On the March 11 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) about her opposition to the upcoming supplemental spending bill for Iraq: “What message do you think it would send to the terrorists around the world -- to Iran, with its expansionist policies -- if the U.S. showed that after a certain amount of time, a certain amount of loss of troops, that we were going to cut and run, that we were going to leave?” Waters said in response that " 'cut and run' is a kind of language that has been used by this administration and others to intimidate those of us who are responding to the American people's desire to get our soldiers out of Iraq." As Media Matters for America documented, Republicans have frequently used the term “cut and run” to describe Democratic calls to redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq. The phrase has been widely repeated in the media, including on Fox News (see here, here, and here).

From the March 11 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

WALLACE: Respectfully, Congresswoman, are you one of those, what Congressman [David] Obey [D-WI] would call “idiot liberals,” who would vote against this spending bill and thereby deny our troops body armor and medical care?

WATERS: I don't know. I think his language was quite unfortunate. That was a mother whose son has done two tours of duty in Iraq. He's apologized for having used that kind of language, and I would hope that he does not do that again.

I don't know what he thinks about my position and whether he would characterize me that way, but I would hope not.

WALLACE: But by voting against the spending bill, you would be voting against giving the troops body armor, against more funding for veterans and military hospitals.

WATERS: That's not true. That's absolutely not true. What you have in this bill is a requirement that the soldiers would be properly trained, they would have the proper equipment, and it basically backs the president up against the wall, and it dares him to use his waiver authority that they give him.

[...]

WALLACE: Finally, we've got about -- actually, less than a minute left.

What message do you think it would send to the terrorists around the world -- to Iran, with its expansionist policies -- if the U.S. showed that after a certain amount of time, a certain amount of loss of troops, that we were going to cut and run, that we were going to leave?

WATERS: Well, I think “cut and run” is a kind of language that has been used by this administration and others to intimidate those of us who are responding to the American people's desire to get our soldiers out of Iraq.