No wonder the silence on the right is so deafening...it doesn't look like the military is happy about the Republican blockage of Senator Jim Webb's common sense troop amendment. Let's break it down, shall we? We'll start with the title:
Senate GOP leaders block Webb dwell-time planNo question as to who to blame there, huh? The first sentence is even better.
A Senate proposal to guarantee combat troops more time at home was derailed Wednesday by a procedural roadblock thrown by Republicans.OUCH. Next?
Fifty-six senators supported the plan offered by two military veterans - Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. - that would promise service members returning from deployment as much time at home as they had spent in a combat zone, unless they volunteer to return early.They got their zinger in right at the end, and what a zinger it is. It's not over, though.Under normal circumstances, 56 votes would have been enough for the measure to pass. But the Senate's debate over Iraq policy during consideration of the $648 billion defense policy bill for 2008 is not normal, because Republican leaders have vowed to use procedural moves to stop Democrats from changing the Bush administration?s Iraq strategy.
With Republicans threatening endless debate, known in legislative terms as a filibuster, supporters of the Webb-Hagel amendment needed to muster 60 votes to stop the talking and bring the plan to a vote. They fell four votes short.Sounds like the Army Times is a fan of Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), doesn't it? And why shouldn't they be? He clearly supports the troops, while the Republicans couldn't make it more plain that they do NOT.Webb said he was disappointed but won?t give up. "We are going to continue to focus on this," he said.
Sen. Barbara Milkuski, D-Md., said she was disappointed in the Senate for blocking a vote on an amendment aimed at supporting troops and their families, especially one sponsored by two Vietnam combat veterans whose views on personnel issues traditionally would be given great weight because ?they know the stresses of war.?They could have thrown in any number of quotes from any number of our Democratic leaders right there, but in my eyes, they chose the perfect one. You cannot read that without questioning the Republicans' actions today which make it patently clear that they care more for their President than they do for the American Armed Forces. But the closing paragraph is best, in my opinion.
Work on the defense bill continues, with other Iraq-related amendments expected on setting a withdrawal date for U.S. combat troops and ordering a change in the missions assigned to those troops.You would have to be blind, deaf, dumb, and possibly mentally challenged to say that the Democratic party is not becoming known as the pro-military party. And it's about damned time...Republican leaders intend to use the same tactic of potentially unending debate, which will continue to force Democrats to try and muster 60 votes to stop them. Falling short on the less-controversial deployment issue is believed to be a sign that 60 votes will not be found for other Iraq amendments opposed by the Bush administration.