Even a Blind Man Will See Thru This

From MyDD.com

The Murtha Resolution
by Scott Shields

The big talk floating around right now, everywhere from Drudge to Kos, is that there will be a vote in the House, tonight at 7PM, designed specifically by the Republican leadership to force Democrats to on the record about the Iraq War. Here's the language of the resolution, courtesy of The Hotline Blog.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

But it's not actually Murtha's resolution that they'll be voting on. They've completely gutted and rewritten it. Here is the actual text of Murtha's resolution, which will not be up for a vote tonight.

Whereas Congress and the American People have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to "promote the emergence of a democratic government";

Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U, S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;

Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;

Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;

Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency,

Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80% of the Iraqi people want U.S. forces out of Iraq;

Whereas polls also indicate that 45% of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified;

Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action;

Therefore be it

1) Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in

2) Congress assembled,

3) That:

4) Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is

5) hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable

6) date.

7) Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S Marines

8) shall be deployed in the region.

9) Section 3 The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq

10) through diplomacy.

My advice to the entire Democratic caucus is to not take the bait. The entire caucus should abstain from voting altogether. And the Republicans should be called out for their bullying tactics. The Democrats must make it clear to anyone who will listen that this "Murtha vote" is not a vote on the Murtha resolution at all, but rather a caricature of his resolution, thrown together by hot headed Republicans, eager to jam up the opposition.

The Democrats have recently been wrongfully accused of playing politics with the war for doing nothing more than demanding accountability and results. Now, at the height of hypocrisy, the Republican Party is putting on the table a two sentence resolution that mocks perhaps the most serious issue of our day. There should be a vote on the Murtha resolution -- the real Murtha resolution. And that vote should be held after there has been time for open debate on the merits of the actual resolution. Some Democrats would vote yes, some would vote no. I'm sure there would be legitimate reasons for both.

But this isn't about legitimate debate or serious policy formation. The is the House Republicans going off half-cocked with a hurry-up vote designed not to help the troops, but instead to muddy the waters of the debate. This vote puts the hypocrisy and immaturity of the Republican Party on display for all to see.

Democrats :: Fri Nov 18th, 2005 at 04:55:48 PM EDT :: 13 Comments