The Road Less Taken

George Bush wants another $50 billion for the Iraq war. Can the Democrats stand up to him this time?

By Markos Moulitsas | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Nov 15, 2007 | Updated: 6:12  p.m. ET Nov 15, 2007

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  • Posted By: pmanny @ 11/27/2007 7:34:30 PM

    Comment: OH for heaven's sakes, the democrats are not doing all we can to make our heros starve!! Good grief, it is no wonder that bush had such an easy time pulling the wool over your eyes!!
    I want the people home! We never had an honest reason to be there. We, inspite of what some feel, do not have all the answers for the world, Let's get them home, and then get some jobs for them so they can earn a living! Oh and by the way, the earth will not last near long enough for us to 'win' ,they have been at war for ever!!

  • Posted By: pmanny @ 11/27/2007 7:28:56 PM

    Comment: NO more money for that 'little wanna be king!' Simply bring our people home where they belong and send bush over to replace them!!! Don't for get his side-kick dick.

  • Posted By: Tommypie @ 11/22/2007 11:22:11 AM

    Comment: There are certain privileges inherent in being the President and the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. One of those privileges is the authority to request the funds needed to defeat the enemy. The democrats are doing everything in their power to defeat Mr. Bush's efforts to win the war in Iraq. They would rather have the troops starve and suffer than sending them the money needed to continue their valiant efforts. After all, winning would defeat their defeatist mindset and maybe make Mr. Bush look good. And that must not happen under any circumstances.

    • Posted By: votenic @ 11/26/2007 12:21:44 PM

      Comment: 2008 Presidential Candidate Weekly Poll

  • Posted By: Braes @ 11/19/2007 1:35:21 PM

    Comment: There are Billions in the pipeline that can be reprogrammed. Even so, military withdrawal will require time. I don't blame Pelosi or Reid. I am a retired disabled veteran, so I have a handle on how much it waill take to get out of there and stop the growth of operations. I support Wes Clark, Joe Biden, and Hillary on many of their proposals.
    We can not simply walk away in Iraq, we have with the 'Contractors' and other things like Abu Ghraib, created so much emnity that we are going to have to back out of that room with cover, or face open slaughter. The Sadrists are just biding their time. We have not just 12000 planeloads of people to fly out, but several hundred thousand tons of equipment we will have to move out. We have to use them right up to the boat. This won't be like packing the car for a trip to Yosemite.
    I do not believe Bush needed this money, He simply threw the issue into the fray to cause just this argument, and the resulting negative impression upon us, the Democrats. We got on the bait and He reeled us in. The problem in fighting a crazed Zealot is that after a while, you begin to start acting like one. There is a wiser approach, which is to not entertain any spending measure outside the normal Budget. If after 7 years of plaing War-God, Bush can't submit a budget that covers every intended line-item, then it is He who is failing the troops, which many below note has been the case all along.
    It is so easy to let the perfect be the impediment to good enough for now. Incrementalism and making no mistakes at any step, is far wiser than political bomb tossing out of well and righteous rage.
    I want a D in the White House, and the same Veto Proof majorities Bush had in both houses to undo the sick mess we are in. I share the author's zeal on the topic. I do not agree that the Democrats were elected to stop the war. They were elected to provide checks and balances for the first time in years. That only achieves so much. We have narrow majorities. I want to grow those. I want to give cover to those who share my beliefs and values, and give them the tools to achieve those ends.

    • Posted By: votenic @ 11/21/2007 4:18:10 PM

      Comment: 2008 Presidential Election
      http://www.votenic.com
      The Only Poll That Matters
      Results Posted Tuesday Evening

  • Posted By: sosebee2 @ 11/19/2007 12:14:25 AM

    Comment: If the democratic congress needs to they should have the courage and integrity to "shut the government down". Newt Gingrich did it in the nineties. Harry Ried however appears to be be spineless. How did this pasty faced Back-room dealer get to be head fo the Senate anyhow? If the princinpal of stopping the war is so urgent then shutting the government down should be on the table. Turn the heat up and see who blinks first.

  • Posted By: msobel @ 11/18/2007 8:23:49 AM

    Comment: "Bush has shown from the beginning he is willing to use our troops for political purposes and Walter Reed shows he doesn't care about their welfare so he is holding them hostage. If we cut off funds, any realist knows that Bush will punish the troops and blame us. Doonsbury was right, he'd put the troops on half rations. "

    http://images.ucomics.com/comics/db/2007/db070507.gif is the doonsbury image, it was on 5/7/07 and you can look at the sequence starting at

    http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20070507

  • Posted By: msobel @ 11/18/2007 8:22:31 AM

    Comment: This president has continually used our troops as a prop. He doesn't care about their welfare. He would just cut off their rations to make a political point.

  • Posted By: Thins Come Undone @ 11/18/2007 3:32:25 AM

    Comment: The Democrats can end this war now. Can we afford to stay there? Is Bush paying for his war or is he sticking the Democrats with the bill? Are we winning, do we hae any chance of winning? How many years of war does it take to get Bush to admit that he made a mistake, that he has lost.

