Knight Ridder ran an interesting report late yesterday, explaining, “If [tag]Congress[/tag] ever turns against the [tag]war[/tag] in [tag]Iraq[/tag], analysts may look back at this week as a [tag]turning point[/tag].” Given what we saw yesterday, it’s a perfectly fair assessment.
[T]hree [tag]Republicans[/tag] in the [tag]House[/tag] of Representatives endorsed a resolution calling for a robust and lengthy congressional debate on Iraq. While they’re far short of the votes needed to force such a debate, a coalition of 40 anti-war activist groups is mounting a national campaign to drum up public pressure behind the resolution. That campaign targets lawmakers as they head home for a two-week Easter recess to listen to constituents in this election year, when Republicans are already anxious that they might lose control of Congress in November. […]
[T]aken together, they suggest that anti-war politics could be intensifying – and that Washington may be catching up with anti-war sentiment across the country. “It’s making Republicans in Congress more antsy,” Republican strategist Frank Luntz said, “and making Democrats bolder and more aggressive.”
Republican Reps. [tag]Walter Jones[/tag] of North Carolina, Ron Paul of Texas and Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland all endorsed a Dem plan to force the House to engage in an immediate, 17-hour-long House debate on a resolution requiring the president “to develop and implement a plan for the withdrawal” of American troops from Iraq.
[tag]Jones[/tag], in particular, has run out of patience. “There are those of us in both parties who want to meet our constitutional responsibility, and that is to discuss and debate the present and the future of our commitment in Iraq,” Jones said. “Nobody, including us, is for pulling out. We’re asking for a transition plan for when the Iraqis can take over the responsibility. We’re not hearing that plan. We’re hearing that, well, maybe the next president can deal with it. That’s not satisfactory.”
Just as importantly, the Boston Globe reports that Jones and Gilchrest have joined Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) on another Dem proposal on Iraq.
Two House Republicans have agreed to cosponsor a landmark proposal to create a special House committee to investigate Iraq war spending, joining Democrats in demanding more accountability for billions of dollars that allegedly have been misspent, according to lawmakers and congressional aides.
The stalled proposal to create a modern-day ”Truman Committee” — modeled after the oversight board run by then-Senator Harry Truman to root out contracting abuses during World War II — has been blocked from consideration by GOP leaders for more than a year. But after new reports about malfeasance involving reconstruction contracts in Iraq, the bill for the first time has begun to attract the support of rank-and-file Republicans.
The really interesting angle is to see what happens next. Will more Republicans jump ship now that a few brave souls have joined Dems in asking key questions, or will the GOP leadership threaten and intimidate the caucus into submission? Stay tuned.