GOP Lawmakers Divided About 'Surge' In Troops

[Mark E. Smith]

Washington Post
Monday, January 1, 2007

CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec 31 -- Republican lawmakers appear uneasy about -- and in some
cases outright dismissive of -- the idea of sending many more troops to Iraq, as President
Bush contemplates such a "surge" as part of his new strategy for stabilizing the country.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), a leading GOP presidential contender for 2008, has been
aggressively promoting a plan to send tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq, and
the idea has been gaining traction at the White House as a way to improve security in
Baghdad.

But the proposition generates far less enthusiasm among rank-and-file Republicans, many
of whom must face the voters again in 2008, presenting a potential obstacle for Bush as he
hones the plan, according to lawmakers, aides and congressional analysis.

Two Senate Republicans with potentially tough reelection contests in 2008, Minnesota's
Norm Coleman and maine's Susan Collins, returned from recent trips to Iraq saying they did
not think sending more troops was a good idea. Branding the U.S. war effort "absurd," Sen.
Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) made waves in early December with a sppech questioning the
the continued presence of troops.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/31/AR2006123100948.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Looks like everybody (except Senator McCain Doctrine) is running from Georgie.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Ha! Norm "The Weasel" Coleman knows his ass is grass

in '08 in this pretty much blue state if he pushes for an escalation in Iraq. Normie cares about being re-elected, period.

[opihimoimoi]

2. The GOP are trapped like rats on a sinking ship....

McCain has committed to war and its continuance....he was supposed to know better...but then it was him that humped Bushies leg....

[calimary]

4. Hey, FINE WITH ME if mccain is idiot enough to torpedo his own campaign.

Absolutely A-OK with me. I like the idea of the most prominent and "popular" ones inadvertently taking themselves out of contention. Then, perhaps, we'll be left with a bunch of B- and C-listers who can't muster the support. OR, on the other hand, if the "frontrunners" are so damaged by their bad judgment calls, so much the better. It would be MOST excellent to see mccain run with this ball and chain dragging behind him.

Either way, WE win.

[Purveyor]

3. This demonstrates that the DEMS can muster support to cutoff

funding for additional troop deployments if they have the backbone to do so...

[AlabamaBrightBlueDot]

5. does this mean there is hope?

Perhaps there are still a few republicans that choose not to send the young voters to their death.

[MasonJar]

6. Wasn't Norm Coleman the beneficiary of the Wellman crash and

the Pukes' despicable Wellman funeral outrage?