  • Posted By: Loo Hoo. @ 11/17/2007 11:55:19 PM

    Comment: Goodness sakes! People here are saying that if the democrats stopped funding the war, that George Bush would leave them there without provisions rather than bring them home. Think about that for a minute. People think Bush is that insane. Dang!

  • Posted By: Loo Hoo. @ 11/17/2007 11:37:27 PM

    Comment: We have to hope that the democrats will do what they were elected to do this time. If not, I'm afraid that fewer and fewer Americans will bother to vote. We democrats worked our tails off and got them in control of Congress, and not so that they would ask the republicans for permission to do their work.

  • Posted By: Eyepublius @ 11/17/2007 9:45:18 PM

    Comment: One cannot say they are an American and believe in our system and so freely say this war is Bush's war, or the GOP's war, or whatever - our goverment, within our system voted to go to war - it IS our war - America's war not any single individual's war.... the Left in America needs to grow up. I'm a lifelong Dem, but not a bleeding heart liberal.... and I'm a 20-year Marine Corps VN vet and retiree... get over it. It's our WAR.

  • Posted By: Eyepublius @ 11/17/2007 9:35:50 PM

    Comment: Part of your article: "... George Bush and his Republican Party to change course on their disastrous war in Iraq."

    You cannot claim to be an American and call it "their war, his war, the GOP's war..." our government, for whatever reason voted for the war - it IS our war - the warts are included.

  • Posted By: malaw @ 11/17/2007 3:31:33 PM

    Comment: Is he (Bush) insane? Why hasn't he and his crew been committed? or are we allowing our country to getaway w. just about everything. Obviously, his asking (for billions) is rhetorical, we (U.S) are not in any sort of 'national debt' with all the money this kat compulsively takes. Can we get domestic relief for war in U.S.? Before erecting another false democracy tend to being truly Democratic in your own country.

  • Posted By: malaw @ 11/17/2007 3:29:36 PM

    Comment: Is he (Bush) insane? Why hasn't he and his crew been committed? or are we allowing our country to getaway w. just about everything. Obviously, his asking (for billions) is rhetorical, we (U.S) are not in any sort of 'national debt' with all the money this kat compulsively takes. Can we get domestic relief for war in U.S.? Before erecting another false democracy tend to being truly Democratic in your own country.
    Democ

  • Posted By: mittons45@yahoo.com @ 11/17/2007 6:16:14 AM

    Comment: DLC and Blue Democrats are Republicans, and Pelosi and Reid are their leaders. This 62 year old, life long Democrat is never voting for Hillary, Queen of the DLC.

  • Posted By: joycejewel @ 11/17/2007 6:06:04 AM

    Comment: Who really won the Vegas debate? In my opinion..No one..First of all, it appears that the debate was tainted. I thought Biden did well. It appears that Hilary's questions were planted along with 51% women staging a "boo" at the same time to make sure Obama and Edwards were not heard in an effort to throw them off guard anytime they said anything against her (how cheap). Also if Obama was asked why he favored drivers license for illegal aliens why wasn't Hilary Clinton questioned about her flip-flop on the issue. Whether right or wrong at least Obama's view on the subject is not a flip-flop. When Hilary said "no" on her previous "yes" she was not drilled on why? Hmmm interesting. Edwards and Obama were "booed" (staged response) while expressing their views. This should be "banned" from the debates. It's not fair to neither the Republican or Democratic candidate. It clearly shows that is prior intentional planned staging against the opponents you fear losing to the most! You could tell who that person posing as the commentator favored he skipped key subjects that would trip up Hilary Clinton. Feel sorry for the rest of the guys who appeared to have totally been shafted in the whole deal. Who won the debate? Certainly not Hilary Clinton!

  • Posted By: joycejewel @ 11/17/2007 5:46:23 AM

    Comment: Las Vegas debate: Fox News reported that a young lady came forward and said she was told to ask Hilary Clinton if she liked diamonds or pearls and was not given the opportunity to ask Hilary the question she came there to ask her. If this is true here again is the planting and staging in favor of Hilary Clinton. Hilary. We are watching trying to pick the best candidate. If this is happening for Hilary, this is not fair to either Democrats or Republicans. If Fox News aired this I know CNN knows about this. Why has CNN not reported this? The American people have the right to know who she is and if CNN is anyway in involved.

  • Posted By: joycejewel @ 11/17/2007 5:32:51 AM

    Comment: Concerning the Vegas debate I heard on the local news in my area that another young lady reported that she was coached to ask a favorable question for Hilary Clinton about the diamonds and pearls and was not allowed to ask her original question. It was reported on Fox News. If this is true, here again is planting and staging questions in favor of Hilary Clinton. If Fox News know about it I'm sure you do too. The American people have the right to know. Who was the young women, and is it true that CNN had a hand in this?

