Iraq Around the Clock

Finally!

The Senate Democrats have a plan for Iraq.

They're going to pull an all-nighter Tuesday into Wednesday.

What drama!

WASHINGTON -- The Senate this week will pull its first all-night debate on the Iraq war in advance of a vote on whether to bring home combat troops by next spring, Democrats said Monday.

The rare, round-the-clock session Tuesday night through Wednesday morning is intended to bait Republicans into an exhaustive debate on the politically unpopular war, as well as punish GOP members for routinely blocking anti-war legislation.

How could they?

The Dems are holding a round-the-clock session to punish Republicans in hopes of making them crack under the strain of physical exhaustion.

Wow.

The Dems have decided to torture the Republicans with sleep deprivation!

This is an outrage!

"How many sleepless nights have our soldiers and their families had?" said Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Durbin, the senator that railed against American military personnel at Gitmo, wants to utilize inhumane tactics to break the Republicans.

I'm sure our soldiers and their families have had many sleepless nights. May God be with them.

I'm sure some of Durbin's inexcusable statements have been the source of their sleeplessness.

So is Durbin suggesting that the Dems are showing solidarity with the troops and their families by holding the all-night session?

That's lame.

How many stupid things have come out of Durbin's mouth?

I wonder how Durbin's defunding of the Vice President is going.

Democrats are trying to ratchet up pressure on Republicans who have grown uneasy with the lack of progress and begun questioning President Bush's military strategy.

They're trying to get John Warner and Richard Lugar to completely lose it.

Are such tactics acceptable?

I think the International Red Cross should be on hand.

...The political sparring came as several Republican congressional staffers met privately with Bush aides in the West Wing of the White House to hash out an effective communications strategy on the war.

According to one member who attended, Bush made a brief surprise visit and thanked the staffers — spokespeople for Republican leadership on Capitol Hill — for sticking behind him. Bush told the staffers he would not rethink his Iraq policies until a critical military assessment comes in September.

Bush also said he had no confidence in the ability of international institutions — a reference to the United Nations — to salvage Iraq if the U.S. were to withdraw.

"He said, 'We have to do this,'" the attendee said, referring to stabilizing Iraq. The attendee spoke anonymously because the meeting was intended to be private.

A leak from a private meeting!

This calls for an investigation.

...Frustrated by the minority's ability to block its anti-war proposals, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said he planned an endless night of votes and live quorum calls to force members to the floor in advance of the Wednesday morning vote.

"We're not going to let everybody go home and have a good night's rest," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters.

Republicans shrugged off the endless session as political theater.

"I doubt that they can accomplish in an extra seven hours what they've failed to accomplish in the last seven months," said Don Stewart, McConnell's spokesman.

This really is silly.

It's a publicity stunt and nothing more.

Stewart is right. An extra seven hours of debate won't accomplish anything.

I wonder if Hillary will attend.

She can't afford to lose any of her beauty sleep.

And of course, it will be impossible to tell if Herb Kohl is awake or not. There's so little difference between his states of consciousness.

Will the session be carried live on C-SPAN?

If so, it would be a great opportunity for some carefully planned product placement of Red Bull.