Posted by
on Sunday, February 18, 2007 3:51:59 PM
It's on. This morning Brit Hume launched into a reasoned, well-mannered smackdown of John Murtha. Hot Air has the video and the transcript:
That sound bite from John Murtha suggests that it’s time a few things be said about him. Even the “Washington Post” noted he didn’t seem particularly well informed about what’s going on over there, to say the least. Look, this man has tremendous cachet among House Democrats, but he is not — this guy is long past the day when he had anything but the foggiest awareness of what the heck is going on in the world.
And that sound bite is naivete at large, and the man is an absolute fountain of such talk, and the fact that he has ascended to the position he has in the eyes of the Democrats in the House and perhaps Democrats around the country tells you a lot about how much they know or care about what’s really going on over there.
The Left is saying this was a smear. I beg to differ. He's threatening the safety and mission of the troops abroad. Were this occurring during World War II, John Murtha woul dhave been forced to resign his seat by FDR and his supporters in Congress. Instead of seeing real leadership from the Democrats in the House (Steny Hoyer, where are you?) we're seeing lock-step, goose stepping mentality here. They think that because they're the party in power that they run the show. They don't, and it's time a few Democrats step up and tell John Murtha to shut the hell up.
But John Murtha isn't the only one making demands. So is Hillary, and again Hot Air has the video. For her, though, it's not just a demand. It's an ultimatum:
U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has called for a 90-day deadline to start pulling American troops from Iraq.
Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, has been criticized by some Democrats for supporting authorization of the war in 2002 and for not renouncing her vote as she seeks the U.S. presidency in next year's election.
"Now it's time to say the redeployment should start in 90 days or the Congress will revoke authorization for this war," the New York senator said in a video on her campaign Web site, repeating a point included in a bill she introduced on Friday.
Like hell, she will. There's a debate going on between Captain's Quarters and Hot Air regarding the constitutionality of such a decree from Congress. I believe it is, though I'm not sure it's ever been done before so this would be a first, as far as I'm aware. What Senator Clinton fails to understand is that while they may get the majority of votes to pass it (which I sincerely doubt the Democrats will get in the Senate; I cite the recent resolution failure in the Senate), it won't be enough to override a presidential veto. So, again, this sounds more like posturing and statements rather than adult decisions, and reasoned common sense.
To force a withdrawal now sends the wrong message not only to the Iraqis, but the region, as well. And we shoiuldn't forget that while it will definitely embolden our enemies, it will encourage Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even more. We can't forget that this man is working on nuclear weapons, and the last thing that we need to do is send a message to him that we're unwilling to finish a job. He'll know, at that point, that all he needs to do is wait us out. When Congress gets tired of dealing with him, they'll cut-and-run from that fight, too.
Sabrina McKinney