    • Posted By: mikewlig @ 11/17/2007 10:49:05 AM

      Comment: "...It was reported on Fox News...Republican Bible....'nuff said

  • Posted By: apsmith @ 11/17/2007 1:29:13 AM

    Comment: When British troops announced they were leaving Basra, insurgent attacks ceased. There's a simple solution to the continuing violence in Iraq now: announce we're leaving too. Markos is absolutely right.

  • Posted By: breathingstill @ 11/16/2007 11:34:08 PM

    Comment: What Markos is saying should not even need to be said let alone debated. Democratics won the 2006 election on one primary promise - to end the war - period, end of story. All the nonsense about the troops not having the right equipment is a highly convenient argument. Where were the republicans when, for the first 3 years of this illegal war our troops parents had to, in many cases, get them the equipment the army could not or chose not to provide. That argument does not have any basis in historical fact and the republicans do themselves and the troops a diservice even bringing it up.

  • Posted By: deebat @ 11/16/2007 8:35:06 PM

    Comment: Hey, Newsweek: You need a better discussion board. How many double- and triple-posts are acceptable before you figure out that this thing can't handle the traffic? And how about making it possible to read the posts from top to bottom -- you know, the way most Western readers read? Oh, and why, when I chose a FIVE-letter password for my new account, did your system send me an error that demanded I enter a password longer than FOUR characters? (Isn't FIVE longer than FOUR?) Come on, guys. If you don't want to look like the old media you are, you need to put up better stuff than this.

    Now I will attempt to post my comment and see how many times it shows up.

  • Posted By: deebat @ 11/16/2007 8:29:52 PM

    Comment: Newsweek: You need a better discussion board. How many multiple posts will you tolerate before you figure out that this thing can't handle the traffic? And how about making it possible to read the posts from top to bottom -- you know, the way most Western readers read?

  • Posted By: fred54 @ 11/16/2007 8:29:17 PM

    Comment: The only hope we have left to save this country is to elect Ron Paul as president. If we don't and allow another lap dog vetted by the zionists and the plutocrats to be installed then our only choice left will be revolution. If the american people are so deaf, dumb and blind that they can't see that then they deserve to be slaves.

    • Posted By: OhNewshound @ 11/20/2007 12:30:24 AM

      Comment: Ron Paul is not the political savior you think he is . That said, I am glad he is in the horse race to stir the pot. I like his Libertarian tendencies but he has issues with women and their rights. I don't want to trade one kind of a dictator for another.

  • Posted By: mfenwick @ 11/16/2007 8:11:10 PM

    Comment: I have said before and will say again: There are no differences between Democrats and Republicans. I won $200 in bets that the Democrats would do nothing about this war. They stand as much to gain from it as do the Republicans. Even Michael Moore has Haliburton stock. Anyone who believes this war will eventually end without a violent revolution in this country is a fool.

  • Posted By: BooHooHooMan @ 11/16/2007 7:49:52 PM

    Comment: This is Hillary-us , Markos now talking about the Democratic Party at "arms length." Moulitsas pushed this con HARD that Dems would oppose Bush.
    "Send in your dollars kids" was the mantra, "We're Crashing the Gates". was what Moulitsas and his stock touting Partner in a Democratic Consultancy urged theifoisted upon their readers. LOL.

    The only "Road Less Taken" here, is one of candor, credibility, and backbone. Like Mr. Rove, Moulitzas has a habit of purging less than flattering content off his servers.
    After a high visibility poster on Moulitsas website called an outspoken woman a "cu** , a bit**, a wh*re", Moulitsas encouraged the blogger known as "Delaware Dem" to re=register under another pseudonym to enable him to continue posting on his blog. What warranted such an outrage?? The woman was outspoken in her dissappointment with Democratic inaction. It is the very issue Moulitsas has the gall to hold forth on NOW.

    Deal with it. (15+ / 16-)

    Recommended by:
    mickey, taylormattd, eugene, musing85, Nonpartisan, eeff, northsea, corndog, michael1104, HollywoodOz, coigue, terrypinder, Ice Blue, Team Slacker, mystery2me
    Trollrated by:
    Mark H, CJB, pb, jennifer poole, Politburo, lrhoke, TeresaInPa, Thistime, greenskeeper, station wagon, bluestateonian, demondeac, Robert Davies, Pager, shaharazade, PhantomFly

    Mariscat is a cu-- of the first order.

    by Delaware Dem on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 01:11:56 PM PDT
    --

    Seriously. Troll Rate me. Ban me. (8+ / 12-)

    Recommended by:
    mickey, taylormattd, Nonpartisan, eeff, corndog, HollywoodOz, Team Slacker, Nightprowlkitty
    Trollrated by:
    lrhoke, hardleft, jxg, TeresaInPa, polecat, Thistime, greenskeeper, Robert Davies, Pager, fairfax, PhantomFly, newhorizon

    But Mariscat is a bitc*, a wh*re, and a cu--. Whatever derogatory term you want to use, use.

