I think the three who actually voted for this sham of a resolution are going to come out looking very good in the end.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a maneuver to strike at Iraq war critics, the Republican-led House of Representatives engineered a vote on Friday on a resolution to pull U.S. troops immediately from Iraq, which was defeated nearly unanimously.
Republicans, who introduced the surprise resolution hours before lawmakers were to start a Thanksgiving holiday recess, said the vote was intended to show support for U.S. forces.
Democrats denounced it as a political stunt and an attack on Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a leading Democratic military hawk who stunned his colleagues on Thursday by calling for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq as quickly as possible.
This was a stunt. This had nothing to do with the war, or "supporting the troops", and had everything to do with silencing those who would question the direction of our involvement in Iraq. When we ask for a serious discussion, they respond with attacks on character- much in the way a little child would do when caught in a position where they know they have done wrong. This was a display of "government by 2 yr-olds".
I hope everyone remembers this. Not only will the WH attack you for asking hard questions, now they will use the entire House of Representatives to trivialize your concerns. These are your employees, America.
Time for new management. These fools have got to go.
Unlike Murtha's proposal calling for troops to be withdrawn "as soon as practicable," which he expected would be about six months, the Republican resolution said deployment of the U.S. forces should be "terminated immediately."
Democrats said no one advocated an immediate pull-out without ensuring the safety of troops, and that it was a meaningless resolution that ducked serious debate on the situation in Iraq. It was defeated 403-3.
"To take this proposal and trash it, trivialize it, is outrageous," said Rep. John Spratt, a South Carolina Democrat.
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Republicans had "stooped to a new low even for them."
Yes, it was a new low. John Aravosis at Americablog summed it up very well.
"It's becoming increasingly clear that the Republicans don't care about our troops. To them, our soldiers are props in one big propaganda war. That's all. So it doesn't matter if our troops are dying. It doesn't matter if the war was a mistake. It doesn't matter if we're losing. They simply don't care. The war was THEIR mistake and politically they can't admit a mistake. And that's what tonight is about."
And now the WH is running around claiming victory on this farce.
"Congress in strong, bipartisan fashion rejected the call to cut and run," White House spokesman Scott McClellan, traveling with Bush in Asia, said a statement.
What a joke. Set up a rigged vote, and then claim "I told ya so". The WH is left to manufacturing petty resolutions that have no real weight. Propaganda war, indeed.
I wish they all would have walked out, but I guess they played it right.
The three who bucked all odds- Jose Serrano of New York, Robert Wexler of Florida and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. Applause for them- They had enough courage to tell the Republicans to "shove it".