Yesterday afternoon, Senate Dems began outlining their perspective on the war in Iraq. Shortly thereafter, Senate Republicans suggested that the Dems may be onto something.
In a sign of increasing unease among Congressional Republicans over the war in Iraq, the Senate is to consider on Tuesday a Republican proposal that calls for Iraqi forces to take the lead next year in securing the nation and for the Bush administration to lay out its strategy for ending the war. […]
The proposal on the Iraq war, from Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, and Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, would require the administration to provide extensive new quarterly reports to Congress on subjects like progress in bringing in other countries to help stabilize Iraq. The other appeals related to Iraq are nonbinding and express the position of the Senate.
The plan stops short of a competing Democratic proposal that moves toward establishing dates for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq. But it is built upon the Democratic approach and makes it clear that senators of both parties are increasingly eager for Iraqis to take control of their country in coming months and open the door to removing American troops.
Harry Reid said the GOP move “signals the fact that the American people are demanding change, and the Republicans see that that’s something that they have to follow,” and given the circumstances, that seems like the only fair interpretation. Can anyone imagine Senate Republicans making these kinds of demands from the White House a year ago, when Bush’s approval rating wasn’t in the mid-30s and when the GOP was still afraid to admit Iraq has been a disaster?
It’s also interesting that Senate Republicans are following the Dems’ lead on shaping the chamber’s approach to accountability over the war, and not the other way around. The ultra-conservative Washington Times noted that Republicans “are joining Democrats in signaling that the White House and the Iraqi government must produce results in 2006,” and shaped their amendment by rewording a copy of the Dems’ amendment.
In other words, Senate Dems — often accused of not having an agenda of their own — crafted a positive, forward-looking policy for Iraq, and leading Republicans quickly got behind it.
There’s been a leadership vacuum for too long in Congress. Dems are filing it.