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Biden criticizes senators who opposed Iraq spending.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) is attacking senators who voted against last week’s Iraq spending bill, which was passed without a withdrawal timeline. “As long as there are troops who are in a position where, if we don’t fund them they are going to be hurt, I’m not going to cut off funding,” Biden said during a meeting with Des Moines Register editors and reporters. “That’s what the other candidates said too, but they changed their mind.”




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67 Responses to “Biden criticizes senators who opposed Iraq spending.”

  1. Jake Says:

    Good for Biden. At least Cindy Sheehan and Rosie O'Donnell are gone.


  2. trueblue Says:

    Goodbye to that Presidential bid (AGAIN!)

    Idiot.


  3. El Tonno Says:

    Guy spins faster than Iranian centrifuge...

    Like someone's gonna get hurt if funding is blocked? Riiighht....


  4. stopthecons Says:

    don't anyone dare oppose funding this wonderful, peaceful, courageous war!!

    is this guy kidding? How did old song go....true colors??

    War does not bring peace, and military funding will never be able to "save" people in iraq. period.

    Some further thoughts:

    "Can America Bring Peace to the World?"

    http://www.populistamerica.com/can_america_bring_peace_to_the_world


  5. El Tonno Says:

    > Jake says:
    > At least Cindy Sheehan and Rosie O’Donnell are gone.

    On related news my cat fell down the stairs and someone left animal jake out of his personal rabbit cage.


  6. big papa Says:

    Joe Biden said,

    "I was not willing to play political chicken with funding for the troops"...

    ...effectively promoting the right wing talking point...

    ...that Democrats' issuance of the FIRST bill with timetables...

    ...was a political game...

    ...Biden's support of right wing sensibilities...

    ...make him unworthy of my Democratic vote...


  7. Zooey Says:

    Bye, Joe.

    I know you really never wanted to be president anyway.


  8. Jake Says:

    Hopefully, Biden is the Democratic nominee.


  9. CompTROLLER V-1 Says:

    Biden's a worthy man. Who in their right mind should vote to leave the troops behind, regardless of timetable containment?


  10. CompTROLLER V-1 Says:

    Biden would make an excellent Secretary of State or even Defense, should a Democrapic President take office on January 20th, 2009.


  11. Jake Says:

    Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for two (but they voted only AFTER knowing that bill was defeated).


  12. Jake Says:

    Biden has actually made the best presentation so far on "Meet the Press" of all the Democratic candidates.


  13. SKdeA Says:

    Didn't we have this discussion already?


  14. mongo Says:

    Jeez, all those hair plugs and hours in a tanning bed for nothing.


  15. proudleftists Says:

    Biden is beyond hope.


  16. celtic cynic Says:

    Biden also wants to send our troops (yes - our children) to Sudan-Darfur to intervene in another civil war.
    How brave of him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    And is he and his family sleeping in a nice, comfortable home?
    And eating nice, wholesome food?
    And wearing nice, comfortable clothes?
    And enjoying the "good life"?

    Wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  17. Kane Says:

    Joementum!

    Biden is laying the ground work for the GOP argument.


  18. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    Hopefully, Biden is the Democratic nominee.
    Comment by Jake — May 29, 2007 @ 8:01 pm

    Never gonna happen. He only appeals to NeoConNazi wngnuts with their heads up their *sses - that would be you Jake*ss...


  19. Professor Challenger Says:

    Joe Biden, reason number 543 why I am now a member of the Peace and Freedom Party.

    Prof. G.E. Challenger


  20. Com-n-sense Says:

    Somehow giving more money to fight a war that should never have been fought is a good thing.

    War is Peace.

    There is plenty of money to fund the withdrawal. That's w-i-t-h-d-r-a-w-a-l, not continue to go against the will of the vast majority of the people by funding a larger war!

    There is NO excuse for this vote. None. And you insult our intelligence by making them up.

    We know why we're there. We're oil junkies and there is no way we're going to let anyone else control our supply. And there will be Hell to pay if we pull out with the same intelligence we went in. But there is NO way we can stay the way we are.


  21. ToxicEd Says:

    Gee, I'm so relieved to hear the same lies and rhetoric from the late 60's and early 70's. I really couldn't get enough of it back then and no I get to hear THE EXACT SAME LIES all over again in another war started by ego & greed and sold by lies. Go Joe, you keep recycling the cr@p from 40 years ago.


  22. gummitch Says:

    Biden has actually made the best presentation so far on “Meet the Press” of all the Democratic candidates.

    Comment by Jake

    Based on everything you've posted, I'm not surprised to hear this from you. The closer a Democrat is to being a Republican, the more people like you love him. That's why conservatives and neocons were all about Lieberman. DINO.


