Just five short weeks ago, the House held what may charitably be described as a “debate” on withdrawal from Iraq, as part of the GOP’s blowback strategy against Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) plan for troop redeployment. Today, we may see the sequel.
As you may recall, the results weren’t pretty. House Republicans unveiled a one-sentence mischaracterization of Murtha’s position, apparently to set a trap for House Democrats — vote against Murtha or for withdrawal. It was a cynical stunt; Democrats saw through it easily; and the entire fiasco produced little more than news accounts about Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) calling Murtha a “coward.”
Fortunately, with a shortened calendar before the holiday recess, House Republicans don’t have time for anymore nonsense. Lawmakers are struggling with major legislative priorities including defense appropriations, the Patriot Act, ANWR, the budget, and even immigration. They’re anxious to get out of DC with some accomplishments under their belt for 2005, and at this point, it’s going to be difficult.
Surely they wouldn’t want to re-fight the same battle over a symbolic Iraq resolution, would they? Surprise, surprise — that’s exactly what they want to do.
Ratcheting up the debate in Congress over the Iraq war, House Republicans will offer for a vote today a resolution declaring that setting an “artificial timetable” for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would be “inconsistent with achieving victory.”
The resolution also expresses the commitment of the House to “achieving victory in Iraq” and praises Iraqis for participating in parliamentary elections Thursday, calling the vote “a crucial victory for the Iraqi people and Iraq’s new democracy.”
The resolution marks the second time in as many months that GOP leaders, facing eroding public support and growing Democratic criticism of the continuing instability in Iraq, have sought to strike back at critics of the war.
It’s as if House Republicans want, more than anything else, to politicize the war while avoiding substantive legislative work, even on Iraq-related issues. Petty partisan games are, once again, more important than governing.
Shameless.