All 11 Republicans Who Berated Bush Voted Against Iraq Withdrawal, Accountability Bills
All 11 Republicans Who Berated Bush Voted Against Iraq Withdrawal, Accountability Bills
The 11 Republicans who pleaded with President Bush about the Iraq war in a private meeting this week all voted against two critical bills yesterday that would have forced Bush to change his war policy.
In private, the members issued a “blunt warning” to Bush “that conditions needed to improve markedly.” In public, all 11 members aligned with Bush and opposed one bill that would have redeployed U.S. forces out of Iraq in nine months, and another that would make continued funding of the war in Iraq dependent on a July progress report from the administration. (Roll calls for those votes are HERE and HERE.)
The list of 11 members:
Fred Upton (MI)
Mike Castle (DE)
Charles Dent (PA)
Jo Ann Davis (VA)
Todd Russell Platts (PA)
Jim Ramstad (MN)
Jo Ann Emerson (MO)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Jim Gerlach (PA)
Jim Walsh (NY)
Ray Lahood (IL)
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Cowards!!! Gutless!!!
May 11th, 2007 at 12:19 pmthat doesn’t pass the smell test
May 11th, 2007 at 12:21 pmUmmm, wonder how many are up for re-election any time soon?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:21 pmC’mon, they’re REPUBLICANS. Expect hypocrisy.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:23 pmUh, do as I say, not as I do….weasels all.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:23 pmMakes you wonder if this whole private meeting isn’t some publicity stunt.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:24 pmI kinda thought the “blunt” meeting was just a smokescreen to buy some more time for Bush to run out the clock. These guys never change, and any hope that they might change is just a pipe dream.
We need to take our “blue dog” dems out to the woodshed and get them on board for the democratic plans because there is no hope for any republican to help out.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:25 pmit’s grandstanding…nothing more, nothing less. they must realize that we the people are demanding an end to war…..but obviously they’re part of the problem.
it’s politicians like these criminals which create hatred for America around the world. our foreign policy of meddling, invasions, warfare and killing will only guarantee that people will want to attack us in the future.
they claim we’re spreading “democracy” and that “terrorists” hate us for our freedoms. bull.
Some reading on this:
May 11th, 2007 at 12:26 pm“Why do they hate us so much?”
http://www.populistamerica.com/why_do_they_hate_us_so_much
By all means, Repukes….continue in lock-step with Chimpy.
Don’t worry about that cliff directly ahead…your Fuhrer has it all under control.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:26 pmUm, I hate to rain on everyone’s parade, but the whole point of the meeting these 11 had with the President was to say that they would *only* discontinue their lock-step support many months in the future if nothing had changed. The basic idea was that they will stand by his side *for now* by voting against these kinds of bills, but not once the election season heats up.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pmOnce a Rubber Stamper, always a Rubber Stamper.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pmThis was a stunt to make it look like they were listening to the people, but that ultimately they “support the troops.” This recycled garbage is not going to work.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pmclassic what did we all expect from these people anyway, it’s all about getting re-elected our astute Think Progress readers said that 2 days ago!
May 11th, 2007 at 12:31 pmMore proof that the Republicans are headed for sure devastation in 2008.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pmBye Bye Republican party.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:33 pmThis is a perfect example of Republicanism in action.
The eleven Republicans know that their constituents (you know, the people they were elected to serve) are against the war. They’ve been feeling the pressure and are worried for the job security, so they had a “sober truth-telling” session with The Decider.
Then they went right out and voted against their constituents’ wishes out of their blind partisan obedience to the GOP.
Their constituents should remember this when these corrupt cowards go back to baby kissin’ on the re-election trail.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:35 pmahhh, they were all just ’spectering’ for their constituents…I guess it’s something we’ll have to get used to until ‘08
May 11th, 2007 at 12:35 pmI’m shocked shocked I tell you.
The rethug mantra
Party > Country
May 11th, 2007 at 12:35 pmDo as I say, not as I do.
Sheesh.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pm#10. I believe you are right. This was the message that support won’t go on forever. This is having rippling effects through washington. The WH staff has been very vocal in their displeasure. Most likely coming from the desk of Rove.
These Republicans are seeing that it’s their politcal future now and won’t be going down with the ship.
The first of many rats.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:37 pmshouldn’t that be tom davis and not jo ann davis?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pmTotally orchestarted stunt. These Repugnicunts can claim that they are showing concern for the way the war is going. They buy more time, until the fall, then Chimpf*ck can ask for more time, and keep it running until he leaves office.
