"It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."
It was put-up-or-shut-up time for the Democrats. They didn't put up. Too bad they won't shut up, either. Here's a little about Nancy Pelosi:
Top Democrats attacked the GOP tactic. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the Republicans "engaged in an act of deception that undermines any shred of dignity that might be left in this Republican Congress." She called Hunter's resolution "a political stunt" and "a disservice to our country and to our men and women in uniform."Uh huh. She represents a city that just voted not to want military recruiters in any of its schools, and she's worried about a Republican disservice to our men and women in uniform? Sorry, I'm not buying those crocodile tears.
Here's another comment about that same minority leader:
[Y]ou'd have to be a fool to believe there are only three Democrats in the House who support the language of the resolution offered last night to bring the troops home immediately. At the top of the list is Nancy Pelosi who, instead of voting her conscience and representing her constituents, decided to play victim and accuse Republicans of "politicizing the war" - something she's been doing non-stop for more than two years now.Hypocrisy is a wonderful thing, my lovely Democrats.
Wanting to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq doesn't make you a coward. What does make you a coward is when you truly believe we should get our troops out of Iraq immediately, you have a chance to vote for doing exactly that, and you choose not to because you fear the political consequences of being on record revealing your position to the public.By now everyone has heard the name of Jack Murtha, the retired Marine Congressman who proposed that we pull out of Iraq immediately. Here's the best line I've read about him:
It seems to me that Rep. Murtha, retired Marine colonel, pulled the pin on the grenade of the Democrats' Iraq policy, but he forgot to throw it.
You should read the whole post here. It's wildly interesting.
And then there's this quote from a fellow blogger here in Sacramento:
When I would smart off to my dad as a kid he would say* to me "just be sure not to let your alligator mouth overload your hummingbird ass."
Looks like the Murtha and the rest of the Democrats let that happen to them today. The Republicans in the House called the Dems bluff and put forth a resolution based on Murtha's own comments and resolution, calling for the immediate withdrawal of our troops. The measure was defeated by a vote of 403-3.
Update: And then there's this from Mark Steyn:
I know what Bush believes: He thought Saddam should go in 2002 and today he's glad he's gone, as am I. I know what, say, Michael Moore believes: He wanted to leave Saddam in power in 2002, and today he thinks the "insurgents" are the Iraqi version of America's Minutemen. But what do Rockefeller and Reid and Kerry believe deep down? That voting for the war seemed the politically expedient thing to do in 2002 but that they've since done the math and figured that pandering to the moveon.org crowd is where the big bucks are? If Bush is the new Hitler, these small hollow men are the equivalent of those grubby little Nazis whose whining defense was, "I was only obeying orders. I didn't really mean all that strutting tough-guy stuff." And, before they huff, "How dare you question my patriotism?", well, yes, I am questioning your patriotism -- because you're failing to meet the challenge of the times. Thanks to you, Iraq is a quagmire -- not in the Sunni Triangle, where U.S. armed forces are confident and effective, but on the home front, where soft-spined national legislators have turned the war into one almighty Linguini Triangle.
I love his style.
