CNN: Kennedy to call for Congressional approval of Iraq troop escalation ("vote in light of day")

[DeepModem Mom]

Kennedy to call for Congressional approval of Iraq troop escalation

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A day before President Bush is set to lay out his vision for Iraq in a prime-time address, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, will introduce legislation that calls for Congressional approval of Bush's reported plan for an increase in Iraq troop levels.

Kennedy, a senior member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, will announce his call for the legislation -- which says no additional troops can be sent to Iraq and no funding for a troop increase can be allocated unless Congress approves the president's plan -- during a speech at the National Press Club Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

"Congress must have a genuine debate over the wisdom of the president's plan," Kennedy will say during the speech. "Let us hear the arguments for it and against it. Then let us vote on it in the light of day. Let the American people hear – yes or no – where their elected representatives stand on one of the greatest challenges of our time."

"Our history makes clear that a new escalation in our forces will not advance our national security," Kennedy will also say. "It will not move Iraq toward self-government, and it will needlessly endanger our troops by injecting more of them into the middle of a civil war."

While saying Kennedy's resolution "underscores the significant opposition on the Hill and with the American people to the president’s plan," a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, also noted "only one of several ideas about how to respond to the president’s proposal on Iraq."

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/ (scroll down)

[Cooley Hurd]

1. YEAH!!!!! Go Teddy, GO!!!!

Kicking and recommending! Put the brakes on the Chimperor!

:kick:

[trogdor]

8. Put a leash on his ass.

With a choker collar.

[Qutzupalotl]

14. Everyone, please sign Ted Kennedy's petition!

It's not his decision--it's ours!

Tell the president that we will not allow an escalation in
Iraq without the people's consent -- support this
legislation now:

http://www.tedkennedy.com/ourdecision

[ninkasi]

20. Thanks for the link

I signed the petition. We need more like Ted Kennedy in office, representing the people of this country.

[MoJoWorkin]

23. done and forwarded. n/t

[llmart]

31. Done and passed along to others.....

n/t

[montanto]

32. Done and done. Thanks nt

[Ken Burch]

36. Thanks Teddy.

Bobby would be proud.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I hope Kennedy's bill is

put before the Senate and a roll call vote is taken.

[Avalux]

3. Speech will be carried on CSPAN 2.

:patriot:

[Theres-a]

4. Yes,in the light of day.

Bravo.

[ForPeace]

5. Another misleading headline

I thought Kennedy was asking the Congress to approve the escalation.

[janetle]

12. Me too--that is how I read it at first.

[Chulanowa]

30. What do you expect?

The "Liberal Media" strikes again, nyur hur hur

[RiverStone]

6. Just the type of oversight....

We expect from the new DEM Congress.

Best wishes Kennedy getting it approved!!!

[VegasWolf]

7. Perfect! Get it on the record. Then when Bush sinks, Bush will sink alone! nt

[Vidar]

9. Kudos to Kennedy for holding chimp responsible. Horrible headline.

[LynzM]

22. I agree about the headline

I totally misread it, at first, until I read the article.

[Vidar]

41. I was in hair trigger rant mode--in the wrong direction.

[antiimperialist]

10. 45 bodies found shot in Iraq

Despite media attempts to cheer the killing of 50 "insurgents", aka women, children and inocent men, violence continued with dozens of bodies found shot and tortured throughout Baghdad today:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09157098.htm

[superconnected]

28. Chilling.

Of course everything about what's happening to those iraqis under GW's claws is chilling.

Thanks for putting that news report up.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. Invoke to War Powers Act, for chrissake...

Enough of this bullshit. The President is supposed to get Congress' permission every thirty days to keep troops in a combat zone if there hasn't been an official declaration of war.

Cut off all funding for any activities other than withdrawal.

[katty]

26. yeah!!!

[politicasista]

13. Go Uncle Ted!

:kick:

[Independent_Liberal]

15. K&R!

Way to go Ted!

:patriot:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. At last checks and balances, and it takes a Kennedy to do it!

For too long the executive branch has had a free rein.

It takes a Kennedy to do it! Ted's brothers would be proud of him too

[MissMillie]

17. Sunlight: the great sanitizer!

Thank you Ted!