  23. kvb Says:

    Biden is an opportunist and a self-impressed blowhard. He'd have pulled a Lieberman and joined the GOP if Joe hadn't done it first.


  24. todd Says:

    Nice of Biden to use the right wing frame -- i.e. that cutting off funding means the troops will suddenly find themselves out of bullets on the battlefield and no plane ride home. He should be called out for such false hoods.


  25. Publicus Says:

    Can we get another Democrat (perhaps an anti-occupation candidate?) for that Senate seat?


  26. oldtree Says:

    joe gets paid well for continuing the war
    gravy train ends when war ends.
    no more lobbying deals
    no more big bonus from the war stocks
    joe gets paid to kill.
    joe likes to kill.


  27. Tom3 Says:

    "leave the troops behind"

    Jeez, another Repuke talking point LIE.


  28. SouthWest Bob Says:

    As long as Joe and others can justify giving bushco all the borrowed billions of dollars he wants because "It's for the soldiers." they will insure the oil company profits in Iraq and the "war" will continue forever.

    While it was expected that the Repubs, when they were in control, would look the other way, the agreeing Dems are now in bed with bushco and are as responsible. It is very obvious that the voters will have to remove the "go alongs" and put in those who are willing to demand answers to how this mis-administration is spending our money and hold them responsible for violating numerous laws.


  29. MaxPower Says:

    How come when the Republicans opposed the Democrats funding proposal that Bush then vetoed they weren't accused of abandoning the troops?

    Biden (and the media too) should note that as well...but I ain't holding my breath.


  30. foolme1ns Says:

    I see Biden is trying the Bush tactics. When you've done something that nobody likes, just go around attacking those who didn't do it.

    He's just lost the presidency, as if he ever had it.


  31. Wayne Says:

    Biden is definately out as far as my vote is concerened, as is Hillary and Obama, so far.


  32. Jay Randal Says:

    Biden is a complete DINO and a worthless Democrat. Those who voted against the funding of the Iraq Fiasco War are patriots, but Biden is NOT one of them.


  33. DS Says:

    Clinton and Obama would be toast in the general because of that vote. Oh well, it won't matter: Joe is going to be the nominee.


  34. lonesomerobot Says:

    i wonder if he really said that or just plagiarized it from some republican.

    biden never had a chance to be president. he's a sideshow, and a boring one at that.

    nothing to see here, move along...


  35. todd Says:

    Glenn Greenwald by the way had a great post over the weekend, deploring how the Dems have allowed the funding issue to be spun by neo-con talking points.

    He rightly observes how the entire logic of funding = "supporting the troops" is based on a falsehood.


  36. maddison66 Says:

    All I have to say is "what a freakin' wimp"...!!! Damn, I'm almost ashamed to call myself a Democrat. What the hell??? Where's the backbone the Dems said they had when they spanked the hell out of the Repubs in the last election? Biden and the rest of 'em should have voted "HELL NO" against that damn bill. Those punk jerks should have told the American people that we are not voting no to cripple our troops, but to force the President to bring them home in a timely manner. Emphasize that they are there based on a lie. Emphasize that the Bush Administration has FUBAR'd this from the word GO...!!! Damn, just get a freakin' backbone.


  37. m12 Says:

    If someone like Biden is tossed out by his own party like the honorable Joseph Liberman, the Dimocratic party has clearly been hijacked by the lunatic fringe.

    The Party of Harry Truman, John Kennedy, and heck, even Bill Clinton, is dead.


  38. fairyduster Says:

    Guess Biden is firmly in the (R) fascist camp now.

    Why is he running for prez again.......hmmm must be the
    campaign funds.

    Both Joes from Connecticut should shut up and listen for a while.


  39. PaulB Says:

    He's not so much a wimp as he is desperate. He's got literally nothing to run on other than a "more muscular than thou" foreign policy. He lacks the name recognition of Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. He lacks any really significant accomplishments that I'm aware of, other than his supposed foreign policy expertise through his role in the Senate. He hasn't been as bad as Lieberman, but he's definitely been in the same ballpark. You can expect to hear more of the same from him until he gives up his doomed run for the nomination.

    A question that I'd love to hear the answer to: where is the Republican equivalent of a Biden or Lieberman? Where is the Republican candidate running to the left of his colleagues? Right now, all the Republicans are trying to out-muscle each other. Hell, they're even trying to out-Bush Bush!


  40. Democrats = Terrorists Says:

    Why do Democrats like Hillary and Obama hate the troops? I can't believe TP is trashing Biden for saying something not just politically smart, but morally right.