Party and pride before country.
These bastards need a bullet through the guts. Soon.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:40 pmThe Virginia rep. is Tom Davis, not Jo Ann.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pmThis just confirms my initial belief that this “meeting” was only to protect their own personal political interests — and not those of the country.
A pox on all their houses.
Yellow-bellied slimebags.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:43 pmWho will be the first of rover’s rump rangers to explain to us how their votes are Nancy Pelosi’s fault?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:44 pmWhy don’t we keep a tally of how many of our soldiers are killed between now and September?
Since the eleven politicians above enabled Bush to continue the war (at least until then), they will have the blood of our troops on their hands.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:46 pmMaybe it’s time to call bullshit on Jonathan’s and Shailagh’s frontpage WaPo propaganda. Wonder if Rove supplies the kneepads?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:46 pmTalk’s cheap, these chumps are going down. I hope they are polishing their resumes.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pmUm, I hate to rain on everyone’s parade, but the whole point of the meeting these 11 had with the President was to say that they would *only* discontinue their lock-step support many months in the future if nothing had changed. The basic idea was that they will stand by his side *for now* by voting against these kinds of bills, but not once the election season heats up.
Comment by Midwest Product
As the details of the closed door meeting were immediately leaked, I would tend to discount this. It was a political show, and nothing else. They had to show their constituents that they were doing something – instead of twiddling their thumbs and hoping the surge succeeds. One congressman said support for the Pres. was at 5% in his district; a transparent distancing strategy incorporating an intentionally leaked statement, meant to convey to his constituents, his understanding of their concerns, even while appearing not to.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pmParasites.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:51 pmRepublicans don’t believe in Democracy, apparently. What is the incentive for going along with a failed (and still failing) policy?
How about the idea that if we leave Iraq, the factions will massacre AlQueda (Last night’s DailyShow) and by remaining as an occupying force, we are helping to keep AlQueda strong.
It’s amazing that as wrong as this admin has been that no alternative ideas have been put forth. Why is everyone refusing to think outside the box?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pmNo. I’m shocked. Really.
The Congressional Repubs are all fart and no sh*t?
I tell ya, I’m shocked. Next thing you know Paris Hilton’s gonna be out partying again.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pm“I think he was a little – I don’t know if surprised is the right word, probably maybe sobered.”
Rep. Ray Lahood (R-IL), on meeting of 11 GOP lawmakers with President Bush on Iraq, May 10, 2007.
So much for a turning point. That and other Republican laughers can be found in:
May 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pm“The GOP Quotes of the Week.”
Another neoCON PR stunt.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:59 pmWatch this video, then tell me how it can be that some father who lost a son or daughter, or has one come back from Bush’s private War all messed up hasn’t tried to take that evil bastard out?
It’s all a game to the Repugnicunts. Bush and his army of troll defenders would rather see our finest dead and dismembered than admit a mistake.
You trolls will live with the stench of death and your bloody hands until you die.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autopla
May 11th, 2007 at 12:59 pmI knew it was a publicity stunt from the get go. They were quick to leak what happened at that meeting but I knew it didn’t mean a damn thing.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:06 pmYou trolls will live with the stench of death and your bloody hands until you die.Comment by nanlichi — May 11, 2007 @ 12:59
They don’t care.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:07 pmFu*king hypocrites!
As was said here that day “This smells like Rove.”
This was just a political stunt push by Tim Russert to make it appear as if their are republicans that care about our troops.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:11 pmThey did the talk with idiot just for political reasons, so they could say, “Well, we did speak up, you know we tried”. Cause as one of them said, one of my districts idiots polling numbers of approval are at 9%, THAT’S NINE PERCENT APPROVAL, they are simply scared of losing their seats in the 08 elections.
All repukian scum should lose their seats in 08.
Wonder how the lemming trolls (traiters) will feel about that.
Hating the repukian MAFIA daily
May 11th, 2007 at 1:11 pmMore Party uber alles from the Republicans. What a surprise.
/sarc off.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:12 pmYou trolls will live with the stench of death and your bloody hands until you die.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autopla
Comment by nanlichi — May 11, 2007 @ 12:59
Awesome film. Can a troll answer why President Bush has not attended one funeral of a dead soldier? Anybody?
May 11th, 2007 at 1:13 pmDo you really think that a bunch of congresspeople can barge into George Bush’s office any time they like, especially if they’re planning to yell at him? And do you honestly think that if the meeting WASN’T supposed to be public knowledge, two of its attendees would have spoken to the press?
