Maybe the Duck Isn’t So Lame

[54anickel]

Bush finds a way to win, or at least a way not to lose, a crucial showdown on Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17033363/site/newsweek/

snip>

The newly empowered Democratic majority failed to win the vote on the nonbinding resolution to block Bush from sending new troops into Iraq. But the president’s real victory lay in keeping his party together at a crucial juncture.

How did the White House hold its ground? They ran a play from the tried-and-true Karl Rove playbook. They tapped into the rock-star cachet of the military’s hottest general. And they engaged in some old-fashioned arm-twisting.

The Democrats may have carried the day in November, but they’re still fearful of being labeled as weak—or insufficiently supportive of the troops. So the White House figured, correctly, that the opposition would be unwilling to cut off funding for the forces in Iraq. It seemed no coincidence that Sen. Judd Gregg—one of President Bush’s few personal friends in the Senate—offered the only proposal that was likely to get a rock-solid 60 votes. Gregg’s plan asserted the president’s power to deploy troops and the responsibility of Congress to fund those troops. Gregg’s proposal gave Republicans something to vote for that would not repudiate the president’s plan. It also boxed Democrats in; opposing the measure would have put them on record as voting against funding boots on the ground. The Democrats backed off, postponing the showdown for a time.

The White House also played the Petraeus card. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the new commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is widely respected on Capitol Hill for his experience in Iraq. But inside the White House, Petraeus is admired not just for his military expertise. Team Bush considers his PR talent a godsend.

more...

[jaxx]

1. One of these days the majority is going to have to ride roughshod over

the minority and get something done. And piss on what the WH has to say about it. It's time.

[1620rock]

3. Same old soup, just stirred differently. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Pease porridge in the pot

6 years old

:puke:

[AX10]

9. Agreed!

[ClassWarrior]

14. So how did you do it when you were in Congress in a razor-thin majority?

NGU.

[lancdem]

2. Whoop de do

Bush is still a president with approval ratings in the 30s. No amount of PR will save his ass now.

[partylessinOhio]

4. Vote 'em all the hell out!

I'm fast leaning to becoming an independent.

We are stuck with a sorry bunch of cowards led by a whimp and an ego mad rich bitch.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. The damn House had better get its act together.

The Senate is a lost cause, that much is obvious. The House alone has the power to end the war.

[Olney Blue]

7. This makes me FURIOUS

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. Petraeus? Petraeus is a shithead like all the others.

With Petraeus in charge expect more of the same. More big losses & an accelaration of the same old bullshit. The Iraq war has been lost.

[133724]

10. If they don't want to be labeled as "Weak" then get a spine &

stand up to that SOB...

Otherwise they are weak....

[AndyTiedye]

11. They Still Have the NSA

So Karl can still use to make the Dems run up the

[soothsayer]

13. I think we all know who they've been wiretapping lo these 6 years.

Not just the Dems, the repukes, too, to get them to fall into line. Easy as pie.

[gulliver]

12. He's more of a wounded animal than a lame duck.

And the GOP Congress didn't rally around Bush. They rallied away from the Dems. There is no political cost to pay for supporting the surge if you are a Republican. It will be forgotten by their voters. The lives are not counted. The deficits are not counted.

To the extent that the GOP Congress people supported Bush and kissed his butt, there is no escaping history. They know they will be tarred with lock-stepping behind Junior no matter what they do. So they might as well just keep their "dignity." Why admit you are wrong when it won't do old number one any good? Why oppose a fellow Republican when it pays no obvious dividends? A lying, cheating, selfish philosophy is still at their center of gravity.

[Zodiak]

15. The Dems had better get a spine

They are such serial capitulators that the GOP is counting on our cowardice as part of their strategy.......and they are winning.