Reid: "We've Got To Tell Bush What He's Doing Is Wrong-We've Got To Start Bringing Our Folks Home"

[kpete]

Democrats may deny funds for Iraq surge
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
34 minutes ago


"I think we've got to tell the president what he's doing as wrong. We've got to start bringing our folks home," said Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada, in remarks that portend a struggle if, as expected, Bush announces plans later this week for an increase in troop strength of 20,000.

Another senior Democrat, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, said one option under consideration would be for lawmakers to vote on denying the use of funds for any increase in the U.S. deployment. Officials said late Monday night that the Massachusetts Democrat was preparing legislation that would require Congress to approve the deployment of more troops, and was hoping for a roll call on the topic swiftly — before any increase is implemented.

More broadly, Reid signaled that Bush's expected call for an additional $100 billion for the war would receive close scrutiny from newly empowered Democrats.

"We have a platform we didn't have before, Leader Pelosi and I, and we're going to ... focus attention on this war in many different ways," said Reid. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., suggested over the weekend using Congress' power of the purse to restrain any troop buildup.

more at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070109/ap_on_go_co/congress_rdp

[Hav]

1. .

In a way it's interesting that this might be a win/win situation in the minds of some Repubs.
If the Dems don't do anything against the surge, then it's clearly not what the voters and the majority of Americans wanted. If they cut the funding, the Repubs could use it in their usual campaigns about Dems being weak on defense.
But I'm confident that the Dem leadership is smart enough to deal with that.

[KoKo]

3. As Pelosi explained to Russert it's not cutting funding for existing troops but

for the "Escalation" of troops. She was clear that troops we have there would not be denied funds they need but that the escalation of additional troops should not be funded. Two separate things, as she explained.

[spanone]

2. Yes Harry, that is YOUR MANDATE. You were elected for your war opposition.

[fooj]

4. Ok. We're waiting...