Congratulations, Democrats.
I know it's tough to get the moonbats and the loons to agree on much, but that is your base. You have the blue dog Democrats that you strategically elected to gain control of Congress and you have the tinfoil hat crowd. Both constituencies are hard to bring together on much, as you've discovered.
But now, you've been able to forge a pact with the Devil so you can have your beloved timetables (albeit, nonbinding ones) trying to micromanage the war in Iraq.
Liberal opposition to a $124 billion war spending bill broke last night, when leaders of the antiwar Out of Iraq Caucus pledged to Democratic leaders that they will not block the measure, which sets timelines for bringing U.S. troops home.
The acquiescence of the liberals probably means that the House will pass a binding measure today that, for the first time, would establish tough readiness standards for the deployment of combat forces and an Aug. 31, 2008, deadline for their removal from Iraq.
A Senate committee also passed a spending bill yesterday setting a goal of bringing troops home within a year. The developments mark congressional Democrats' first real progress in putting legislative pressure on President Bush to withdraw U.S. forces.
Even more than the conservative Democrats leery of appearing to micromanage the war, House liberals have been the main obstacle to leadership efforts to put a timeline on the withdrawal of U.S. forces. They have complained that the proposal would not bring troops home fast enough. Their opposition has riven the antiwar movement, split the Democratic base and been the main stumbling block to the legislation, which had originally been scheduled for a vote yesterday.
Not that it will matter much if the President vetoes this. I would hope he learned this much from Bill Clinton.
But it's good to see that you have given our enemies renewed hope.
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