Democrats Cave on Iraq War Funding Bill

After the Iraq war funding bill was approved overwhelmingly, sans a troop withdrawal timetable, some Dems tried to construct an alternate reality.

I guess what happened was too painful for them to handle, so they went into denial.

They caved and then some insisted that they would never cave.

How stupid do they think their supporters are?

The Dems continue to lie to their fringe Leftist base. They make promises but they don't have the courage of their convictions to keep them.

The Senate's 80-14 vote to send the legislation to the president came less than two hours after the House gave its approval on a margin of 280-142. In both cases, Republicans supplied the bulk of the support, an oddity in an era of Democratic control.

Democrats in both houses coupled their concession with pledges to challenge Bush's his policies anew — and force Republicans to choose over and over between the president and public sentiment on the unpopular war. "This debate will go on," vowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was even more emphatic. "Senate Democrats will not stop our efforts to change the course of this war until either enough Republicans join with us to reject President Bush's failed policy or we get a new president," he said.

But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky cautioned against more of the same. "I want to make it clear ... that if all funding bills are going to be this partisan and contentious, it will be a very long year," he said.

This is a major defeat for the Dems.

That, of course, is good news for America and the Free World.

How is this playing in the Arab World?

From Press TV Iran:

The US Congress has sent President Bush a multi-billion dollar Iraq war budget, after bowing to his demands to rip out troop withdrawal timelines.

After a day of anguished, emotional debate reflecting sharp divisions over the unpopular war, the House of Representatives voted 280-142 to fund the war through September, and the Senate concurred by 80 votes to 14.

The votes left many anti-war Democrats with a sour taste but acknowledging they lack the power to thwart Bush's war strategy, despite controlling Congress, and Republicans crowing they had beaten Democratic 'surrender dates'.

The passage of the budget ended, temporarily at least, a bitter constitutional tug-of-war between Congress and the White House, though Democrats vowed they would renew their efforts to handcuff Bush over a war which has dragged on four years.

"The days of blank checks and green lights for his failed policy are over," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who reluctantly backed the bill.

"Senate Democrats will never give in, never, never, never, never," Reid said, paraphrasing former wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

I suppose Iran's Press TV is cheering on the Dems, but what Reid said can't be viewed as anything but truly embarrassing.

How can Reid pretend to be Churchill after Dems clearly did give in?

True to form Dave Obey is ready to explode.

"I hate this agreement," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who played a key role in talks with the White House that yielded the measure.

And John Murtha has suddenly shifted gears.

Reflecting unhappiness among conservatives in his own party, Bush said he would have preferred less domestic spending than the bill contained. "But, still, by voting for this bill members of both parties can show our troops and the Iraqis and the enemy that our country will support our servicemen and women in harm's way," he said at a Rose Garden news conference.

One of the most vocal war critics in Congress readily agreed. "This is not a game. They run out of money next week," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, whose speech opposing Bush's Iraq policy more than a year ago was a turning point in the debate.

The Dems are really in disarray. Murtha agreeing with Bush???

Hell must be freezing over.

Russ Feingold, of course, is ticked off.

He complained that his fellow Dems were going wobbly.

Transcript of Feingold's long-winded remarks.

Egomaniacal Feingold is so proud of his performance from the Senate floor that he has posted it on his Senate website.

Any way you look at it, the Dems buckled. The all anti-war, all anti-Bush, all the time crowd can't be happy with the party.

And another thing, I haven't noticed the lib media report that Dems are demoralized by their stunning defeat.

Notice how they overlook that? Why don't they report that the Dems are hopelessly divided?

As usual, the lib media's bias is showing.

I think Dem supporters should feel betrayed. Are they disgusted enough to sit out the 2008 election?