    Hillary voted to send the troops to their slaughter and then cut off their funding. That's treason.


  41. PaulB Says:

    "If someone like Biden is tossed out by his own party like the honorable Joseph Liberman, the Dimocratic party has clearly been hijacked by the lunatic fringe."

    ROFL.... Dear heart, considering that the overwhelming majority of Americans disagree with Lieberman and Biden, you must have a different definition of "the lunatic fringe" than the rest of us do. But hey, you just keep right on fringing and lunaticking away. We'll be right here laughing at you.


  42. PaulB Says:

    "Why do Democrats like Hillary and Obama hate the troops? I can’t believe TP is trashing Biden for saying something not just politically smart, but morally right."

    Dear lord, I hope this was a parody. It's hilarious either way.

    "Hillary voted to send the troops to their slaughter and then cut off their funding. That’s treason."

    ROFL... And this was even better. Keep it up!


  43. gorn by any other name Says:

    Why do you think Gore is biding (bidening??) his time waiting to throw his hat into the ring? He's letting some of these losers throw themselves against the rocks and against the frontrunners.

    Write a few books. Go on some talk shows. Stay above the fray. Wait for the sharks to chase the chum.


  44. PaulB Says:

    "Why do you think Gore is biding (bidening??) his time waiting to throw his hat into the ring? He’s letting some of these losers throw themselves against the rocks and against the frontrunners."

    I rather doubt it. Biden isn't going to go anywhere in this race and the only one who doesn't know that is Biden, as far as I can tell. He's not going to be able to touch the frontrunners, even if he keeps this up. All he's going to do is piss off the very voters he needs to win the primaries. Gore is smart enough to recognize this.

    As for Gore himself, I suspect that he'll be sitting this one out. If he were going to compete, he'd be making noises by now. The frontrunners have too big a lead in money and organization. Gore might well have offered himself up as a compromise candidate (and may still do so if we have a deadlocked convention -- a very real possibility), but even that was and is questionable. Why should he put himself through the wringer again?

    The one thing that hasn't changed is that the press still dislikes him (a dislike not helped by his recent book) and would still play silly junior high school games with his candidacy. There really isn't anything he can do about that and I doubt he has the desire or the stomach to put himself and his family through all that again.

    I could, of course, easily be wrong, and I kind of wish I were, since I think that Gore now would be the best of the bunch, but I just don't see it happening.


  45. gorn by any other name Says:

    "All he’s going to do is piss off the very voters he needs to win the primaries. Gore is smart enough to recognize this."

    Pretty much my point. Some of the players will self-destruct. Some of those will flail about attacking the front-runners, who will do the usual cowardly political backpeddling and lock themselves into corners. By not being in the race this far in advance, Gore can avoid some of that mess.

    "As for Gore himself, I suspect that he’ll be sitting this one out. If he were going to compete, he’d be making noises by now."

    That may be the case, but I'm reading between the lines. He isn't issuing categorical denials at this point, just playing coy. He uses phrases like "Honestly, I'm just not thinking about it right now" and "Larry, that's not what I'm here to talk about today". Yet, when asked a direct question about whether he would consider a job like Secretary of State for the eventual Democratic president, he didn't hesitate for one second to answer the question: "No, I have absolutely no interest in that at all, but I appreciate the question."

    He wants to be president. He's always wanted it. He's more ready for it now than ever. He knows he's the best candidate out there. He knows he beat Dubya the first time around, even though the mood of the country was sour on the Clinton administration (though not on him particularly). He knows Dubya has been a disaster for the country and an international humiliation. He knows that the country needs leadership to return to prominent stature and to deal with the huge issues facing us that have been ignored, and worse, for 6+ years.

    He wants the job. He knows he's widely wanted for the job. If he senses the moment is right for him to swoop in and scoop it up, that's what he's going to do. It's a question of timing.

    Wishful thinking? Maybe. But, that's my sense of it. And, lord, I'd love to see him come in and squash the Jakes and Patrick1s and Valiant A-holes of the world like the bugs they are. It will be so fun to watch them squirming. After all, cockroaches thrive in dilapidation and destruction. They aren't going to like all that peace and fresh air. They might even have to move out of Walter Reed.


  46. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    So, let's keep our kids in harm's way forever, right Biden?

    You'll keep funding the troops, and the surge, no matter where Bush sends them.

    Endless war!

    Endless bloodshed!

    Limitless PROFITS!!!

    Cindy's right. Democrats and Republicans are cut from the same cloth.

    Time to find some new material.


