Who’s going to be ‘in a real bind’?

January 8, 2007

I often find the White House’s thinking on Iraq to be totally lacking in logic and coherence, but this one is just odd, even for the Bush gang.

With his big speech on Iraq expected this week, President Bush’s strategists say he has a lot more latitude in setting a new policy than his antiwar critics realize-at least for the next few months. “The Democrats are going to be in a real bind,” says a Republican insider with close ties to the White House.

“The president will come out with a strong plan to get order in Baghdad, and if the Democrats do anything to undermine or block it, it will look to Americans as though they wouldn’t give his plan a chance.” The strategist predicts that “their tendency will be to give the president a free hand and blame him if doesn’t work.”

Let’s see, Bush has bungled a war, created the biggest foreign policy nightmare in a generation, his party and supporters are abandoning him, the public has completely given up hope, his 10th “new” plan for the war, in addition to contradicting everything he’s said for years, has been rejected by practically every military and diplomatic expert he could find, and conditions on the ground continue to spiral out of control.

But Democrats are “going to be in a real bind.”

For that matter, the notion that the public will rebel against Democrats who appear unwilling to “give [Bush’s new] plan a chance” is absurd. It’s Americans who’ve already decided that they they don’t want to give the plan a chance.

Ever feel like you’re a character in a Twilight Zone episode?

A “Republican insider with close ties to the White House” said “The Democrats are going to be in a real bind.”

That’s really a disgusting way to frame war policy. We’re all in the “bind” that we put ourselves in by electing and re-electing a Fascist who plays politics with war.

It’s no surprise this white house keeps close ties with such a cynical bastard.

  • Ever feel like you’re a character in a Twilight Zone episode?

    Was there an episode where the POTUS slipped through a tear in the fabric of the space time continuum to find himself and advisers in a bizarre alternate universe? I think I missed that episode.

  • It that code for we are going to blame it all on Democrats ??

    We already knew that, it’s been done before and I am sure it will happen again. We are to blame for everything bad. If lives weren’t involved, just money, I would say go for it jackass, show us you big extravagant plan to solve the world’s problems.

  • ““The Democrats are going to be in a real bind,” says a Republican insider with close ties to the White House.”

    Sounds like Karl “Victory for the Repubs in 2006 is all in the Maths” Rove.

    It’s not the Dems that are in a bind, but rather the entire country as well as the rest of western types.

    This sounds more and more like a certain WW2 dictator’s last days in the bunker. I’m just waiting for someone in the WH to state what a Japanese General once said when his Army in Burma was beaten “Lack of troops, fuel, ammo and supplies is NO excuse for defeat.”

  • Oh yes, of course. I forgot. This isn’t about keeping the Middle East from going ka-boom or keeping more soldiers from dying or any of that sissy stuff. It isn’t even about stopping all the horrible things BushBot said would happen if we didn’t go to/stay in Iraq. It’s all about putting the Democrats in a bind!
    Arseclown.

    It’s Americans who’ve already decided that they they don’t want to give the plan a chance.

    A recent NYT Op-Ed suggested that Bush is mistaking Tivoed
    footage of the 2004 elections with what happened in Nov. 06. He just doesn’t know the US don’t like him too good any more.

  • there is no such thing as an honest republican insider with close ties to the White House.

  • If the Iraqi Parlament votes to nationalize oil production this week, we’ll have no reason to stay.

  • I’m curious. They sink 3.5 million dollars into this thing, but they have no talent for the business they’ve chosen and have a current credibility level slightly lower than an incinerated weasel at the bottom of a world-class garbage tip.

    They can’t be making any money on this, so what do they do? Keep pouring more money into it to keep it going and try to become more factual and therefore more relevant?

    Or keep pouring more money into it until they’ve just had enough and shut down the whole operation?

    Can’t say for sure, but if I were a betting man I’d go with Door Number 2. Just a guess.

  • We already tried putting extra troops in Baghdad to improve the security situation there, and it failed to achieve that goal as the violence in Baghdad grew even worse in 2006.

    Repeat after me, Democrats, when asked about Bush’s proposed escalation:

    We already tried putting extra troops in Baghdad to improve the security situation there, and it failed to achieve that goal as the violence in Baghdad grew even worse in 2006.

    Rinse, wash, repeat again, and again and again, as needed.

  • No wonder the war isn’t working. Bush’s whole Iraq strategy is to attack Democrats instead of whoever the hell it is we’re supposed to be fighting over there. It’s the “enemy” that’s supposed to wind up in a real bind with the war escalation and not politicians on the other side of the aisle.

    Our entire foreign policy is predicated on making an opposing political party look bad. Had the war been waged to be a winning effort from the get go, we all would have been winners. But because this war was fought with an eye towards making Dems look bad, the Repubs may claim they scored some political points, but this nation as a whole will suffer a tremendous defeat.

  • Bonnie (#3) has it right – Groundhog Day it is! You keep thinking the ignoranuses can’t possibly get more mendacious than they are, and they just keep going back over it. It’s like trying to fight the Energizer Bunny (which probably has more brains than these idiots do).

  • Ever feel like you’re a character in a Twilight Zone episode?

    I’m partial to The Outer Limits—because that’s where any logic, reasoning and reality these people had seems to have gone.

  • Ever feel like you’re a character in a Twilight Zone episode?

    I was all ready with a ‘GroundHog Day’ alternate universe comment, but I see I’m late, as usual.

    If the Iraqi Parlament votes to nationalize oil production this week, we’ll have no reason to stay.

    Comment by 1watt — 1/8/2007 @ 3:20 pm

    On the contrary, I see the hotline between ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and the Oval Office needing extra lines. After all, it’s ‘our’ oil that’s in those contracts – if it wasn’t for oil, we would never have gone there.

