CNN's Bash claimed Dems oppose troop increases to please party's "left wing"
On the January 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash claimed that "Democrats eyeing the White House" were making an "appeal to the powerful anti-war left wing of the party" by "saying symbolic, nonbinding resolutions are not enough" of a response to President Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq. In doing so, Bash suggested that support for congressional action beyond nonbinding resolutions was limited to the "anti-war left wing" of the Democratic Party. But, as Media Matters for America has noted, polling demonstrates that a substantial number of Americans -- not just the "left wing" of the Democratic Party -- favor congressional action to block the increase.
Two recent polls asked whether respondents approved of Congress passing a nonbinding resolution expressing opposition and whether they approved of specific actions by Congress to block the increase. Both found that specific action by Congress was supported by a percentage of respondents far too large to represent only the "left wing" of the Democratic Party.
According to PollingReport.com, a CNN/Opinion Research poll taken January 11 found that 62 percent of respondents wanted their representatives in Congress to support a resolution that "would express opposition to sending more troops to Iraq but would not take specific steps to prevent that from happening." That number dropped one percentage point, to 61 percent of respondents, when those surveyed were asked if their member of Congress ought to support a resolution that "would take specific steps designed to prevent the U.S. from sending more troops to Iraq."
A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted January 12-14 found that 61 percent of respondents favored passage of "a resolution to express their opposition to President Bush's plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq" even though it "would not affect Bush's policy." Forty-seven percent said they would support "Democrats in Congress taking active steps to block the deployment of more U.S. troops to Iraq, such as denying the funding needed to send the additional troops."
From the 4 p.m. ET hour of the January 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:
BASH: With prodding by Bush officials, GOP leaders who still back the president may propose resolutions of support. They're hoping to get help from Democrat turned Independent, [Sen.] Joe Lieberman [CT].
LIEBERMAN [video clip]: As you know, I support the president's proposals, because I believe we have so much on the line in Iraq. I think those who oppose the president's ideas have an obligation, a responsibility, to propose an alternative course that offers the hope of success.
BASH: Meanwhile, Democrats eyeing the White House continue to appeal to the powerful anti-war left wing of the party, saying symbolic resolutions are not enough.
Joining [Sens.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] and Chris Dodd [D-CT], [Sen.] Barack Obama [D-IL] now wants Congress to stop the president by capping troop levels in Iraq.
OBAMA [video clip]: The strategy, the tactics, and the mission itself have been flawed, and that's why Congress now has the duty to prevent even more mistakes and bring this war to a responsible end.
what is with that picture of her...
It hurts my sinuses to look at that woman's face...
...it kind of makes my nose feel like it's being stretched in some way, as it might look when you look into one of those funhouse mirrors at the carnival.
that she is actually Ann Coulter's twin brother?
Twin Brothers? possibly, which brings up another question;
Whatever happened to Nelson?
Apparently Limbaugh is writing for CNN now.
that Journalist turned Talking Points Reciter, Dana Bash (CNN) would actually look at the midterm election and the parade of major opinion polls reflecting the national mood of the electorate and do the math. Someone should ask these so-called reporters why time and time again the content of their reports tell a different story than the polls their organizations take to gauge public sentiment. Excuse me, Ms. Bash--why is it that any one point bounce in the President's poll numbers is covered with an almost euphoric enthusiasm while polls pointing to historic levels of dissatisfaction with a sitting President's policies are somehow a product of of the power of the fringe left? Dana-- here's a newsflash: 62% are against the escalation. In a few months it will be a veto-proof 66% These polls will continue to trend upward. Get a clue. More and more Americans are figuring this out while we speak, Any Questions?
.. that the Democrats are not going to stop Bush sending more troops to Iraq. They are merely putting forward a non-binding resolution, which in essence means absolutely nothing. They are making a lot of media noise, but in the end, it's all just blowing smoke to hide the fact they have NOT stopped the escalation. They could do what Congress did to Reagan, order him not to fund the Contras, but this does not do that. It's merely a statement, a bunch of words, it does nothing to stop Bush sending more troops.
For the Escalation...
Bush still has ways and means to continue administering the war, and his "Surge."
But regardless. Empty symbolic gestures are part of the senate's job. It gets people talking about the situation and does indeed place pressure on Bush. Just because it doesn't have teeth doesn't mean it won't bite.
