The Democratic Party has No Ideas? Or, Do Repugnicans steal them?

Yesterday's action came on a pair of amendments offered to the defense authorization bill. The Democratic amendment, sponsored by Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.) and many others, stated that 2006 should be a year of "significant transition" to Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi forces taking responsibility for their country's security. It mandated quarterly reports to Congress by the administration on progress toward that goal, and an estimated timetable for the eventual redeployment of U.S. forces. That amendment lost on a 58 to 40 vote.

The Republican amendment, co-sponsored by Warner and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), embraced the bulk of the Democratic amendment but removed what the White House and some Republicans saw as the most odious language, the requirement for the administration to establish an estimated timetable for withdrawal. With that change, the amendment sailed through on a vote of 79 to 19.

It would have been easy for Republicans to defeat the Democratic amendment and leave it at that, but given the state of public opinion and the opposition to Bush's policies, Republicans needed a vehicle to show constituents that they understand the public's frustration -- and to signal to the White House that they expect more than statements of optimism about the pace of a conflict in which American troops are dying almost every day.

During the televised November 14 press conference referenced by The Hill, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) told reporters, "What the Republicans have done is crossed off the names of all the Democrats on it; just inserted Senators Warner and Frist, and made a few changes in the amendment."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200511220002


I wonder how many times this has happened...

these days: Speak the truth, follow the law, use the military only in defense...

...kudos to Garrison Keillor for my new favorite come back!

:shrug:

They have made the GOP talking point that 'Dems have no ideas' reality in millions of minds. :grr:

election year.

any ideas they bring forth are swept away with the swish of majority rule

That is putting it in literal terms

What troubles me is that there is so little daylight between the Democratic and Republican versions of the bill. If they wanna steal the Kucinich's plan to get us the fuck out of Iraq ASAP, I say let them go ahead. Call it the Lott/Sessions bill for all I care. Somehow I doubt they'll ever do that.