[NoFederales]

18. An up or down call, yeeeeeeeeehawwwwwwwwwwww

Nofederales

[Straight Shooter]

19. It's time to drag this damn war out of the shadows and into the sunlight.

No more secrecy. Let the people see everything.

Thank you, Senator Kennedy. It's time to make the bush administration and its enablers accountable for their actions.

[Up2Late]

21. Yet another completely misleading headline by CNN

:grr:
It make it sound like Kennedy is calling on the Congress to quickly approve the pResidents plan, which is completely the opposite of what he meant.

[TaleWgnDg]

24. Thank you, Senator Kennedy, yet again . . .

for your willingness to stand up and be counted . . . and to you, too, DeepModem Mom, for posting this.

You go, Kennedy, you go! Makes us from the Bay State proud to have voted for Teddy over the years.

.

[katty]

25. Kennedy trying to hold the line, again-bush sending more off

to die.

[MsKandice01]

27. Go Uncle Ted!!

I love that man.

[HockeyMom]

29. I just got an email from him on this

I am not one of his constituents, but he consistently updates me by email on what he is going in the Senate.

The people of Massachusetts should be VERY PROUD to have such a fine Senator.

[MN ChimpH8R]

33. The old lion still has

a mighty roar. Good on ya, Ted!

[montanto]

34. K&R Thanks! nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

35. This is a really interesting move.

Parts of what he's suggesting are most likely unconstitutional due to separation of powers issues. If the Senate were to vote in favor of such a bill, the consequences politically, rather than constitutionally, could be interesting. The line would be "Congress votes against war, Bush does it anyway" without regard for the fact that the bill might not stand up to constitutional scrutiny. How many average American voters actually understand or care about the constitutional issues this question raises? My guess is few. I think the idea of "Bush continues war even though congress voted against it" will resonate, regardless. So there's very little downside to this.

[Clyde39]

37. "Congress must have a genuine debate".....when was the last one?

Bush has had a free pass the entire time.....what's wrong with this picture?

[Bluestar]

38. Go Ted!!

That loud noise you hear is the sound of freepers heads exploding!

[Pierzin]

39. Congress should also vote on Bush's competancy

They have removed monarchs from office-or their thrones- before; excuse me, ahem
but yes, we should do this. Any escalation is insanity. All the generals have said so. That's enough for me.

[rodeodance]

40. Source: Bush to call for Iraqis to take control by November. This

is the headline now when i clicked on the link in the IP


Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Source: Bush to call for Iraqis to take control by November
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's new Iraq plan will call for all Iraqi provinces to be under Iraqi control by November 2007, a U.S. official tells CNN.

Bush will also call for 20,000 additional forces to be sent to the war-torn country. Most would be sent to Baghdad, but 4,000 would be sent to the Anbar Province, the official said.

The official also said the first additional forces would go into Iraq by the end of this month.

[formercia]

42. All voting 'Yes', please take one step forward

To all voting against the 'Mad Hatter' president, I thank you.

[garybeck]

43. thread title is misleading!

it sounds like Kennedy wants to approve the escalation

[ZaiusNation]

44. Gretchen Carlson is a just a plain old Miss Poopy Pants

Yesterday on Fox News, anchor Gretchen Carlson called Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) a "hostile enemy" of the United States because he has demanded that Congress vote on whether to approve funding for escalation in Iraq.

This morning, instead of apologizing for her comments, Carlson said "Internet blogs" misconstrued her statements: "Of course, I didn’t mean it that way. Trust me. I don’t think Sen. Kennedy is any enemy in any way." Think Progress ( 2 )

The video from yesterday, and the video from today.

Think Progress: Fox Anchor: 'Internet Blogs' Say I Called Kennedy A 'Hostile Enemy,' But 'I Didn't Mean It That Way'
Think Progress: Fox News Anchor Calls Ted Kennedy A 'Hostile Enemy Right Here On The Home Front'

Zaius Nation

[prayin4rain]

45. I don't understand why everyone is against more troops.

I think this should have been done like 3.5 years ago. He is not going to get out, so don't we need to do something?? What we have been doing is clearly not working.

Can someone explain to me why this is bad? This seems like the first normal thing he has done since this started.

(As embarassed as I am to even be slightly on the side of W)