, working together to figure out just how long troops ought to remain (from, say, six months to just before Bush leaves office), depending on what military leaders on the ground say would be the safest, most efficient way to get them out.

But telling Bush he doesn't have to do shit for his $200 billion other than come up with a "plan" isn't a "compromise", it's capitulation. And, by giving Republicans a free vote on a paper tiger bill, they even get to go home and campaign on their efforts to "end the war".

And our leaders aren't doing a damn thing about it. Chris Dodd is trying.

The New York Times reported earlier today that Democrats are considering whether to offer a "compromise" amendment on Iraq to the upcoming Defense Department Authorization bill.

This "compromise," the Levin-Reed amendment, would reportedly establish a non-binding "goal" -- as opposed to a firm deadline -- for withdrawing our combat troops from Iraq.

The net result would be another blank check for President Bush.

Senator Dodd said it best earlier today, "I cannot and will not support any measure that does not have a firm and enforceable deadline to complete the redeployment of combat troops from Iraq. Rather than picking up votes, by removing the deadline to get our troops out of Iraq you have lost this Democrat's vote."

This is a depressing day because the Democrats are squandering their mandate, and there is precious little leadership on this side of the aisle apart from Sen. Dodd and former Sen. Edwards. They'll scream about not having the votes when they don't need more than 40 votes in the Senate to block any funding bill. But they don't have the cajones to lead, still afraid of what the President might say about them like a bunch of 9 year-olds. Meanwhile, the President has to withdraw 30,000 troops next year and now he'll get credit for bringing our boys home when it was inevitable anyway. Meanwhile more die every month.

This puts the Presidential election in severe jeopardy. I don't get the sense that our frontrunners are ready or willing to lead. (Edwards and Dodd excepted)