Scarborough baselessly claimed Dems voting against Kerry amendment “voted with George Bush” to “maintain the course in Iraq”

Written by Kurt Donaldson

Published

Joe Scarborough baselessly claimed that “the majority” of Senate Democrats, by voting against a proposal by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to redeploy troops from Iraq by mid-2007, “voted with George Bush” to “maintain the course in Iraq.” In fact, 37 of 43 Senate Democrats voted in favor of a nonbinding amendment sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) calling for “the beginning of a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year,” which all but one Republican voted against.


On the June 22 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, host Joe Scarborough baselessly claimed that “the majority” of Senate Democrats, by voting against a proposal by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to redeploy troops from Iraq by mid-2007, “voted with George Bush” to “maintain the course in Iraq.” In fact, while Kerry's amendment received the support of only 11 other Senate Democrats plus Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT), 37 of 43 Senate Democrats voted in favor of a nonbinding amendment sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) calling for “the beginning of a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year.

The Bush administration and all Senate Republicans but one (Sen. Lincoln Chafee [R-RI]) have publicly opposed proposed timetables for withdrawing troops, although a June 25 report by the New York Times indicated that Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top American commander in Iraq, has “drafted a plan that projects sharp reductions in the United States military presence there [in Iraq] by the end of 2007, with the first cuts coming this September.”

From the June 22 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country:

SCARBOROUGH: Now, from terror at home to the war on terror in Iraq. Today, the United States Senate continued its fiery debate on whether to maintain the status quo or to bring our troops home. Now, if it's true, as Abraham Lincoln said in his historic 1858 Senate campaign, that a house divided against itself cannot stand, today's vote shows the Democratic Party's foundation to be a little shaky because when the Senate voted today on John Kerry's plan, that would have set July 2007 as a withdrawal date from Iraq, only 12 Democrats and one independent voted yes. The majority of Mr. Kerry's party voted with George Bush, which allowed the measure to be defeated by an overwhelming 86 to 13.

You know, the bitter Iraq debate, I believe, holds the greatest opportunity for Democrats to retake control of Congress for the first time in 12 years. But once again, the party appears determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Make no mistake of it, George Bush's Iraq war is unpopular. Americans don't trust the president. They don't think the cost in blood and money are worth it, and they don't think the Pentagon has a plan to lead this great country to victory.

And even though I still support the war, it's obvious even to me that the Democratic Party's unity on this issue would spell doom for the president and his party. Democrats, independents, moderate Republicans would all support candidates this fall who promise to bring the troops home in a year.

But unfortunately for John Kerry and the volunteers who run Democratic campaigns across the country, the overwhelming majority of Democrats didn't even support their own party's amendment on the Senate floor.

[...]

SCARBOROUGH: You know what's going to happen is those on the far left will stay at home before they will vote for a candidate that voted basically for George Bush's position today, to maintain the course in Iraq.