Hagel: Republican Meeting With Bush Is ‘Just The Tip Of The Iceberg’ Of Conservative Dissent

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/13/hagel-iceberg/

Hagel: Republican Meeting With Bush Is ‘Just The Tip Of The Iceberg’ Of Conservative Dissent

Last week, a group of 11 congressional Republicans met with President Bush to express their frustration with the state of the Iraq war, pleading with Bush to change his unpopular Iraq policy.

Today, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said, “The 11 House Republicans who went to see him speak for more than just 11 House Republicans. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Hagel said that president “may find himself standing alone sometime this fall,” noting that several conservatives are beginning to back “trap doors and exit signs” to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Watch it at link~

Hagel’s comments undermine the spin of top conservative leaders like House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who last week said “House Republicans are united in support” of Bush’s stay-the-course Iraq policy.

Transcript:

HAGEL: There’s no question there is a very clear political dynamic here. The President may find himself standing alone sometime this fall, where Republicans will start to move away. And you’re starting to see trap doors and exit signs already with a number of Republicans. The 11 House Republicans who went to see him speak for more than just 11 House Republicans. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The uneasiness that’s in the Republican Party today is there.

[eleny]

1. What drives me nuts is that they're willing to wait until fall

In the meantime soldiers will die.

[babylonsister]

3. Me, too, eleny. That's the elephant in the room no one mentions. nt

[eleny]

5. Yes, and there are Dems among them

Shameful.

[Nite Owl]

2. They are just as complicit

as *. They gave him everything he wanted, they gave up the powers of Congress for the whole time that they were in power. Too late for them to gain any credibility now. I hope the dems keep hammering that point.

[sellitman]

4. Most of the Dem's did the same thing.

Including the ones who signed on to the last spending Bill that commander guy vetoed. Dennis Kucinich has NEVER voted money to our troops to support this war. That's why he still has my support 100%.

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. what pisses me off more than anything....

is the fact that these newly "courageous" eleven were fine with the Bush strategy & the appalling waste of innocent lives until the public mood began to sour on this catastrophe. I don't believe for a moment that they give a damn how many more lives are lost; their one & only concern is their "political" survival.

While I'm grateful that they are finally taking their constituents seriously, I still have little respect for them.