    -GFO

  • What a pantload. These idiots still think they can “create reality”.

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

    Democrats are in a bind, in that they now need to come up with a solid counter-strategy to offer, but if Bush doesn’t follow the direction of the American people, Democrats won’t be punished.

  • It’s the Iraqis who are in a bind. George’s rebranding of “stay the course” isn’t likely to work, and the only alternative (why?) of American redeployment is likely to make their lives worse.

    Threatening to blame Dems with failure in Iraq if they don’t support George’s “strong plan” — after he’s had five years to get it right — may not be rational, but these are Republicans talking. They still blame Dems for hanging Watergate on Nixon.

  • Go ahead and DEFUND the war then, idiots! Even Sentor Biden says that Congress cannot micro-manage the surge, or any other tactical decision, by the Cammander-in-Chief. Eat THAT you pigs!

  • Go ahead and DEFUND the war then, idiots! Even Sentor Biden says that Congress cannot micro-manage the surge, or any other tactical decision, by the Cammander-in-Chief. Eat THAT you pigs!

    Methinks someone needs a hug.

    I haven’t seen anyone talk seriously about defunding the entire war, just any funds that would go to adding more targets to a civil war (which is all the escalation would do).

    Of course, in Thomasland, the fire hydrants probably pump out kerosene, so …

  • Thomas took a break from trying to wash the blood off his hands (“Off, damned spot”) to share his insights with us.

    We got the prime question this morning – who are we at war with in Iraq?

  • Why I’m a Carpetbagger:
    #19, by Curmudgeon

    Eat a dictionary, Thomas. Might help you spell better.

    Best.Trolldown.Ever.

  • “The Democrats are going to be in a real bind,” says a Republican insider with close ties to the White House.

    Which I suppose in the end is the whole point in risking the lives of 20,000 more American servicemen, to make the Democrats look bad.

    Pathetic, really (in a Ron Weazley tone of voice).

  • Yeah, Curmudgeon et al, I’m really sorry about that typo up there. I was actually overjoyed (not “unglued”) that Steve turned back on the comments for me. I guess you’d all prefer the echo-chamber, right?

  • Thomas–
    Echo chamber? No.

    An opposing view based in reality and facts, rather than fantasyland? Yes.

    Not surprising that you can’t tell the difference.

  • After years of Bushoid military brilliance, the Democrats won’t be in a bind come 2008. They’ll be in the White House.

  • I’m fine, JoeW. Just know if I don’t respond all day again, it’s because Steve Benen disabled my comments feature again. As he said: “Bandwidth is expensive and I am under no obligation, financial or otherwise, to publish the remarks of those with whom I disagree. The right of those who disagree with me to speak freely is unabridged — they can speak their mind, but not necessarily on my privately-financed website.”

  • Actually, I’m thinking it’s more like “Caddyshack.” Bush completely obliterates the Iraqi golfcourse—and the as-yet-unmartyred gopher gets to boogie in the end credits….

  • Make no mistake, the Iraq war is a disaster!

    A disaster from day one.

    The only question now, is how much will it cost

    Those that lost a loved one, or a serviceman who lost a limb, already have their answer – the rest of us are still calculating

    The responsibility to declare war, is given to congress, and congrerss alone via the constitution from our founding fathers

    yet, this power was transfered to a known drunk driver, G Bush

    Who gave the keys of war, a change of policy to first strike, delegated to an extreme concentration of power to an unworthy ‘decider’ G Bush?

    Well, one of the co-sponsors of the Iraq war resolution, was none other than John Edwards – he of course, voted for it also

    Now, he tells us he admits it was a mistake

    Think about it – if YOU gave your keys to a drunk driver 10 years ago in north carolina, and many people got killed and injured, and you admitted you made a mistake

    would john edwards have advocated you get a big promotion?

    or would he have taken you to the cleaners?

  • This is a political move plan and simple. Twenty thousand troops will do little to nothing to help the situation in Iraq. Bush and company hope the Democrats will oppose this so that they can then blame the disaster in Iraq on them. It’s disgusting that such a machiavellian approach is embraced by Bush, a game played with our soldiers’ lives.

  • Dear President Bush,

    …”it will look to Americans as though they wouldn’t give his plan a chance.”…

    The American people gave you a chance when you became President and you had not even been elected.

    The American people supported you and rallied around our country after you did nothing to stop the largest terrorist attack on our country despite clear and compelling warnings from our Intelligence agencies.

    The American people believed you after Secretary Powell convince us there was clear danger in Iraq when you had no evidence.

    The American people were relieved when you stated major combat operations in Iraq had ended, but you were wrong.

    The American people were appalled after torture was photographed in your jails.

    The American people were concerned when you begin shredding our civil liberties.

    The American people were stunned at your own lack during Katrina.

    And now we hear that you want another chance, you want a do-over, a military mulligan. That this time, you’ll get it right? What’s this, the third, or fourth time you’ve tried to “fix” your Iraq mess?

    Sir, we are a generous and giving people. Many of us have spent our whole adult life in the service of our country, and many, too many, have given their all in defense of our country. But we are not idiots. The American people just decided back in November – and the answer is NO.

    Don’t for one second think that CONGRESS is doing ANYTHING other than representing the WILL OF THE PEOPLE.

    So don’t worry about what to say to us when you try for the fifth or sixth time to convince us that you have any clear idea what to do. We know what happened already: you lied, you started this war and you lost this war. No matter what you say or do from this point on, we know that it’s up to us, the American people, to clean up your mess and carry on.

    Your boss,

    John Q Public

    • Comments are closed.