The Democrats are just gonna gum Bush out of office. If they wanted to, they could demand the end of the occupation and push legislation, not worthless resolutions, to that effect....but they don't. They could put Bush and the rest on trial for war crimes....but they don't. They could be cutting funding for all operations in Iraq, forcing Bush to withdraw the troops...but they don't.
Instead, they make an EMPTY gesture and all the little Democrats rush to say "look! they're doing something!"...when they're not.
Meanwhile, our boys die and get maimed, Iraqis die and get maimed, children die and get maimed...but at least the Democrats made their EMPTY gesture.
it's all the Democrats' fault all those people are dying in Iraq. Get a clue, man. This is bush's (lowercase intentional) war. The PEOPLE have just taken back the congress and there is actually not that much that CAN be done, when you have a meglomaniacal chimp hell-bent on destroying the middle east in order to seize control of the world's oil supply.
Yes, let's absolve the Democrats of all blame for every vote that they voted "Yes" on that created and continued this war. 650,000 dead Iraqis and the Democrats who kept allowing it to happen are not at fault. They can never be at fault for anything they do, right?
This is planet Earth, not Lala-land. When a Dem votes Yes on a bill that kills people, it's that Dem's FAULT that those people died.
Looks like neither side wants to accept responsibility for the crimes they're committing.
The former Congressional minority (Democratic) was spectacular for their failure to voice the concerns of the great majority of the American People... concerns about Iraq, and Congressional ethics, and all things Intel (most notably the Senate Committee)...
That former minority was a spectacle of passivity and near silence, against an administration and a Congressional majority (Republican) that greatly offended the majority of the American People...
And so the American People, without a voice in D.C., raised their own, from the many places in which they live in America... from the many polling stations.
And so that former Congressional minority (Democratic) inherited the leadership of Congress, by order of the American People... and not for reasons of anything they (Democrats) had done, but merely due to their being the only choice the American People had...
...they were the default choice.
It's true... you don't have to like it, or agree with it... but it's still true just the same.
And it's too early to say whether that former Congressional minority, so inept and passive and near silent, will do anything different now that they've inherited (by default) the majority status in Congress...
...whether they'll do any better at speaking for the American People than they had previously done (and again, it was those People speaking for themselves, at the polls, that caused this remarkable shift in Congressional power).
All it takes for this new Congressional majority (Democratic) to oppose this present administration (that so offends the American People, as having seized their government, and abused it to their own private ends)...
All it takes is to exercise the only real powers our Congress has anyway:
The Power to Speak, out loud and with force (and always in a controlled and well-designed manner)...
...and the Power to Vote, on legislation (well-designed), in Committee and from the Floor and the Well.
And how hard is that?
It's only what the American People did themselves, to cause such a shift in Congressional power...
...they spoke out (loud and with force, but not always in a controlled and well-designed manner)...
...and they voted.
As far as whatever measures the Senate and House take up, in opposition to the administration's scheme of lies and death and greed in Iraq... and in support of the American People who are so offended by that scheme, as to turn out the former Congressional majority because of it...
Whatever measures the Senate and House take up, it's more important that they stick to the matter of Iraq, and stick to opposing the president's scheme, and stick to speaking always for the American People...
...than whether those measures are anything you'd call "binding" or not.
And for them (Democrats) to not be drawn off by the many other issues that the administration and the present Congressional minority (Republican) will advance, in order to distract them (Democrats) from hearing the American People...
...and what they spoke for, last November.
And how hard is that?
It's too early to say.
Bash admits, the left wing of the Democratic party is mainstream America. Hallelujah!
The so called left wing represents roughly 60-70% of the American public. CNN, Fox and others are determined to down play the opposition to the war, even if it means hurting the network's own credibility.
that moonbat far left wing 60-70% of the country.
A fringe majority that will be easily overcome with Bush's new bill proposing to award one extra vote for each little American flag, Jesus fish and "support the troops" ribbon on the voter's car.
I shouldn't post this. They might be desperate to steal my idea.
seems demands and legislation is a bit over your head, and so is how we got to iraq
Started with the Gulf War, ran straight through the Clinton presidency (with Mad Maddy "Yes, it's worth it." Albright jusftifying the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children from denial of medical supplies) to the Neo-cons and AIPAC and the Dems and Repubs voting to illegally invade and occupy a country that has never threatened us.
I've been watching this war crime unfold for 16 years!!! Both parties are responsible. To deny that is falsehood.