DOES MURTHA HAVE THE CLOUT TO KEEP BUSH FROM ESCALATING? HE'S GOING TO TRY

While Lieberman and McCain are on the warpath trying to drum up support for Bush's big escalation move next week, who do we have to count on in the House to put on the brakes? Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer? I don't think so. But John Murtha isn't sitting still. This morning the Huffington Post reported that any money Bush requests for escalation or for McCain's idiotic surge doctrine should be voted on as a supplemental request for funds, a completely separate item (probably dooming it since even Republicans and the most cowardly Democrats don't want to be pinned down by directly voting to escalate the war).

The only way to stop Bush is with Congress' control over the purse-strings. Murtha's planning on using that power. He's the new Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Committee. "The only way you can have a troop surge is to extend the tours of people whose tours have already been extended, or to send back people who have just gotten back home.... with Bush anything is possible. Money is the only way we can stop it for sure." He wants to "fence the funding," denying Bush the resources to escalate.

Expect right wing hacks like McCain, Lieberman, Hannity, Limbaugh... the whole grotesque menagerie to ramp up attacks on Murtha over the next few days.


UPDATE: WHICH DEMOCRATS WILL SUPPORT THE BUSH/McCAIN ESCALATION PLANS?

I guess we'll see next week which members of Congress forfeit their right to be called Democrats (the way Holy Joe Lieberman has) but while Russ Feingold, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have come out unequivically against the surge bullshit, a number of the usual suspects are hedging their bets. But above and beyond the Mary Landrieus, Ben and Bill Nelsons, the Baucuses and Blanche Linolns we also have potential for trouble from Reid, Levin and-- as though she wants to get her presidential chances ruined right up front so she doesn't have to bother thinking about them again-- Hillary Clinton. These are the tone-deaf imbeciles who are clueless about the rage building in the country against Washington. No politician, particularly no Democratic politician-- will survive supporting escalation; and calling it part of a "larger plan" that includes some nebulous promise to bring the troops home post-surge isn't going to fool anyone.