THE HUNTER RESOLUTION
"Havoc on the Hill" and "Hell Breaks Loose" read the tags on cable news coverage of the Republicans' most recent attempt change the debate in Congress. Rep. John Murtha had proposed a (non-binding) resolution that would force the president to withdraw American troops from Iraq "at the earliest practicable date." It would have established a quick-reaction force and a nearby presence of Marines in the region, possibly Kuwait. It also stated that the US must pursue stability in Iraq through diplomacy rather than the military.
Murtha, one of the most hawkish Democrats in Congress, has long supported Bush's invasion of Iraq, so losing his support was seen as a major setback. Generals Abizaid and Casey are also advocating the withdrawal of troops from Iraq - up to 60,000 (37.5%) for a start. Faced with such opposition to their war profiteering, the Republicans had no option but to bait and switch.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, in a clear effort to put forward something that virtually no one could support and kill the debate altogether, proposed another resolution which simply stated "It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately." This was followed by personal attacks on Murtha himself, chiefly from Rep. Jean "Full Of" Schmidt (described - quite accurately - by jmhm as a "shrieking loon") who quoted an alleged colonel who purportedly told her to let Murtha know "that cowards cut and run, Marines never do". Hell did, indeed, break loose - and Schmidt was eventually forced to apologize and retract her statement. But the night was far from over.
Uncharacteristically, the house Democrats stood up to the Republican stunt, identifying it for what it was: a scam. The debate remained fairly heated, with a number of Democrats making eloquent, impassioned speeches alternating with Republicans going on and on about "freedom" and "terrorism" and "staying the course". And, evidently, every Republican member of Congress spent yesterday visiting Arlington National Cemetery or sitting at the bedsides of wounded soldiers. The amount of pure bullshit was almost overwhelming. On the Democratic side, Dennis Kucinich was particularly fiery, calling the Hunter Resolution "fakery", and Nancy Pelosi predictably strident (though absolutely right), calling the resolution "a disgrace" (and telling Republicans, "You can't handle the truth!"). But the best rebuttal probably came from Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who sounded much like Fred Fisher confronting Joseph McCarthy when, in a very civil, deliberate fashion, he called the Republicans behavior "the rankest of politics with the absence of any sense of shame".
In fact, the shabbiness of the debate was even criticized by a couple of Republicans - and five of them voted against even bringing the resolution to a vote. Unfortunately, Murtha himself was relatively unimpressive. His verbatim reiteration of his remarks yesterday was a bit surreal and he spent the whole time defending his resolution - which wasn't even on the floor.
Throughout, Republicans attempted to characterize the Hunter Resolution as the Murtha Resolution - though Rep. Tom Lantos finally got the GOP to acknowledge that they had changed the terms of the debate by raising which resolution was under discussion as a parliamentary point of order.
As intended, Hunter's resolution was soundly defeated. It remains to be seen, though, whether the post-vote coverage will focus on the Republicans' exploitation of the US military for purely partisan political ends or whether they will succeed in having changed the debate. Should House Democrats try to raise the question of redeployment or withdrawal after the Thanksgiving break, I have no doubt that the GOP will say, "You already voted against that. We've had the debate on Iraq." Clearly this was their intention. Whether or not they prevail - and this will largely depend on how this episode is spun over the next fortnight - will be a guage of just how free our press is.
Murtha, one of the most hawkish Democrats in Congress, has long supported Bush's invasion of Iraq, so losing his support was seen as a major setback. Generals Abizaid and Casey are also advocating the withdrawal of troops from Iraq - up to 60,000 (37.5%) for a start. Faced with such opposition to their war profiteering, the Republicans had no option but to bait and switch.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, in a clear effort to put forward something that virtually no one could support and kill the debate altogether, proposed another resolution which simply stated "It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately." This was followed by personal attacks on Murtha himself, chiefly from Rep. Jean "Full Of" Schmidt (described - quite accurately - by jmhm as a "shrieking loon") who quoted an alleged colonel who purportedly told her to let Murtha know "that cowards cut and run, Marines never do". Hell did, indeed, break loose - and Schmidt was eventually forced to apologize and retract her statement. But the night was far from over.
Uncharacteristically, the house Democrats stood up to the Republican stunt, identifying it for what it was: a scam. The debate remained fairly heated, with a number of Democrats making eloquent, impassioned speeches alternating with Republicans going on and on about "freedom" and "terrorism" and "staying the course". And, evidently, every Republican member of Congress spent yesterday visiting Arlington National Cemetery or sitting at the bedsides of wounded soldiers. The amount of pure bullshit was almost overwhelming. On the Democratic side, Dennis Kucinich was particularly fiery, calling the Hunter Resolution "fakery", and Nancy Pelosi predictably strident (though absolutely right), calling the resolution "a disgrace" (and telling Republicans, "You can't handle the truth!"). But the best rebuttal probably came from Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who sounded much like Fred Fisher confronting Joseph McCarthy when, in a very civil, deliberate fashion, he called the Republicans behavior "the rankest of politics with the absence of any sense of shame".
In fact, the shabbiness of the debate was even criticized by a couple of Republicans - and five of them voted against even bringing the resolution to a vote. Unfortunately, Murtha himself was relatively unimpressive. His verbatim reiteration of his remarks yesterday was a bit surreal and he spent the whole time defending his resolution - which wasn't even on the floor.
Throughout, Republicans attempted to characterize the Hunter Resolution as the Murtha Resolution - though Rep. Tom Lantos finally got the GOP to acknowledge that they had changed the terms of the debate by raising which resolution was under discussion as a parliamentary point of order.
As intended, Hunter's resolution was soundly defeated. It remains to be seen, though, whether the post-vote coverage will focus on the Republicans' exploitation of the US military for purely partisan political ends or whether they will succeed in having changed the debate. Should House Democrats try to raise the question of redeployment or withdrawal after the Thanksgiving break, I have no doubt that the GOP will say, "You already voted against that. We've had the debate on Iraq." Clearly this was their intention. Whether or not they prevail - and this will largely depend on how this episode is spun over the next fortnight - will be a guage of just how free our press is.