“A bipartisan deal on the supplemental appropriations bill to finance the Iraq war appears to be in the books, with less talk now of a presidential veto and a subsequent crisis over funding the troops in the field. The final version probably will contain the benchmarks opposed by President George W. Bush, but with no cutoff of funding.”
Novak… Novak… now why is that name familiar???
April 11th, 2007 at 5:00 pm“Why is the floor by the toilet all wet?”
April 11th, 2007 at 5:02 pm“Oh no, not again……..”
Are the Democrats going to expose themselves as the other war party at a time like this? Now was not the time. Now was the time to kick Bush’s teeth in.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:03 pmNovak the insider who leaks information for the Bush Administration to cover their lies and corruption. Novak is getting paid big bucks to spread what ever Bush/Cheney want him to say. Now he should ask for enough to cover the civil suit by Mr. and Mrs. Wilson or he’ll be living in a shelter.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:07 pm“Are the Democrats going to expose themselves as the other war party at a time like this? Now was not the time. Now was the time to kick Bush’s teeth in.
Comment by Abby — April 11, 2007 @ 5:03 pm”
I agree mostly…..
I would like to see them let Bush Veto the bill and then refuse to put together another bill….. They can go on record as saying that Bush refused the money, so no since in funding anymore……
I think this is a sign though that the Dems standing up to Bush is making a difference….. I think they need to hold the line, but right now we need to take what we can get from these poloticians….
April 11th, 2007 at 5:08 pmHow does Novak know what the Dems are going to Do? He is just a Right Wing Nut mouth piece.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:11 pmRobert Novak is not in the know about anything truthfull, so this info must be treated as suspicious baloney too.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:11 pmWell if Novak says it then………
I was hoping Bush would have had the balls to sign or veto this and then have congress to show their brass one’s and send it right back.
They are making a third party more attractive.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:13 pmWho is Novak?
April 11th, 2007 at 5:14 pmHey RemoveBush, I think it’d be funny if your name was “ShaveBush”. Hehe, anyway, that had nothing to do with anything
April 11th, 2007 at 5:16 pmPruneBush
April 11th, 2007 at 5:17 pmWe know that the war is wrong (ie; MURDER!), but we just can’t seem to stop ourselves from continuing it.
What an “advanced” society we have become.
Okay, now you all can tell me how this is a democratic “success”.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:19 pmBipartisan = Republicans + CFL
That’s all it takes.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:20 pmYou can’t make deals with Bush. He’s a liar. If you don’t have a real threat to hit him with, there’s no point in making a deal. He has to agree with the benchmarks and he has to agree that the funds stop if benchmarks aren’t met. And that’s it.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:21 pmSomething like this deal was INeveitable. There’s no way the Dems are not gonna provide funds for the troops. But they made their point. They are on record against the surge and for some kind of deadline. If Iraq goes the way I think it is going…It will be obvious to Everyone soon enough that we gotta get out of there.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:24 pmThe main thing is…this is Bush’s War. He got everything he wanted, and rubberstamped his way into a disaster.
Why doesn’t Bush just issue one of his infamous signing statements on this? This seems like the perfect bill for it. Timeline? what timeline?
April 11th, 2007 at 5:39 pmAnd all it cost is another 1000 American lives. People we would normally be bumping into at the store or a park or the movies… instead they will be dead… Thats one of the reasons wars of aggression are illegal… There is no moral way to justify that BS.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:41 pmNovak is floating this to communicate where the administration is willing to bend to the Dems. He’s a back-channel mouthpiece, nothing more; he certainly wouldn’t be privy to any real negotiation.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:01 pmIF Novak is correct, then we still have a “Stay the Course” Congress, Democratic majority or no.
So, anybody care to guess what the bipartisan compromise will be? How about this:
The result? More American women and men will get blown up and/or shot. Hundreds of billions of dollars more will be borrowed from China to finance the War. War Profiteers will reap billions more in profits, which will be moved off-shore ala Haliburton’s move to Dubai.
Democrats will continue to hold meaningless hearings, revealing scandal after scandal, but effecting no substantive change.
Democratic candidates and their supporters will be subjected to intense scrutiny by federal prosecutors, especially those in close districts and states.
Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of voters will be disenfranchised just before the 2008 election in a massive state and federal crackdown on alleged voter fraud. Agent provacateurs in voting lines will incite violence, and tens of thousands of voters will be arrested prior to casting ballots.
Republicans will retain the White House and regain substantial majorities in both houses of Congress in a sweeping mandate to escalate the war and eliminate civil liberties, chief of which will be regulating the internet and carte-blanche spying on American citizens. Anyone who speaks out against the Government will be labeled an enemy combatant and arrested under a revised Military Commissions Act.
This is where we are heading, if nothing changes.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:08 pmComment by Bob — April 11, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
Timelines and benchmarks will be treated as merely advisory.
Heck, Guiliani even proposes that funding be treated as merely advisory.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:09 pmComment by Briseadh na Faire — April 11, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
I fear your analysis is correct. NOW is the time for the Democrats to stand up to this dictator and say NO. Bush may even sign a law that requires certification of benchmarks, in order to get the funds. He will then do a “signing statement” that says he doesn’t have to do it. He’s behaved this way 700 times? There’s no negotiation with that man and his administration. It’s time to put a stop to him. It’s time to stop the war by refusing to fund it anymore. The Congress does NOT have the constitutional right to “manage” the war tactics…but they have the power of the purse. They should be using that now…not to bargain with continuing the war…but to stop the nightmare.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:16 pm“The final version probably will contain the benchmarks ”
April 11th, 2007 at 6:17 pmThe only solution for Iraq is a POLITICAL Solution, unless we want our troops to police the country for years and years.
The Iraqi Govt. has made No Progress on this front. No Plan on how to distribute the oil revenue. No Plan on how to revise the constitution. No Plan on how to reintegrate the former Bath Party members into the Govt. No progess on fixing the infrastucture.
The Shiites are laying low. Sistani deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. But when this all comes unglued…Look out. Bush has no plan, but to stall until his term is over.
I hear Novak’s wife works for the CIA. I overheard some folks talking about it at a recent D.C. cocktail party. Must be pretty much common knowledge.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:33 pmWhat do you guys say if we all steal the ONLY worthwhile idea ol’ Jake ever came up with, and put Novak on our own Ignore Listâ„¢?
It can be an ever-lengthening list of once-were-pundits whose awful judgment, hackery and, yes, douche-baggery renders them permanently irrelevant.
Novak woul be my first nomination. Bill Kristol my second.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:52 pmThis reads like a capitulation on the part of Bush so, since the devil is in the details, I will wait to what finally comes out before making further comments. It is not like the stubborn Bush to blink.
April 11th, 2007 at 7:22 pmGreat post’s BnF, as alway’s…..The vultures are still circling the capital…Blessings
April 11th, 2007 at 8:33 pmNovak–IS THAT INCONTINENT MUMMY STILL AROUND? TIME TO STUFF HIM AND PUT HIM IN CHIMPya’s TROPHY CASE!!!!! IF YA LEAVE IT TO CHIMPya, HE MIGHT “STUFF” Novak IN A MANNER NOT TO Novak’s LIKING!!! OUCH!!!!!
April 12th, 2007 at 12:59 am