Georgie HAD to blink on the Iraq funding issue and appear to be working with Congress, both of which would make the public happier. So he offers to accept benchmarks instead of timeables, and his apparent willingness to allow himself to be “told off” by Congress is supposed to make him look more humble and co-operative.
But why did the congresspeople demand that they see results by September? Why not June or July? Do they know that a certain oil revenue-sharing bill will be passed by the Iraqi government by then? And is that why Dick Cheney literally went out of his way to inform the Iraqi parliment that he doesn’t want them to take a two-month vacation?
I think Rove is just pretending that he’s pissed about the meeting being leaked. And as the icing on the cake, his being pissed got leaked, too!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:15 pmI loved it on Wednesday night watching the NBC evening news and Bush/Roves favorite media mouthpiece comes on acting like he just got the scoop of the century blabbing all over the place to Brian Williams about all the discord that the supposed gang of 11 displayed to Bush.
Gimme a break, when are these people going to learn that everything that has anything to do with Bush is viewed by the majority of Americans with extreme scepticism.
This gang of 11 will learn at the polls next year that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but can’t fool them all of the time and for these Bozo’s their time in office is up.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:17 pmhypocrites, flip flops, and pussies.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:23 pmTomInMaine said: “And obviously we’ve got to more to win the battle of hearts and minds against al-Qaida terrorism.”
btw, love your toothpaste, Tom!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pmso they’re concerned about re-election and the war… yet they’re not concerned enough to do something about it themselves… I guess they were hoping Bush would just cave… sorry guys… if you want things to change, you will have to grow a pair and vote with Dems against the war…
May 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pmBob,
You’re right, they don’t care. But they should.
One the greatest ironies is that the common denominator for the Bushbots, and for Bush is their religion. The killing and suffering that they are causing and enabling lies at the feet of their Jesus.
That’s not saying that all Christians are Bush supporters, but all Bush supporters are Christian. Very few exceptions.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:27 pmSo nice to know that they voted with the courage of their convictions
May 11th, 2007 at 1:28 pmJust another PR Photo-Op for the 11 GOP without the need to do anything real.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:28 pmLet the word go forth from the mountaintop: “REPUBLICANS PLAY POLITICS WITH THE LIVES OF OUR TROOPS!” “REPUBLICANS HIDE BEHIND THE TROOPS!” REPUBLICANS BETRAY THE SOLDIERS AND BETRAY THE COUNTRY!”
May 11th, 2007 at 1:30 pmYou’ll notice that Ron Paul is not on this list — he has opposed the war consistently from the begining.
http://www.house.gov/paul/
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/
May 11th, 2007 at 1:36 pmYou trolls will live with the stench of death and your bloody hands until you die.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autopla
Comment by nanlichi — May 11, 2007 @ 12:59
Awesome film. Can a troll answer why President Bush has not attended one funeral of a dead soldier? Anybody?
Comment by Shane — May 11, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
Because there’s fund-raisers galore that need taking care of, where W can blather to his base of “The Elites, The Haves & The Have Mores” just how much they’re sacrificing for W’s occupation
Awww, look who’s throwing a little hissy fit, stamping his little feetsies
Some White House officials privately expressed displeasure Thursday that the concerns the Republican moderates raised with the president became public. Vice President Dick Cheney did not mince words in an interview with the Fox News Channel. “We didn’t get elected to be popular,†Mr. Cheney said. “We didn’t get elected to worry just about the fate of the Republican Party.â€
Well, if anyone would know about being politicially unpopular right about now it would be Lunatic Neocon Warmongering ChickenHawk Extraordinaire Dick “Five Deferments” Cheney, the mental midget who hasn’t yet been right about one single aspect concerning Iraq
Nice to know somebody with a 100% inaccuracy rate regarding Iraq is lecturing the GOP about staying the course, that makes about as much sense as decrying al-Qaeda while yawning off bin Laden when supposedly fighting terrorists
And I wonder how that selfishness from Cheney goes over with the GOP, seeing as how Cheney clearly doesn’t care what his actions are doing to his party
But hey, if Cheney wants to pull stupid mouthy stunts like this aimed at the GOP, then who is anyone to stop his rush to stupidity?
Good Job there Cheney, I’m sure the GOP is VERY thankful for your efforts on its behalf
May 11th, 2007 at 1:45 pmCaption:
(Karl Rove, muttering to himself…)
“Dang it, I wish my thumbs weren’t so fat, I keep hitting the wrong keys!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:49 pmAnd the ‘walk naturally’ key is still sticking!”