  47. VerbalKint Says:

    Joe Biden is a blabbermouthed jerk who doesn't know when to shut up. Rarely have I witnessed a politician so in love with the sound of his own voice. During the build up to the war Biden told Charlie Rose that we had to go to war, even though it was wrong, because Bush had threatened war. Somehow in Biden's peabrain, the world would suffer more if Bush backed out of monumentally stupid war than if he plowed into it. That's the sort of reasoning Biden employs.


  48. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    Corporate media is going to pick the candidates. War Profiteers will either pick or control the winners.


  49. m12 Says:

    ROFL…. Dear heart, considering that the overwhelming majority of Americans disagree with Lieberman and Biden, you must have a different definition of “the lunatic fringe” than the rest of us do. But hey, you just keep right on fringing and lunaticking away. We’ll be right here laughing at you.

    No, its only a few moonbats that want to cut funding from our troops in the field.


  50. VerbalKint Says:

    Yikes. This is yet another thread today crawling with dumber-than-ever trolls. Where do they come from?


  51. Your Concience Says:

    Joe "AIPAC SHILL" Biden............ as if he had a prayer.


  52. darby1936 Says:

    Senator Biden and the Honorable Holy Joe love the troops. Thats why they have them in the middle of a civil war where the majority of the people think its alright to kill American troops. Cindy Sheehan has more principle in 5 minutes than these two wretches will have the rest of their lives.


  53. big papa Says:

    Comment by gorn by any other name #45

    after what the DLC (and the DUHmurkin sheep) did in '00...

    ...Al Gore wants to be guaranteed the presidency in '08...

    ...he has come to the realization...(like Cindy)...

    ...that (in general) the American public...

    ...is too fickle, lazy, ill-informed, disinterested, apathetic...

    ...self-serving, hypocritical, racist, sexist, homophobic, greedy...

    ...self-absorbed, clannish, STUPID and easily (mis)led...

    ...to make any more personal sacrifices for...

    ...and I can't blame him...

    ...(or her)...


  54. Langx Says:

    Well Biden
    Thanks For playing


  55. Kate Henry Says:

    Biden is full of shit. How can they get hurt if we bring them home? He's the one who is putting the troops in harms way. His presidential bid is toast. Now, he should just STFU!


  56. Alejandro Says:

    Biden just doesn't want to be president. That's ok.


  57. marlow Says:

    Cheesedick.


  58. swampgas Says:

    Biden is another Republican in Demos clothes. You all remember this?

    http://www.drugpolicy.org/communities/raveact/


  59. PaulB Says:

    "No, its only a few moonbats that want to cut funding from our troops in the field."

    ROFL... Still in denial, dear? The overwhelming majority of Americans want to bring the troops home, dear. They also want timetables, performance metrics, and an end to the war. Sorry, dear, but that's life out here in the real world. You should join us some time.


  60. bill Says:

    this is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. the idea that troops would be in the midst of battle, and suddenly lose funding is RIDICULOUS.

    those like biden who disagree are......well, stupid.


  61. drew_ill Says:

    “As long as there are troops who are in a position where, if we don’t fund them they are going to be hurt..."

    Exactly. BRING 'EM HOME, NOW!!!


  62. G.W.SuperChrist Says:

    Why cant they just fund the withdrawal?


  63. G.W.SuperChrist Says:

    It is all about the language... don't defund the war... fund the withdrawal!!!


  64. buckles Says:

    You didn't fund the troops, you moron, you funded the continuation of an occupation mis-hyped as our war, as opposed to the civil war that it is. Since we, along with our "allies" the Saudis are funding both sides killing our soldiers in this battle, you, Biden, should be ashamed of yourself. Stop playing politics and "I want to be president" and do your job as public representative. Bring our troops home!


  65. Sean Says:

    Congress wasn't cutting off the funding to the troops. Bush was. Last time I checked, it was Bush who was standing in the way.

    ~Sean


  66. Evil Spaniard Says:

    But the money doesn't goes to keep them alive NOW, but to keep them there more time.


  67. Howard Says:

    so cut off money for getting the troops mine-resistant vehicles, then just take every US soldier out of iraq even though, like it or now, we started that mess? that's not very progressive or liberal. that's just plain irresponsible. plus, Biden is the only candidate with an actual plan for getting troops out of iraq with minimal damage. actual enough that all the dem and GOP candidates are plagiarizing (how ironic) parts of his plan in their own rhetorics. besides, if we voted TODAY to pull all troops out of iraq, what do you expect? everyone clear out in a week? sunnis, shites and kurds joining hands and cheering that we're gone? a new fair non dictatorial leader taking over and repairing their economy and infrastructure while curbing violence?



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