Senator Clinton says what she voted for in 2002 was to give the president adequate diplomatic tools to deal with his foreign policy priorities--thus the authorization to use force. She says she feels hoodwinked by Bush not intending to ever seriously try talks with Iraq prior to the invasion.
She's not alone in that boat. That one vote can hardly be said to seal the case for her position on being pro-war or anti-war. This is not a black and white issue anyway, but rather one fraught with shades of gray as to how pols think the existing war ought to be managed. According to
VoteSmart, this is how she's voted on war-related issues in the past couple of years.
Troop Redeployment Amendment (June '06) - voted No
== Vote to adopt an amendment that requires the President to withdraw troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007 and states that some forces shall remain in Iraq to train Iraqi security forces, conduct counterterrorism operations and protect U.S. personnel and facilities.
Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment - No
Price-Gouging During Emergencies Amendment -Yes
== Vote on a motion to waive the Budget Act in order to adopt an amendment that makes it illegal to sell crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum distillates at a price that is excessive or takes unfair advantage during a declared state of emergency.
Status of Detainees Substitute Amendment (Nov 15, 05) - Yes
== Vote to adopt an amendment that requires the Secretary of Defense to submit procedures for determining the status of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House.
- Requires a judicial review of an individual's status as an enemy combatant if the sentence is 10 years or more and that in all other cases review is up to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
- Prohibits any US court, justice or judge from hearing or considering a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on the behalf of a non-US citizen who is detained at Guantanamo Bay
- Stipulates that only the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia can hear an appeal to determine if a non-US citizen has been detained properly as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay
- Indicates that the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is limited to reviewing whether a detainee was determined to be an enemy combatant in a manner that is consistent with the procedures submitted by the Secretary of Defense and whether those procedures are constitutional and consistent with United States law
Detainees at Guantanamo Bay Amendment (Nov 10, 05) - No
== Vote to adopt an amendment that requires the Secretary of Defense to submit procedures for determining the status of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House.
- Prohibits any US court, justice or judge from hearing or considering a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on the behalf of a non US citizen who is detained at Guantanamo Bay
- Stipulates that only the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia can hear an appeal to determine if a non US citizen has been detained properly as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay
- Indicates that the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is limited to reviewing whether a detainee was determined to be an enemy combatant in a manner that is consistent with the procedures submitted by the Secretary of Defense
Reporting Matters in Iraq Amendment - Yes
== Vote to adopt an amendment that requires the President to report to Congress every three months on the United States policy and military operations in Iraq including estimated dates of phase out and redeployment until the last US combat brigade returns to the United States.
Iraq Progress Reports Amendment - Yes
== Vote to adopt an amendment that requires the President to report to Congress every three months on the U.S. policy and military operations in Iraq until the last U.S. combat brigade returns to the U.S.
USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization (03/02/2006) - Yes
== Vote to adopt a conference report that extends the authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to conduct “roving wiretaps” and access certain business records through December 31, 2009, and makes the remaining 14 provisions of the Patriot Act permanent.
USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization (12/16/2005) - No
== Vote to invoke cloture on a conference report that extends the authority of the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) to conduct “roving wiretaps” and access certain business records through December 31, 2009, and makes the remaining provisions of the Patriot Act permanent.
While she's voted to give this most untrustworthy of presidents the power to carry out the war as he sees fit, she has voted for some reasonable restrictions on how Congress can oversight him. This is a pro-war policy, but a fairly weak one. I think it's too deferential to the executive, but it seems too much to call her a DINO. She seems to believe in a strong executive (not surprising). I find these votes disagreeable, but not scandalous, not corrupt, not neoconny. Just wrong.
Your thoughts?
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