    by Delaware Dem on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 01:31:58 PM PDT

    By The Way, this cretin, a lawyer from Philadelphia still has posting privileges on Moulitsas blog.
    Disgustingly, a number of Mr. Moulitsas most loyal supporters RECOMMENDED this behavior. Hideously, "Pastor Dan" a blogger featered on KosMedia's StreetProphets.com also smeared the woman for expressed disappointment over the lack of Democratic Delivery....
    Though Moulitsas and "Pastor Dan" purged public servers of their commentary encouraging the abuser , there are archved copies of this widely this travesty readily available on the web. "The Road Less Travelled" for Democrats as well as their apologists and soft ball pseudocritics like Moulitsas can be summed up in a word: CREDIBILITY. Now Newsweek has the problem.....

    • Posted By: OhNewshound @ 11/20/2007 12:33:38 AM

      Comment: I would like to hear Kos side of the story before I rendered an opinion on this. It pays to be skeptical these days. We are so easily fooled by people telling us half the story.

    • Posted By: mittons45@yahoo.com @ 11/17/2007 6:21:43 AM

      Comment: BooHooMan and this groups (Recommended by:
      mickey, taylormattd, eugene, musing85, Nonpartisan, eeff, northsea, corndog, michael1104, HollywoodOz, coigue, terrypinder, Ice Blue, Team Slacker, mystery2me ) have been banned by dailykos. What you see is really bitter sour grapes.

  • Posted By: ibonewits @ 11/16/2007 7:39:23 PM

    Comment: There will be plenty of money to bring the troops home safely; just not enough to control the oil fields for Exxon and Shell. Let *them* pay private mercenaries to steal the oil instead of using our brave sons and daughters.

  • Posted By: ibonewits @ 11/16/2007 7:38:54 PM

    Comment: There will be plenty of money to bring the troops home safely; just not enough to control the oil fields for Exxon and Shell. Let *them* pay private mercenaries to steal the oil instead of using our brave sons and daughters.

  • Posted By: ibonewits @ 11/16/2007 7:36:19 PM

    Comment: There will be plenty of money to bring the troops home safely; just not enough to control the oil fields for Exxon and Shell. Let *them* pay private mercenaries to steal the oil instead of using our brave sons and daughters.

  • Posted By: kitebro @ 11/16/2007 6:56:51 PM

    Comment: "Anti-war sentiment among the American people is now approaching 70 percent". Markos didn't say that 70% of Americans want an immediate pull-out. To claim he did is to spin his words to prove a flawed point. It's a shame that some people are inclined to do that.

  • Posted By: kitebro @ 11/16/2007 6:54:52 PM

    Comment: "anti-war sentiment among the American people is now approaching 70 percent". Markos didn't say 70% want an immediate pull-out. To claim he did is to spin his words to prove a flawed point. It's a shame that many people tend to do that.

  • Posted By: AshesAllFallDown @ 11/16/2007 6:22:32 PM

    Comment: our military commanders WON'T leave the troops in peril due to lack of funding, they will surely be forced to reduce the scope of the mission. The "troops in peril" argument is a red herring.

    • Posted By: Aaron Bonn @ 11/16/2007 7:10:51 PM

      Comment: As I said in my response to you below - our military commanders follow a chain of command, and Bush is at the top of it. They will not withdraw troops from Iraq until and unless Bush authorizes them to.

  • Posted By: Le_Patriot @ 11/16/2007 6:03:39 PM

    Comment: Anti-War sentiment of "70%" does not mean 70% want to yank the troops and not fund them. In fact, more than half of Americans in most polls I've seen are NOT in favor off immediate withdrawal, because of the chaos it wouild cost. It is sad that people spin poll results in a general sense to reinforce their views.

    • Posted By: mittons45@yahoo.com @ 11/17/2007 6:23:15 AM

      Comment: Fine by me, but you can pay for it. If people can refuse to fund abortions with public funds, I can refuse to fund an illegal war with public funds. Quit billing my grandchildren's credit card for your positions. You pay for it.

  • Posted By: Chashb7 @ 11/16/2007 5:22:51 PM

    Comment: How about more links in the article? Lots of polls talked about, it would be useful to have the links for back up. This is on the internet, and it should be linked up to provide support for the facts in the article.

  • Posted By: Shani @ 11/16/2007 5:10:35 PM

    Comment: This article echoes my feelings and frustrations almost exactly. We went into Iraq to find WMDs. There weren't any. We won. So, let's go home! But wait, now we have to get rid of Saddam Hussein. We did that, too. So now can we go home? Oh well, now we have to set up a democratic government. Great. We did that, too. Remember the purple fingers? We won, not once, but three times. Why are we still there?

    They just keep moving the goal posts. The politicians. It's not their blood being spilled in the sand, it's not their money pouring into the coffers of contractors.

    I cried today for a young, broken veteran. He didn't look any older than 20 or 21. He was standing on a corner, holding a sign, asking for money or food. His eyes looked off in all directions. His whole body shook and his hands trembled as he gratefully accepted the money I gave him, all I had. He said, "Thank you, ma'am." I drove away crying.

