BUSH SURGES AHEAD ON HIS OWN EVEN THOUGH 70% OF THE PUBLIC AND 70% OF THE SENATE OPPOSE ESCALATION

Is anyone surprised that Bush is sneaking implementation of the McCain Escalation plan into effect? If you're surprised you must have been sleeping for the past 6 years. Bush, who's been reminding anyone who will listen that he's the decision-maker, isn't waiting for no stinkin' nonbinding resolutions; the first thousand new troops have already arrived.

Jim VandeHei is reporting today that "a top GOP staffer says more than 70 senators would oppose the surge if their vote matched their comments in private meetings." Hypocrites? Senators? Maybe they figure nothing much is at stake-- just a few lives here and there and some more billions of dollars. Have we hit a trillion yet?


Meanwhile Cheney and Bush are begging, threatening and buying off senators and House members to oppose even the most mild nonbinding, symbolic resolutions. "In private conversations, the officials are telling senators that the resolution would demoralize U.S. troops and hurt the GOP politically for years to come." I heard Hagel exploding today that he had never heard of a president threatening to ignore the Congress the way Bush has. He didn't use the I-word ("impeach") but the implication is that if Bush persists in claiming he does whatever he wants regardless of what the public and the Congress are saying, nonbinding is just a first step and one that will be a lot more palatable to Bush and Cheney than the follow-up steps. We'll see if any of these guys have any balls.

But even the ultimate rubber stamp imbecile, Mitch "My Bitch" McConnell, who is carrying Cheney's and Bush's water in the Senate has just about had it with all their lies and incompetence. "Bush allies are arguing that Republicans will damage their individual political interests as well. Their logic is that there is no anti-war constituency inside the Republican Party, pointing specifically to Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a potential presidential candidate who has opposed the surge but not gained much traction with party activists. 'That's a flat argument,' the senior aide said. 'That does not work.'"

John Cornyn is actually trying to get a resolution passed paid attention to that endorses the escalation. I don't know where he can go beyond Lieberman, McCain-- although even he is starting to get weak-kneed-- and a few southern dead-enders who support anything that smacks of fighting a civil war. Russ Feingold has a more rational and mainstream idea-- investigating the possibility of cutting off funds for an escalation.

In the end, something tells me this is going to have to come down to an impeachment though. Bush is hellbent on doing whatever he likes regardless of what the military commanders on the ground say, regardless of what Iraqis say, regardless of what the American public says, regardless of what Speaker Pelosi (with congressmen Lantos, Murtha and Skelton) come back from Iraq saying, and regardless of what the U.S. Congress says.