WP: Murtha Stumbles on Iraq Funding Curbs: Dems Ill-Prepared for Unplanned Disclosure, GOP Attacks

[DeepModem Mom]

Murtha Stumbles on Iraq Funding Curbs
Democrats Were Ill-Prepared for Unplanned Disclosure, Republican Attacks
By Jonathan Weisman and Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, February 25, 2007; Page A05


Rep. John P. Murtha provoked Democratic dissension and Republican opposition when he discussed his Iraq plan in a Web site interview. (By Haraz N. Ghanbari -- Associated Press)

The plan was bold: By tying President Bush's $100 billion war request to strict standards of troop safety and readiness, Democrats believed they could grab hold of Iraq war policy while forcing Republicans to defend sending troops into battle without the necessary training or equipment.

But a botched launch by the plan's author, Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.), has united Republicans and divided Democrats, sending the latter back to the drawing board just a week before scheduled legislative action, a score of House Democratic lawmakers said last week.

"If this is going to be legislation that's crafted in such a way that holds back resources from our troops, that is a non-starter, an absolute non-starter," declared Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah), a leader of the conservative Blue Dog Democrats....

***

The story of Murtha's star-crossed plan illustrates the Democratic Party's deep divisions over the Iraq war and how the new House majority has yet to establish firm control over Congress. From the beginning, Murtha acted on his own to craft a complicated legislative strategy on the war, without consulting fellow Democrats. When he chose to roll out the details on a liberal, antiwar Web site on Feb. 15, he caught even Pelosi by surprise while infuriating Democrats from conservative districts.

Then for an entire week, as members of Congress returned home for a recess, Murtha refused to speak further. Democratic leaders failed to step into the vacuum, and Republicans relentlessly attacked a plan they called a strategy to slowly bleed the war of troops and funds. By the end of the recess, Murtha's once promising strategy was in tatters....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401420.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. I do believe...

It's time for Nancy to sit the Blue Dogs down and have a little chapter and verse with them.

[humbled_opinion]

8. Either that or put Impeachment back on the table....

Look the bottom line is the Democrats are in a position to Lead and Lead they must. Defund the War in Iraq Now stand up and take responsiblity for bringing our young men and women home from a Bushed up war.... now.... Not next week or month....act, act, act....

[rodeodance]

9. .."what is the state of the backbone of the Democratic Party?" umm, seems

to be quite the spat------NOT needed at this crucial time!

.......The story of Murtha's star-crossed plan illustrates the Democratic Party's deep divisions over the Iraq war and how the new House majority has yet to establish firm control over Congress. From the beginning, Murtha acted on his own to craft a complicated legislative strategy on the war, without consulting fellow Democrats. When he chose to roll out the details on a liberal, antiwar Web site on Feb. 15, he caught even Pelosi by surprise while infuriating Democrats from conservative districts.

Then for an entire week, as members of Congress returned home for a recess, Murtha refused to speak further. Democratic leaders failed to step into the vacuum, and Republicans relentlessly attacked a plan they called a strategy to slowly bleed the war of troops and funds. By the end of the recess, Murtha's once promising strategy was in tatters.

Tom Andrews, a former House member and antiwar activist who helped Murtha with his Internet rollout, fumed: "The issue to me is, what is the state of the backbone of the Democratic Party? How will they respond to this counterattack? Republicans are throwing touchdown passes on this because the Democrats aren't even on the field."

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a Florida Democrat and deputy whip, said party leaders are working on several Iraq proposals and that Murtha's may survive. Finding consensus will be difficult but not impossible, she said. "This is a multi-step process," she cautioned. "At least we're debating the topic, not blindly following the president."

[winston61]

15. I'll tell ya-

The Dems are a pack of spineless douche bags. Won't defund, won't impeach, won't say boo to a fuckin' goose.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

22. Spineless Douchebags?

Ever get the feeling you are in the wrong forum?

[fooj]

20. I'm sick to death of the "Blue Dogs"...

Time to play like a team or don't play at all.

[truthisfreedom]

2. You gotta expect this when we're trying to do everything possible to undo bushco's evil plans in

a matter of just a few weeks after gaining power.

[gratefultobelib]

17. I'm always glad to see posts such as yours in the midst of all of the

screaming and yelling! (No offense intended to the aforementioned.) I too believe most of our Dem leaders are well-intentioned and working hard to combat bushco, but it is sooooo complicated, so many personalities to deal with, so many plans, and yes, so many egos. But I have faith we will prevail.

[confludemocrat]

24. That's right. The people voted for a way out of Iraq, so don't waiver, Dems

fuck their attacks, the country wants the U.S. out. the other side is out of ammo, the repubs have said all they can say, attacked with everything they have and gotten their asses kicked anyway

[EST]

3. Just exactly since when did the

fucking washington post staff writers become experts on democratic strategy? Or experts on truth in frickin bullshit, even?
Right wing war and rumor mongers are not exactly whom I would go to for any sort of reliable, factual political reporting. Pissonem.