    George Bush sits in the White House, playing toy soldiers with real people. He breaks them, then tosses them aside to stand on street corners.

    I've always been a registered Independent. Sometimes I voted R and sometimes I voted D. But this president, and the Republican toadies that have enabled him every step of the way, have caused a huge change in the way I think.

    Democrats may be flawed, and I'm very frustrated by their apparent spineleessness, but as of today, I'm a yellow dog Democrat. Because of that young man standing on the corner with a broken body, reduced to begging to survive, I'll vote for a yellow dog before I'll ever vote for a Republican again.


    • Posted By: Braes @ 11/19/2007 2:00:05 PM

      Comment: As a retired Disabled vet, I thank you. And as for your observations, it is about Oil, Oil, Oil. It has been since WWII.

  • Posted By: Snud @ 11/16/2007 4:43:02 PM

    Comment: That's very inciteful armyaunt but if God needs to help save anyone it's America from the bungling ineptitude of GWB, his party and its blind-faith supporters like you.

  • Posted By: corbusier24 @ 11/16/2007 4:42:15 PM

    Comment: The fact is, most of the comments on here will no reflect the American people, they will only reflect what those on the dailykos think.

    Are people who go on Daily Kos not American people? I think that Markos Moulitsas here kind of has you here since many figures and polls cited that the majority of Americans want the war over.


  • Posted By: Unrepentant Liberal @ 11/16/2007 4:40:31 PM

    Comment: Markos's post on getting out of Iraq reflects the desire of only 70% of the American public to be done with this disaster. He is obviously insane along with the rest of us 70-per-centers.

  • Posted By: Unrepentant Liberal @ 11/16/2007 4:39:58 PM

    Comment: Markos's post on getting out of Iraq reflects the desire of only 70% of the American public to be done with this disaster. He is obviously insane along with the rest of us 70-per-centers.

  • Posted By: ArmyAunt @ 11/16/2007 4:30:31 PM

    Comment: You do know Newsweek, that the vast majority of posts in here will be from the Kos website don't you?
    They will come over here and post their talking points.

    "There's this guy Markos, who runs a really awesome blog. Looks like his first Newsweek column has been published online:
    For a party that won historic gains in 2006, the Democrats have proven surprisingly reluctant to deliver on their chief campaign promise: forcing George Bush and his Republican Party to change course on their disastrous war in Iraq.

    Check out the rest. It rocks."
    http://www.dailykos.com/

    Front paged no less!! The fact is, most of the comments on here will no reflect the American people, they will only reflect what those on the dailykos think.
    God help us all.

    • Posted By: mittons45@yahoo.com @ 11/17/2007 6:32:35 AM

      Comment: "the American people" ? So not only do you get to attack nations, you get to decide who the hell is a real American and then attack Americans who disagree with you as unAmerican? Sounds like Rush Limbaugh logic to me. Markos and DailyKos give a voice to people who don't agree with Fox, the Clinton News Network, or the DLC. Some of us support the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, and we want the conservative Republicans that have infiltrated it (Lieberman, Nelson twins, and corporate Hillary) gone. We are the Party of FDR, Paul Wellstone and Howard Dean. I'm 62, a life long Democrat, and I'm sick of people like you, insane Bush/Cheney, and the corporate owned beltway destroying my country and the futures of our children. Given the pool of idiots running for President on the Republican ticket and the coronation of Queen Hillary by the establishment media and Democratic Party, its a wonder anybody shows up to vote on Diebold machines.

    • Posted By: tbetz @ 11/16/2007 4:42:23 PM

      Comment: Do you have anything substantive to say, or are you just here to point out the blindingly obvious? Of course people who agree with Markos are going to post comments that agree with him.

      Feel free to come cheerlead Karl Rove when he posts what the American Enterprise Institute's ghostwriters have prepared for him to post.

  • Posted By: ArmyAunt @ 11/16/2007 4:25:59 PM

    Comment: Good Lord The Kos Kiddies are out in force!
    What a joke.

    • Posted By: kitebro @ 11/16/2007 7:05:35 PM

      Comment: I'm 49. "Kos Kiddies" is extremely childish. Have you no sense of irony?

    • Posted By: metasailor @ 11/16/2007 5:14:13 PM

      Comment: Please feel free to post your own insightful arguments and refutations.

      It doesn't only have to be 'Kos kiddies' - you could have something to say too, if you felt like it.

  • Posted By: SmileySam53 @ 11/16/2007 3:55:34 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment The Republicans claims that the Democratic Congress is at fault needs to be debunked loudly and often. What the Public needs to know and which the Media seems not to want to report are the number of Filibusters the Right has done this year. 55 Filibusters is a new Congressional record. Reminders should be constant to that fact.

