Posted by D. Cupples | Yesterday, the House passed a bill (218-203) that would give $50 billion in war funding over the next four months while also requiring President Bush to start drawing down troops (Washington Post).
Instead of their usual threats to obstruct via filibuster, Senate Republican leaders said they would allow the bill to go to a vote -- but only if it provides $70 billion and doesn't require troop drawdown. Senate Republicans' (and thge President's) aversion to taking soldiers out of harm's way doesn't make sense, given that....
Bush Administration officials claim that violence in Iraq is down (i.e., the "surge" worked). Last week, General Joseph Fils said that Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has been driven out of Baghdad. If recent strategies were so successful, isn't it time to start bringing some troops home?
House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee chair John Murtha (D-PA) commented:
"We want a plan in Iraq.... We want stability in the Middle East.... We want to put a plan in place that holds the president accountable." (Washington Post)
Reportedly, President Bush is angry and has threatened to veto the bill....
White House spokesperson Dana Perino said that the bill is merely "for political posturing and to appease radical groups."
Apparently, the term "radical" made a comeback, along with the beehive hair do. That aside, Ms. Perino seems to have mis-used the term -- given that recent public opinion polls show that opposition to the Iraq war is mainstream.
A Rasmussen poll (released this month), for example, found that 61% of survey participants want to bring troops home from Iraq within one year.
A Washington Post/ABC poll results (released in October) asked whether Congress should approve President Bush's request for another $190 billion in war funding for 2008; reactions were as follows:
Give full funding 27%
Reduce the amount 67%
Sharply reduce the amount 43%
Give no funding at all 3%
(See poll results, question 15)
When asked whether they felt a Republican or Democratic president would do better at handling Iraq, 51% favored a Democrat and 31% favored a Republican (question 16). In other words, most Americans seem to dislike President Bush's (and congressional Republicans') "stay the course" strategy.
Given that a majority of Americans support both a decrease in war funding and a drawdown of troops, it's safe to say that those have become mainstream (as opposed to "radical") notions.
See other bloggers' reactions at Memeorandum.
* Polling Data Inadequately Reported
* CNN Poll: Bad News for Dems, No News for Republicans?
* Democrats So-Called "Control" of Congress
* New Poll: Record Low Approval of Bush & More
* Why Democrats Beat Republicans in Gallup Poll
* Approval Ratings: What do the Numbers Mean?
* Hoping for More Careful Polling Analysis
* New Poll: Majority of Republicans Support Strike against Iran
US must withdraw troops from Iraq, but is very important to continue fighting against terrorist regimes
Posted by: Fred | November 15, 2007 at 12:17 PM