Dems Courting Repub Favor--Forget About Soldiers and Iraqis

Tweet "Senior Democrats defended their management of the war issue, insisting there has been no slowdown in their campaign.

"'We've been in the majority for six weeks," said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. "We've had 38 hearings on the Iraq war…. We've already had two votes on the war…. That's a lot better than they've done in the last 3 1/2 or 4 years."

"But Democrats are under intense pressure to act. Several recent polls have shown that public support continues to build for congressional action to limit the war.

LATER IN ARTICLE:

"But as debate has shifted to what Congress will do next, substantial cracks appear to be emerging in the Democratic camp.

"In the House, several moderate Democrats have spoken out against a proposal by Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) to attach conditions to a $93-billion supplemental defense spending bill that could limit the Pentagon's ability to send more troops to Iraq. Murtha, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that is considering the spending request, is a close friend and ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). She has indicated some qualified support for his proposal.

"House Democrats are exploring setting equipment and training standards for troops before their deployment, shifting more money to fighting terrorism in Afghanistan and setting benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet for continued U.S. funding.

"'We're listening to our colleagues about what form they want that supplemental to take," Pelosi said. But, sensitive to the GOP attacks, the speaker said: "We will fund the troops as long as they are in harm's way."

"In an interview with CNN's Larry King on Tuesday, Pelosi said that Bush's judgment on the Iraq war was "a little impaired."

From Cursor.org