The trolls kind of have a point here. For any Republican to come out and vote against the president on almost any issue would be a huge departure from the status quo of the last six years. Simply THE THREAT of voting against Bush would be a radical move for them.
However, this was clearly an orchestrated move for the Republican senators to APPEAR to have a backbone. As noted above, for now they have supposedly only THREATENED to have a backbone. Using the term ’spineless’ with them is perfectly acceptable for now.
(BTW, since the italic link doesn’t work I have to use CAPS to provide emphasis.)
May 11th, 2007 at 1:54 pmThis is what goes on behind closed doors in the whitehouse. Somethings never change at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:08 pmThese 11 remind me of disgruntled cult members who have been cleared to go out on their own during the day to sell flowers or cheesey art in public but can’t bring themselves to break away and leave out of pure fear.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:14 pm3 from PA! 2006 was a bad year for the R’s in the Keystone State and they know 2008 will be worse. I know a lot of Republicans here and none of them support Bush or the war (and they aren’t afraid to say so).
May 11th, 2007 at 2:31 pmThe only thing that Republicans care about is staying in power long enough to cash out on K street. They could not care less about the country or it’s citizens. Republicans disgust me. They only care about being reelected. Cowards, all of ‘em. I’m mortified to be an American citizen.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:35 pmSomeone needs to make sure THIS STORY is prominent in the MSM. Probably won’t see it at all.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:05 pmThere is no reason for Democrats to negotiate with Republicans on anything. they play as if they are critical of the President to assuage our outrage and then, when we think we have the necessary support, go behind our backs and vote with the Bush Regime. It’s a very nice little strategem that seems to always fool the Democrats into complacency or a false sense of confidence.
Arlen Specter and Orrin Hatch are really good at it, too. While Specter was lambasting Bush in public, his office was crafting the most damaging aspects of the new and improved Patriot Act. Never trust Republicans. Never.
When will Democrats ever learn?
May 11th, 2007 at 3:30 pmUseless cut and run RINOs.
Go ahead and join the Pelosi congress and their 35% approval rating.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:37 pmNope, those are definitely true republican scumbags. They voted NeoCon, no RINO. Try again troll.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:47 pmAnother eleven Democratic pickups in 2008. Booyah !!!
May 11th, 2007 at 3:49 pmUseless cut and run RINOs.
Go ahead and join the Pelosi congress and their 35% approval rating.
Comment by m12
Says Mr. 28% approval rating.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:13 pm“Uptown” ‘n the PA boys may have kissed their buns Bye,Bye in 2008..It is a shame, we’ll miss them….Almost…not!!!!
May 11th, 2007 at 4:26 pm#64
It’s back up to 32%.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:33 pmIt’s back up to 32%.
Comment by m12
Wait til next week. It’ll be back down, once there aren’t any more tornado victims to hug in Kansas …
Hold tight to that remaining koolaid, it is in precious short supply, and will have to last you until ‘08.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:50 pmYou trolls will live with the stench of death and your bloody hands until you die.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autopla
Comment by nanlichi — May 11, 2007 @ 12:59
Awesome film. Can a troll answer why President Bush has not attended one funeral of a dead soldier? Anybody?
Comment by Shane — May 11, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
Awesome Indeed
I’m still crying. The tears run down my face as I write. It is only the immense anger I hold that keeps the tears from flowing continually due to the tragedy, the horror and the frustration of the slow pace to correct all this.
This video crashed through all that anger and frustration to expose my raw feelings and reminded me of all the pain I am trying to hide. These are truly evil people, these neocons.
Thanks for the link. And my deep thanks to the gal who produced it. I will write her with my feelings and deep emotional thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:00 pm#67
Crystal ball gazing, eh?
Shame you didn’t use one in 2003 and choose someone other than John Kerry as your candidate.
I must say you Dims are awfully proud of the extra 3% that your Congress has on the President.
May 11th, 2007 at 6:24 pmCaption contest:
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.â€
W, at Gridiron Club dinner, Washington D.C., March 24, 2001
Comment by Merlin — May 11, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
May 11th, 2007 at 6:57 pmKill ‘em b4 they grow!
May 11th, 2007 at 8:12 pmMy God! Chuck Hagel wasn’t one of them!
May 11th, 2007 at 9:19 pmThose 11 politicians probably just see themselves as loyal teamplayers.
Martin Gifford.
May 11th, 2007 at 10:19 pm