Progress! SENATE REPUBLICANS block Iraq bill

Senate Republicans block Iraq bill
Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:58pm EDT

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans blocked a plan on Wednesday to give U.S. troops in Iraq more home leave, defeating a proposal widely seen as the Democrats' best near-term chance to change President George W. Bush's Iraq strategy.

The measure to give troops as much rest time at home as they spent on their most recent tour overseas needed 60 votes to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate; it received just 56 votes, with 44 against.

It had been offered by Sen. Jim Webb, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former Navy secretary. The Democrat said U.S. troops are being "burned out" by repeated redeployments to Iraq, with tours of up to 15 months and less than a year off in between.

more...

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1423419220070919

A change in the wind...

NGU.

Defense Appropriations bill off the table. Say to Repulicans, Pass the Webb amendment, and mandatory timelines, and override any veto, or get no money. Period.

Keep up the pressure on the assholes who hate the troops.

...tell 'em again.

Never Give Up.

Telling them over and over and over again.

Never Give Up.

Good lead line. Thanks Ms. Cornwell/Reuters.

(minor gripe) I wish journalists would clarify that the Republicans blocked the amendment from coming to a vote at all.

Cloture (ending debate and submitting for a simple majority vote) needs 60 ayes. Passage only requires 51 votes, and they were there.

If the amendment had the "up or down" vote Republicans once *seemed* to champion, it would have passed by a simple majority.

the fact that the rethugs were called out was no small deal today.

I'd bet there are many rank and file (R) that agreed with his amendment, as a fair benefit for troops deployed in this nightmare.

Especially the ones up for renewal next November.

Example:

Senate staffer: Good afternoon. senator norm coleman's office.

Me: Hi. Thank you very much for taking my call. I care enough about this to call all the way from California, you know! I just wanted to say how GRATEFUL I am that senator coleman voted against that Webb bill to give our troops some decent rest between combat tours. I'm SO GLAD he did that!!! It's gonna make it SO MUCH EASIER to clean his clock next November! He's just handed it to Al Franken!!! THANK YOU!!!!!! GREAT work!!! We were kinda worried that he was going to see the light and start doing the right thing for a change, so it'd be a LOT harder for Al. But he DIDN'T!!! I can't tell you how relieved I am by this!!! And please ask him to KEEP ON stayin' strong and holding our troops hostage like that! Keep it up! Keep 'em stuck over there getting killed for nothing!!! Especially since the vast majority of Americans wants this war ended and our troops to COME HOME!!! This is JUST GREAT!!! THANK YOU!!! coleman has no idea what a difference he made here!!! And as a Democrat, I appreciate this with ALL MY HEART!!!! You guys just Made My Day!!! Toodles!

Same thing for that obnoxious snot-nose susan collins. Whose staffers, I've found, are the absolute RUDEST on Capitol Hill. Hands down. And I've made a LOT of calls to a LOT of Congressional and Senatorial offices by now. Snot-noses just like she is.

he might ask him about you during the debate

Their ad discrediting Petraeus prior to his testimony, while very popular with our base and effective with the general public from figures I have seen, might have been played by the cons to fire up their base and their "wavering" senators. Maybe it played a role in these senators deciding to vote with the president instead of the "moveon crowd."

Moveon might have won us some more seats in 2008 by convincing some of these GOP senators to shoot themselves in the foot with their vote against Webb's amendment.

They are not scared of Democrats, the voters, anything. They act like they can do absolutely anything they want, and since the 2006 election there has been next to no evidence to the contrary.

We lose. And I, for one, do not welcome my new insect overlords.

Should have been the headlines!

to Dear Leader. It was a shameful, shameful Senate session yesterday, but on the "up" side - for Democrats - what red meat for political commercials. Seriously, Nancy needs to consider shutting things down. No more funding bills to the House floor.

probably gave the repigs an offer they couldn't refuse.

...and all the nasty crap they pull bounces off of us and sticks to them.

:rofl:

NGU.