The Not-So-Great Debate

Please check below to see if your senator has placed him/herself on the record in favor of remaining in Iraq [this is by no means a complete list]:
6:18 PM--Another senator who has decided she's ready to move to K-Street, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison [R-TX], is mouthing phrases like, 'Cut and Run,' and 'The greatest country on earth.'
Give me a break.
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6:48 PM--Kit Bond [R], the senior senator of my former home state [MO] seems to feel pretty safe. After all, he's not up for reelection till 2010. So he's struttin his stuff at the podium sarcastically commiserating with the custodial staff about their having to work late because the Dems are making the Republicans stay after school to get something done.
His sympathy is so moving.
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7:24 PM--Jim DeMint [R-SC] is perpetrating the myths that al qaida is hiding in Iraq and that our soldiers are happy to be there. 11:42PM--DeMint showed his true colors when he brought up the matter of oil. Of course. In a debate about getting our children out of a foreign civil war, a Republican talks about the oil.
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7:38 PM-- John Warner [R-VA] – Pushing to wait for Lap-Dog Petraeus’ report. I had just typed, ‘I wonder what delaying tactic he’ll want after that?’ when I got my answer. He brought up yet ANOTHER report from ANOTHER general—General Pace or Base or some such.
7:52 PM-- Now he's urging patience with maiming and death because 'there may be some measure of success with the surge.’
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8:00 PM-- Charles Schumer [D-NY] ‘We are involved in a war not of our own making.’
The first lie I heard spoken by a Democrat. Of course it was of our government's making! Please don’t try to sell us the idea that our government was lily white in this affair. It wasn’t.
Otherwise, his comments were well-reasoned and thoughtful.
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8:49 PM—While the quorum was being called, when his name was called the first time, Brownback [R-KS] was present. About three minutes later, his name was called again—and he was not present.
This was telling. If elected president, when a difficult decision is to be made, it looks as if he will be notable by his absence. Take note any conservatives who happen by. [Further note: He was present at 5:00 AM Wednesday.]
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10:13 PM—Lieberman [I-CT] is talking of his rights and the traditions of the Senate. I’m sure it won’t be the first time our children caught in a war have died of red-tape. Remember Vietnam?
He is showing himself as the fool on the hill: He said, ‘There are people who believe they were led to war while not being told why we were going there.’ [Dismissively], ‘I believe the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein.’
He was talking of apples and oranges: Lies and Hussein’s death. They don’t belong in the same paragraph.
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3:32 AM--Orrin Hatch [R-UT] wants to have it both ways. He's dissing both Bush and the democrats. He said the dems are calling for a retreat with no exit strategy though dem after dem has outlined the exit strategy on the table. In essence, Hatch is rationalizing his vote for sticking around long enough to secure the oil.
And he is setting his cap at Iran. In a debate about war in Iraq, he gave a profile [much of it propaganda] on IraN. And he mentioned that it is 'awash in oil.'
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7:27 AM--Wayne Allard [R-CO] is pricking jingoistic pride by saying that warring factions and al qaida would use our withdrawal for propaganda purposes. Hello, Senator? They're using our presence for propaganda and as a recruiting tool!
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8:00 AM--James Inhofe [R-OK] is talking about everything but the war. [The president of OK University, Cuban refugees and Nicaragua for instance.] And he's blaming Clinton for Bush's policies. That takes chutzpah. When you aren't supported by the facts, blame the previous administration. Btw--it took him 8 minutes to get to, 'Cut and Run.'
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8:49 AM--Lindsay Graham [R-SC]—mentioned the discontent with the Congress. He said he didn’t know why—then speculated it’s because of the faction fighting. I have several problems with his disingenuousness: 1] last night’s debate was a result of those low poll numbers; 2] the war is a major reason for the numbers 3] another reason for the low polls is the erosion of our civil rights and their failure to move on impeachment. If Graham doesn’t know all that he’s a fool. I believe he DOES know it and would rather look like a fool than admit that knowledge. And oh, btw, he did eventually get around to talking about the war. [He's against the bill--duh.]
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9:26 AM--Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]—called the amendment unconstitutional. Huh? My understanding is that, according to the Constitution, the President can’t go to war without Congress’ blessing. And vice-versa. This amendment is returning the Constitution to the Iraq war.
He recommended ignoring the statement of the President of Iraq while listening to the evaluations of privates in the army who, HE SAYS, want to stay there.
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9:48 AM--Larry Craig [R-ID]--calling for the amendment to die and wait for Petraeus' report. And he's calling the amendment a 'cut-and-run bill'. He's also saying the American people don't want out of the war. **ahem** Senator? What are you smoking? And oh, he closed his speech with cheering for the oil. It's so refreshing to hear a Senator tell the truth about what's important to him.
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10:08 AM--John Cornyn [R-TX]--wants to stay till the oil--er, I mean Iraq-- is secure. Both will be a long haul. And yes, it took him two minutes to mention the 'oil revenue'. And he calls the Senate 'arm-chair generals' and is saying that they shouldn't say how to handle the war. So what's HE doing on the floor? And what does he think Bush is?
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10:42 AM--Mitch McConnell [R-KY]--another senator weighs in in favor of killing our kids with red tape. He sees it as more important to give Petraeus more time because the Senate signed the previous bill than to support the troops by getting them out of a foreign civil war.
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Over and over, I heard 'Freudian slips' [either accidental or calculated] of 'Viet Nam' and 'Iran' then changing the word to, 'Iraq.'
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Like Bush, like Cheney, like McCain, these folks weren't paying attention last November
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The vote was 52 to 47 -- a clear majority. But, since the Republicans held out for a 60% majority-- it did not pass -- despite the fact that the people have made our voices clear on the matter.

Majority Leader Reid then requested an up/down vote. Minority Leader McConnell objected and started off his speech [which he called a 'serious vote' by quoting from the movie Casa Blanca.
Senator Reid, as he certainly should have, called McConnell on it--telling him, 'This is a serious matter--not a movie.'
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Btw--I wrote Kit Bond in MO today and informed him that I posted his statements in my blog. He knows we want out of Iraq. And he is voting to stay. Let the people above know that you know how they're voting. And that you will vote, too.