  • Posted By: SmileySam53 @ 11/16/2007 3:53:37 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment The Republicans claims that the Democratic Congress is at fault needs to be debunked loudly and often. What the Public needs to know and which the Media seems not to want to report are the number of Filibusters the Right has done this year. 55 Filibusters is a new Congressional record. Reminders should be constant to that fact.

  • Posted By: heldmyw @ 11/16/2007 3:36:06 PM

    Comment: Oh, well! - http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdZLbFMZDe-t2Ds7ULkuAAPTmcbQ

    "WASHINGTON (AFP) ??? Republicans in the US Senate on Friday blocked a bid by majority Democrats to enforce the start of large-scale troop withdrawals from Iraq in exchange for 50 billion dollars in war funding."

    The chamber voted 53-45 in favor of the bill, seven votes short of the 60 votes it needed to overcome
    Republican blocking tactics in the closely-divided 100 seat chamber."

    • Posted By: heldmyw @ 11/16/2007 3:41:58 PM

      Comment: Sorry! Multi-post error! Accident, I promise!

  • Posted By: heldmyw @ 11/16/2007 3:35:23 PM

    Comment: Oh, well! - http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdZLbFMZDe-t2Ds7ULkuAAPTmcbQ
    "WASHINGTON (AFP) ??? Republicans in the US Senate on Friday blocked a bid by majority Democrats to enforce the start of large-scale troop withdrawals from Iraq in exchange for 50 billion dollars in war funding.

    The chamber voted 53-45 in favor of the bill, seven votes short of the 60 votes it needed to overcome
    Republican blocking tactics in the closely-divided 100 seat chamber."

    Tomorrow is another day.

    • Posted By: heldmyw @ 11/16/2007 3:42:18 PM

      Comment: Sorry! Multi-post error! Accident, I promise!

  • Posted By: heldmyw @ 11/16/2007 3:34:39 PM

    Comment: Oh, well! - http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdZLbFMZDe-t2Ds7ULkuAAPTmcbQ
    "WASHINGTON (AFP) ??? Republicans in the US Senate on Friday blocked a bid by majority Democrats to enforce the start of large-scale troop withdrawals from Iraq in exchange for 50 billion dollars in war funding.

    The chamber voted 53-45 in favor of the bill, seven votes short of the 60 votes it needed to overcome
    Republican blocking tactics in the closely-divided 100 seat chamber."

    You were saying?

  • Posted By: media_whore @ 11/16/2007 3:16:38 PM

    Comment: Update for Markos: Dateline, Pentagon. Gates vows to layoff civilian DOD workers rather than cut funding for Bush's Folly. Up to 100,000 could lose jobs due to failure of Democratic Party to pass Defense spending bill.

    There's your future headline and it spells C-A-V-E for the Democrat Congress. It's hard to play offense when you've been on your knees for seven years in a "defensive" posture. The DINOs are being out-maneuvered again. A failure of leadership. Want to know where it stems from? When impeachment left the table. This Democratic leadership can't stand up because it doesn't have a spine.

  • Posted By: Aaron Bonn @ 11/16/2007 3:10:12 PM

    Comment: The fact that Moulitsas fails to address here is that simply defunding the war, as he suggests, does not require the President, as commander in chief, to withdraw the troops from Iraq, and Democrats have no reason to believe that George Bush will make such a withdrawal if faced with a lack of funds. If funding is withdrawn, but the troops are not, the troops will then be stuck in a war zone WITHOUT the supplies and equipment that they need to survive.

    Speaking as an opponent of this war who believes troops should have been withdrawn from Iraq years ago, I hold the course of action suggested by Moulitsas, and others of similar mind, to be reckless and irresponsible in the extreme. Pelosi and Reid were wise to resist such calls.

    • Posted By: AshesAllFallDown @ 11/16/2007 6:24:26 PM

      Comment: Surely our military commanders won't "leave troops in harm's way."

      They will be forced to reduce the scope of the mission. This dog don't hunt.

      This

      • Posted By: mittons45@yahoo.com @ 11/17/2007 6:37:39 AM

        Comment: Blackwater already has the best equipment and supplies. The troops are scrounging around in garbage dumbs lloking for metal to reinforce their shitty armor while drinking tainted water and food. supplied by Haliburton. Don't bring the troops home and get accused of not supporting them, instead leave them their to get killed and maimed for political gain in 08. I wish people like you were forced to pay for your war and to serve in it.

      • Posted By: Aaron Bonn @ 11/16/2007 7:05:11 PM

        Comment: Our military commanders won't withdraw troops from Iraq until and unless George Bush tells them to. They follow an chain of command, and he is at the top of it. Democrats had a chance in 04 to change that, but they failed. Now we're stuck.

        You appear to be assuming that Bush, when faced with a denial of funds for his war, will be able to swallow his pride, get over his obstinace, and do what's right for the country by withdrawing the troops from the theatre of war. Perhaps a few years ago, I would have been willing to give Bush the benefit of the doubt on this, and to make that assumption too. After Hurricane Katrina, I make no such assumptions about the man. He is as venal, obstinate, and self absorbed as they come, and there is no question in my mind that he has it in him to dig in and leave the troops in just such a state - stuck in a war zone without the supplies and equipment that they need - rather than admit political defeat.

