Thursday, June 15, 2006

The failed pull out amendment

The Senate debated and rejected an amendment by John Kerry to pull out of Iraq by a vote of 93-6. Kerry's take?
Kerry, who lost to President George W. Bush in the 2004 election, said he resented the "fictitious" vote on the amendment he said was still being crafted with other senators and which he intended to offer next week.

I guess I am 2/3's in support of today's actions. First, it was a savvy legislative move to both kill the amendment and to force Democrats to go on record with their support/non-support of immediate withdrawal. This will be even more significant in the upcoming House vote and House races. Second, it sends the right message that we are not a nation that runs away from its obligations. The one part that I don't really like about it is that this is a non-story that is getting blown up a little by the debate and vote. Kerry's amendment didn't have a chance of passage, anyway.

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