Reid, Biden, Hillary Clinton REJECT Cleland/Feingold re: Iraq pullout

[Bluebear]

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) broke with his party leadership last week to become the first senator to call for all troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by a specific deadline. Feingold proposed Dec. 31, 2006. In delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address yesterday, former senator Max Cleland (Ga.), a war hero who lost three limbs in Vietnam, declared that "it's time for a strategy to win in Iraq or a strategy to get out."

Although critical of Bush, the party's establishment figures -- including Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (Del.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) -- all reject the Feingold approach, reasoning that success in Iraq at this point is too important for the country.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who rose to public prominence on an antiwar presidential campaign, said on television a week ago that it was the responsibility of the president, not the opposition, to come up with a plan for Iraq.

"Clearly Democrats are not united in what is the critique of what we're doing there and what is the answer to what we do next," said Steve Elmendorf, a senior party strategist whose former boss, then-House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq. "The difficulty of coming to a unified position is that for a lot of people who voted for it, they have to decide whether they can admit that they were misled."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/washpost/20050822/pl_washpost/democrats_split_over_position_on_iraq_war&printer=1

[stillcool]

1. Why do these people have such a hard time....

telling the truth?? How many laws have they broken, that they have to hold on for dear life to their nonsensical bullshit?

[mmonk]

2. misled

or chicken.

[mike_c]

5. or misjudged....

I think a lot of them simply played the political calculus wrong. THey thought it was going to be a simple little patriotic romp over a defenseless third world country that their constituents all loved to hate. Everybody wins, as long as they're not Iraqi. :puke:

[htuttle]

17. Exactly

That's what happened. They wanted to appear 'tough' or at least not 'appear weak', so they caved to faulty political calculus. ( did ya get that? They wanted to seem tough, so they caved in...it would almost be funny, if it weren't for the consequences).

I thought so at the time as well, which is why I *really* had to hold my nose when voting last time.

I don't know if I can do that again.

When you get right down to it, though, the whole thing is a pretty stark lesson in how much our government doesn't actually govern. It's all about the money and getting re-elected (and the money), up and down the line, except for just a handful of Congresspersons.

Think you can score some political points by backing a war that would be politically popular? Vote for it. No thought as to whether it would actually be a good idea or not, but rather about whether it would be politically advantageous.

[stray cat]

3. If time lines are good enough for the Iraqis.......

The Iraqis have a timeline for their constitution for their elections. My work requires timelines and planning. What is wrong with timelines! Bush doesn't want any accountability - accountability is only for other people. Mr simplistic offers only "stay the course" without any plan.

[katsy]

4. Dear Reid, Biden & Clinton...

listen up for a minute. There's a 3rd way.

Initiate legislation giving Iraqi women and their minor children political asylum immediately.

We've caused the rape, killing and maiming of too many Iraqi women and their children. FIX IT.

Then get us the fuck out of Iraq.

[mmonk]

6. It seems to me

that the mission to create another unfriendly Islamic state is almost finished. It's time to start thinking dates.

[democracyindanger]

11. The way things are looking

we may get a 3-for-1 deal.

[democracyindanger]

7. Wow. What a crappily written story.

Clinton and Biden's view is pretty clear from recent public statements and appearances. Reid, not so much, as far as I know. A couple quotes from them, and specifically him, would've been nice.

And when did Kennedy stop being one of "the party's establishment figures"?

This line was especially precious:

"One problem for Democrats is that even when they do speak up about Iraq, they draw little attention."

'Course, a lazy mainstream press who'd rather play Where The White Women At? wouldn't have anything to do with that...

[mmonk]

10. Yeah,

the mainstream press isn't playing with them. It kind of defeats their purpose of out hawking the hawks. No gain, cretins. Drop back and punt.

[Pepperbelly]

8. I don't know if it's ego, political cowardice or stupidity ...

guiding them although, in fairness, they could actually believe it. But they would be wrong.

[Hubert Flottz]

15. "I can't tell some of the democrats and the repubs apart", when it

comes to admitting that they EVER made a mistake. That's why I'd never vote for ANYONE who can't change course when the country is headed into the crapper. They have made such a big deal out of Fear of the "Flip Flop" that there is no way out for the fools.

Sometimes I think we need a LABOR party that looks out for the people instead of their IMAGE. These VAIN assholes, are creating at least one new Cindy every day in Iraq and the people who went along with Bush in the first place, were not doing their jobs of looking out for the country, like they SWORE that they would do. Did their parents never teach them to own up to their mistakes?

[Mass]

9. This article is idiotic. Both Feingold and Cleland call for a strategy to

win. Feingold said it clearly in MTP. He explained that he was not proposing to cut and run (as we could have guessed given the 12/31/06 date, but a date before which to implement what is necessary. He even suggested that the date could be postponed if more time was needed. (I totally agree with Feingold).

As for Cleland, as he said, we need a strategy to win or to get out.

Now the problem is that Clinton refuses to say she does not want permanent bases, nor does Biden. I imagine that Reid is in a difficult situation trying to get the caucus relatively united.

As for Dean, I am in total agreement with him, and it seems that both Feingold and Cleland are also. They are not proposing a plan.

[KittyWampus]

14. The Article Gets It Wrong. The Mediawhores Play DU'ers For Suckers AGAIN

DU'ers just can't forgo the usual kneejerk cicular firing squad. Why should they CARE about what Feingold actually said?

[sybylla]

12. Then they will go down

Feingold was right to vote against the war. He was right to vote against the Patriot Act.

The opposition to getting out is hoisting themselves on their own corporate whoredom.

[LSK]

13. lets see how they react to the September protests

WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND OUR SENATORS TO DO OUR BIDDING.

[shadowknows69]

16. I will not show up to vote for any Democrat

that isn't calling for immediate withdrawal or at least a timetable for total withdrawal. Biden, Reid and Clinton have been bought we need to get rid of them

[RDANGELO]

18. Here is what I think.

Everybody in the senate knew that all the rhetoric pushing the country into invading Iraq was BS,including the Dems. They voted for it because the shrub's approval ratings were in the 70s and they were convinced that it was going to be effortless. Eventually this is going to come out ,and Iraq is going to end in a disaster. Anyone who voted for the war will have their political career in jeopardy. People like Biden or Clinton will have no chance to become President unless something is salvaged in Iraq, hence the reluctance to call for withdrawal.
The Democratic nominee for President in 08 will be someone who voted against the war or a governor.The Repub race will be a dogfight between a hawk and someone like Hagel.

[jsamuel]

19. THE K MAN (not the one that ran last time)

[DemocracyInaction]

20. and when their staffs rush in breathlessly and scream

"hey, look what Bush's numbers are down to and look how many people don't like this war anymore", you will see these three go into poses that resemble the old game of Twister and try to talk out of both sides of their mouths and their asses at the same time!! Who the fuck are they trying to court??--the only ones left supporting this cluster fuck of all cluster fucks are the Freeper types and one does not want to think what they would like to do to Clinton, Reid and Biden if they could have their way with them!!! They should beware, wake up and shape up because this could just be the end of their bids to redecorate the Oval Office before they can even get off a proper launch. And as they slither in the changing their minds, their opponents are going to shove it right down their throats. They have made a big political boo boo.