    • Posted By: tbetz @ 11/16/2007 3:32:56 PM

      Comment: Forcing our troops to remain in harm's way (contrary to the desires of a supermajority of Americans, as expressed by their elected Representatives) by stealing money from funder programs to stubbornly finance his pet occupation of a country he invaded illegally is about as high a crime as one could imagine.

      It would call for a quick Bill of Impeachment, and an even quicker trial and conviction; and woe betide any Republican Senators who choose to stand with the murderous Thief-In-Chief instead of with the American people the next time they come before the voters.

      • Posted By: cskendrick @ 11/16/2007 4:22:21 PM

        Comment: Bush is welcome to ask the Republicans to donate their lives and fortunes to the war effort.

        But the American people, by and large, are done with him, done with his war, and done with Republicans.

        I'd not advise the GOP to continue spending lives and gold that is not theirs.

        2006 might get to be a habit.

    • Posted By: tbetz @ 11/16/2007 3:28:10 PM

      Comment: Forcing our troops in harm's way (contrary to a supermajority of Americans as expressed by their Confgressional representatives) by stealing money from funded programs to prop up his unfunded pet occupation of Iraq is as high a crime as could be imagined. A quick Bill of Impeachment and a quicker trial would be called for in such a case. And if Republicans in the Senate line up with the Thief in Chief, woe betide them the next time they come before their constituents.

      • Posted By: Aaron Bonn @ 11/16/2007 3:58:15 PM

        Comment: By sustaining Bush's veto of the redeployment measure that the Democrats DID pass, Republicans in Congress have shown themselves to be just as obstinate as he, and I see no reason why that obstinacy would subside should such a showdown occur. They have chosen their side, and they will stick with it to the end.

        By voting Republican in spite of the increasing unpopularity of the war, and in contradistinction to the trend in the rest of the country, the constituents of congressional Republicans have shown themselves to be just as obstinate, and I see no reason to believe that they will flip either. They too have chosen their side.

        You have placed your faith in the notion that, faced with a funding shortfall, Bush will either blink or be impeached and expelled. I think your faith in these outcomes is misguided. There are other possible outcomes. Meanwhile in this hypothetical situation, while we would be going through the possibly (if not probably) futile impeachment proceedings, the troops would still be stuck in a war zone without equipment and supplies.

        I maintain that Pelosi and Reid were wise to resist the calls of those who would set us on this course.

        • Posted By: tbetz @ 11/16/2007 4:39:38 PM

          Comment: Standing up for the Constitution against a would-be dictator is never futile, even if it fails to obtain the best possible outcome. The fact that you have put forth your best effort demonstrates to the world that you have not yielded to the will of the dictator, and puts heart into allies who might otherwise have been cowed into silence.

          This is the lesson that the Democratic leadership has needed to learn; that they can not win if they do not fight.

          I'm hoping that they have begun to learn, after 12 years of forgetting.

          • Posted By: Aaron Bonn @ 11/16/2007 5:21:23 PM

            Comment: You are missing my point. What concerns me is not the possible (if not probable) failure of an impeachment proceeding. What concerns me is the possibility of American soldiers being stuck in a war zone without the equipment and supplies that they need while we are busy trying to impeach and expel a President who we don't have the votes to impeach and expel.

            Cutting off funds for the troops is not just a political statement. There are real world consequences to that act, consequences that will undoubtedly land squarely on the troops themselves. Pelosi and Reid are acitng to make sure that the Democrats' political statements don't come at the expense of our soldiers. That's not cowardice. That's wisdom.

  • Posted By: pakaal @ 11/16/2007 2:40:36 PM

    Comment: Considering the war was "won" in 2003 with Bush's declaration that the mission's accomplished, you have to wonder what it is we're still doing over there, other than killing and dying. Millions of Iraqis displaced, ethnic cleansing ongoing, the Iraqi government ineffective and in a shambles, the vast majority of Iraqis themselves saying that the US presence makes things worse not better....

    Bush, Cheney, Rove, Ashcroft, Wolfowitz, etc., made a disastrous blunder in dragging us into Iraq in the first place, and cannot afford to say they made a mistake after thousands of American troops have given their lives in service. But the American people can, and have said so, not to mention that we've told the government what we think by (as Mr Moulitsas points out) delivering a "landslide" change to government in 2006. Now it's up to us to keep pressure on our elected leaders to do what we told them to do; get us out of Iraq.

  • Posted By: pakaal @ 11/16/2007 2:40:17 PM

    Comment: Considering the war was "won" in 2003 with Bush's declaration that the mission's accomplished, you have to wonder what it is we're still doing over there, other than killing and dying. Millions of Iraqis displaced, ethnic cleansing ongoing, the Iraqi government ineffective and in a shambles, the vast majority of Iraqis themselves saying that the US presence makes things worse not better....

