IT SURE SUCKS TO BE A REPUBLICAN! ESPECIALLY A BOEHNER

I don't want to use those pictures of Boehner dragging himself out of his tanning booth and weeping again but he must he must have cried a river when he was forced to pull Blunt back from whipping Republicans into opposing the nonbinding resolution today. Two weeks ago Cheney and Rove were threatening dire consequences for anyone who voted for this travesty. Today Miss Weepy-poo told reporters that "there have been no efforts by GOP leaders or the White House to pressure Republican Members to oppose the Democrat's Iraq resolution disapproving of a buildup of troops in Iraq."

That may be because the Repugs have a full scale rebellion on their hands over this. The resolution is so totally politically correct-- and it doesn't hurt anyone or anything, except Bush's already unsalvageable sense of dignity-- that dozens of Republicans told Blunt, Boehner and Doody that they're voting for it no matter what the leadership does. How feisty these rubber stampers get when the deaths of their miserable careers flash before them!

Today I heard Ron Paul on the radio. He's a Libertarian congressman who runs as a Repug in Texas. He's been the most anti-Iraq War of all the House Republicans-- although not as anti as all but 20 of the most reactionary or AIPAC-owned representatives. He was on Air America bragging about how against this war he's always been-- a claim in conflict with his actual voting record-- but he was using Bush as a punching bag the way I wish more Democrats would. He was pretty clear that Bush is a "weak" man as well as untrustworthy and capable of bombing Iran against the will of the American people and the Congress.

Meanwhile Boehner has locked himself up in his tanning cabin again but promises to come out again next month. "There's going to be a real battle here, sometime in March, over de-funding our troops that are in harm's way. We're somehow shackling the military's ability to do its job. And we believe their goal is to de-fund the war and to leave Iraq in chaos because I don't think there's any doubt that when we start to pull troops back we're going to see real chaos, and much more than we see today." He didn't mention if it was Rove or Cheney who scripted him today.

One sure vote for war, Georgia extremist Charlie Norwood died of cancer today. Georgia's 9th CD is extremely backward and there is zero chance that someone less reactionary will replace Norwood. Bush beat Kerry with a 72% share of the vote, one of the highest anywhere in the country-- and Norwood beat the Democrat with 74%. This year Norwood's share went up to 77%!

The Center For American Progress had a leaked letter on it's website today (since removed) that lays out Rove's strategy for dealing with the Iraq debate. Short version: if reactionaries are forced to debate "the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose." (Duh!-- everyone already knows that except the Inside the Beltway consultants and the DLC.) The strategy letter was sent out by two arch-wingnuts, John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Peter Hoekstra (R-MI); it only went to fellow extremists, not to all Republicans. Here's a piece of the letter I was able to retrieve:



UPDATE: NOT MUCH INTERESTING IN THE "GREAT DEBATE"


Except Patrick Murphy:

"I rise to give a voice to the . . . veterans across the globe who are deeply troubled by the president's plan to escalate the number of American troops in Iraq. I served in Baghdad from June of 2003 to January of 2004. I saw firsthand this administration's failed policies in Iraq. . . . The time for more troops was four years ago, but this president ignored the military experts. . . . Now . . . our president is ignoring military leaders again. . . . The president's plan to send more of our best and bravest to die refereeing a civil war in Iraq is wrong."