Raw Story: Seven "Rogue" GOP Senators Seek End To Partisanship On Iraq Debate

[Hissyspit]

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Seven_rogue_GOP_senators_seek_end_0208.html

Seven 'rogue' GOP senators seek end to partisanship on Iraq Debate
Michael Roston
Published: Thursday February 8, 2007

A group of seven Republican senators have sent a letter to the Senate's Republican and Democratic leadership insisting that they remove political gamesmanship from the chamber's debate about Iraq. While some have lauded the move, others see it as insufficient to make up for the fact that most of the senators in question refused to vote to end the filibuster on the Warner-Levin Iraq resolution on Monday.

Blogger Steve Clemons posted the full letter directed to Senators Mitch McConnel. (R-KY), Trent Lott (R-MS), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) on his blog, The Washington Note, last night. In the letter, Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Warner (R-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and George Voinovich (R-OH) implored the leadership of both parties to make it possible for the the debate over Iraq to go forward.

"We strongly believe the Senate should be allowed to work its will on our resolution as well as the concepts brought forward by other Senators. Monday's procedural vote should not be interpreted as any lessening of our resolve to go forward advocating the concepts of S. Con. Res. 7," they wrote. "The current stalemate is unacceptable to us and to the people of this country."

- snip -

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo said that "I have a hard time buying their line. It was the Republicans who scuttled this debate. I have a hard time seeing this as a matter of equal blame on both sides."

At The Left Coaster, Steve Soto also spared no words for the Republican senators: "Funny, I don’t remember the media telling us about any of these seven resisting their leadership with long-winded, passionate speeches on the need to keep the partisanship out of the surge debate," he wrote. "In fact, these seven were only too willing to throw their rhetoric and conscience out the window Monday as soon as their president snapped his fingers."

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[Kagemusha]

1. More like seek to cover their butts over their partisan actions

like where Warner voted against his own resolution because... the party leader told him to. Real bipartisan there, Warner!

[mmonk]

2. Face saving measure.

[Mass]

3. Please - Except for Collins and Coleman, they all voted against cloture on Monday.

[rocktivity]

10. Maybe this commercial embarrased them

It mentions Smith, Gregg, Warner, and Voinivich as being among the "escalators." Thanks, MoveOn!

:headbang:
rocknation

[dogday]

4. Warner-Levin Iraq resolution is just a blank check

the thing is it says bush cannot escalate the situation and the Congress will pay for everything... Bush does not need the Congress to escalate, only for the money... Sounds to me like this is a rip off bill....

[rodeodance]

5. with the 7 dead in the copter crash yesterday, maybe they realized the

public is NOT liking their antics???

[rodeodance]

6. We should all call our Senators office today and say Troops are dying

while they play their upgamesmanship!

[bryant69]

7. Rogues like a fox

Particularly since they are laying just as much blame on the Democrats.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[fasttense]

8. They are trying to look good

in front of the voters. They think this stupid letter will make them look like they are trying to work things out.

It only makes them look like the spineless politicians that they are. It doesn't explain why they basically voted against their own bill.

They are trying to kiss up to the bushes while at the same time appease the voters.

[fidgeting wildly]

9. 7 more dead soldiers...

These people aren't rogues, they're opportunists. They're also transparent. Nobody's fooled by their time-wasting antics.