    Bush, Cheney, Rove, Ashcroft, Wolfowitz, etc., made a disastrous blunder in dragging us into Iraq in the first place, and cannot afford to say they made a mistake after thousands of American troops have given their lives in service. But the American people can, and have said so, not to mention that we've told the government what we think by (as Mr Moulitsas points out) delivering a "landslide" change to government in 2006. Now it's up to us to keep pressure on our elected leaders to do what we told them to do; get us out of Iraq.

  • Posted By: superscalar @ 11/16/2007 2:38:13 PM

    Comment: "the "surge" is working they cannot afford to allow success in Iraq."

    All of which makes perfect sense as long as one does not have to define either 'working' or 'sucess'.

  • Posted By: AnneR @ 11/16/2007 2:37:14 PM

    Comment: Like Mr. Moulitsas, I hope and pray the Democrats stand fast. Aren't 4,000 dead and 30,000 wounded enough?

    Too many young American lives have been lost alread in Bush's folly in the sand.

  • Posted By: dardena @ 11/16/2007 11:54:36 AM

    Comment: The problem is the democrats have spent so much time tellng us the "Iraq war is lost," that now that the "surge" is working they cannot afford to allow success in Iraq.
    How better to lose the war than to not fund the solders?

    • Posted By: mittons45@yahoo.com @ 11/17/2007 6:39:28 AM

      Comment: How better? To raise your taxes to pay for it.

    • Posted By: AnneR @ 11/16/2007 3:56:19 PM

      Comment: By no definition except the administration's fuzzy math are we winning. We are not making life better for the people of Iraq, we are not making the goverment there more stable, their own security forces (despite 6 years of training) still can't be trusted.

      What we are doing is sending our troops in to kill and be killed. Bringing them home with wounded bodies and minds.

      If the President is so in favor of keeping troops in Iraq, let him convince his own daughters to go and let someone else's children come home.

    • Posted By: cskendrick @ 11/16/2007 3:11:31 PM

      Comment: How better to lose the war?

      Have Republicans running the show seems to be a great way to do just that.

      I count 1 win (Gulf), 1 tie (Korea), 1 going on 3 losses (Vietnam, +Iraq, + Afghanistan) under GOP finishers in the past century.

      Nice. And who knows? We could lose, let's see...Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. I mean, it'd be hard work, but I think nobody puts out for putting America down and out like Bush-era Republicans. :)

    • Posted By: cskendrick @ 11/16/2007 3:07:52 PM

      Comment: How better to lose? Oh, that's easy. Have Republicans pick, start and mismanage the wars. That's worked, let's see, for a whoping 1 win (Gulf), 1 tie (Korea), and 1 (Vietnam) going on 3 (+Iraq,+Afghanistan) losses.

      But, hey. Maybe we can add Iran and Bush-era Republcans can have a hat trick of failure all to themselves. :)

    • Posted By: max.grant @ 11/16/2007 2:58:49 PM

      Comment: Now appearing in a war apologia near you: the Dolchstosslegende, a pathetic attempt to blame the failure of executive decisions on their critics. Otherwise known as "we wuz stabbed in the back." Give us a break. If the surge is working then we've succeeded and we can go home. If it isn't working then we've failed and we should go home. Either way, the American public by a LARGE MAJORITY thinks we should go home. Welcome to Democracy, dardena.

  • Posted By: aman78 @ 11/15/2007 11:53:18 PM

    Comment: Good article. I agree that the Dems have proved completely spineless and far from ending the war and bringing an end to the misery of the people in Iraq they have caved in each and every time Bush requested funds without any conditions at all.

    It is time they grew a backbone. The Dems deserve to be impeached as well along with Dick Cheney and Bush and the current regime.

  • Posted By: jcon007 @ 11/15/2007 10:55:00 PM

    Comment: Speaking of Bush and other American traitors.....if the rumor is true that this magazine has hired Heir Rove to write columns, I will be canceling my subscription and encouraging all my friends to do the same. I doubt there is a single person in the world who has done more damage to our democracy than this scumbag and I will never support anyone or anything that supports him with a hire. BIG MISTAKE NEWSWEEK!!!!!

    • Posted By: Braes @ 11/19/2007 1:56:05 PM

      Comment: I would rather at this point ensure Rove had a podium in front of me, because if the enemy is going to print his gameplan, I'd like a copy. I doubt Rove is really getting his dinner money from this gig.

    • Posted By: thehomemortgagemaster @ 11/17/2007 11:08:09 AM

      Comment: I was going to send in my subscription cancellation also- then I rememberd (hard to do under the current regime) that we are supposed to be in a democracy where ALL sides of issues and opinions are available for people to read and weigh. If we advocate journalism that eliminates some points of view we are just like Bushies. I, too, believe Rove should be indicted, not honored, but if we continue to erode the press we are just playing into the long term plans of the Project For A New American Century folks.

 
 
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