[gratuitous]

23. Ding, ding, ding, Winner!

The Washington Post is not a friend of the Democrats, and their reportage on what's going on inside the caucus is suspect at best, and probably a pack of lies intended to do the most damage possible to the group in the best position to undo the war they have been such relentless cheerleaders for.

The Post isn't the same newspaper it was in 1970s, but they're coasting on a reputation they've long since jettisoned.

[IndianaGreen]

4. This is not the time for Democrats to act like a bunch of frightened DLCers!

It is the Republicans that want to send troops into combat without the proper training, equipment, and with enough time back home to recover from endless deployments.

Let's not let the GOP get away with a failed strategy that has harmed our troops, and has screwed up with their families and home life.

[AndyTiedye]

5. The MSM Has their Marching Orders

Gotta paint the dems as all divided and otherwise as negatively as possible.
Rove's orders.

[cui bono]

7. Yes, it certainly is a slanted story. One more letter to write... nt

[rodeodance]

10. go for it.

[cui bono]

6. WTF is wrong with those critical Dems? From what I've heard about Murtha's

plan it would make anyone against it look like an ass. It would make them not send troops over unless they were properly trained and equipped. How can you argue against that?

Me thinks those Blue Dog Dems need a few letters and phone calls.

[rodeodance]

11. "The plan surfaced 2/15 in an unorthodox Murtha appearance on MoveCongress.org,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401420_2.html

Page 2 of 2 < Back
Murtha Stumbles on Iraq Funding Curbs

.....Pelosi endorsed the plan in concept but never the details. The plan surfaced Feb. 15 in an unorthodox Murtha appearance on MoveCongress.org, an antiwar Web site affiliated with the liberal activists of MoveOn.org.

It came the day before the House voted on a nonbinding resolution opposing Bush's additional troop deployments that Democratic leaders had been touting as a major rebuke. Murtha dismissed that vote as he promoted his coming plans regarding the war spending bill. "This vote will be the most important vote in changing the direction on this war," he said of his proposal. "This vote will limit the options of the president and should stop the surge."

To many Democrats, that was not only impolitic, it was disloyal.

"He stepped all over Speaker Pelosi's message of support for the troops," said Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.). "That was not team play, to put it mildly."

[SemperEadem]

12. Gee, why am I not surprised?

Dems appear as if they lack cohesion and the thugs can't wait to exploit that fact.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. NYT story: War Critic Faces Test on Iraq Spending Bill

...“He has the aura of a folk hero among the legions who want to get out of Iraq,” said Tom Matzzie, Washington director of MoveOn.org.

Still, Mr. Murtha faces an extraordinary political challenge over the next month, and some Democrats are already worried about his handling of it. As they consider the president’s nearly $100 billion spending request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Democrats must find a way to satisfy an antiwar wing that wants clear progress toward winding down the war — the Out of Iraq Caucus claims a third of the House Democrats — while producing legislation palatable to the party’s conservatives and centrists.

Mr. Murtha says he will meet with the Democratic leadership on Wednesday to talk about his plans; a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi said she had yet to sign off on any proposal. But the ideas Mr. Murtha has floated over the past month — attaching restrictions to the financing, and requiring the Pentagon to meet clear standards on readiness, training and equipment for troops about to be deployed to Iraq — have already drawn substantial criticism. Mr. Murtha has argued that his approach both protects American forces and makes Mr. Bush’s troop buildup plan impossible to sustain.

But some Democrats said they feared that the Murtha approach could amount to Congressional overreaching, an attempt to micromanage the war. “Congress is a blunt instrument,” said Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, a retired admiral and a critic of the war, who added that he had the “greatest respect” for Mr. Murtha but was “wary.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/washington/25murtha.html?hp

[winston61]

14. If the Dems don't have the come to Jesus meeting soon,

they're no better than the Repug assholes who beat the war drum.

[madfloridian]

16. They are trying to hurt MoveOn by association as well.

From the article:

Pelosi endorsed the plan in concept but never the details. The plan surfaced Feb. 15 in an unorthodox Murtha appearance on MoveCongress.org, an antiwar Web site affiliated with the liberal activists of MoveOn.org.

BUT....there are a lot of degrees of separation between the two groups. Move Congress is trying to change its name because of all the linking.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1114

Not a good week for MoveOn. Not a good week for media who do not do their homework and tell the truth.

[KoKo]

18. WaPo up to "ususal tricks" against Dems.....Spin/Spin/Disinfo...

carefully used to say Dems are split to put heat on DLC Dems to rise up against Murtha/Pelosi.

Clever...but we shouldn't get worked up. They've been doing this for years...

[trashcanistanista]

19. I don't understand

why not sending troops over until they are trained and supplied adequately is not supporting the troops. This point should be made over and over. Undertrained and poorly equipped troops don't stand a chance in that hellhole.

[KoKo]

21. True...But WaPo is Big Corporate Bidness....it's their job to keep the

issue "obscured." ..

[struggle4progress]

25. Murtha sounds sensible and honorable to me. Who cares about the RW noise?