Democrats vow all-night session on Iraq
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated Press
The Senate this week will pull its first all-night debate on the Iraq war in advance of a vote on whether to bring home all combat troops by next spring, Democrats said Monday.
The rare, round-the-clock session Tuesday night through Wednesday morning is intended to bait Republicans into an exhaustive debate on the politically unpopular war, as well as punish GOP members for routinely blocking anti-war legislation.
"How many sleepless nights have our soldiers and their families had?" said Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Democrats are trying to ratchet up pressure on Republicans who have grown uneasy with the lack of progress and begun questioning President Bush's military strategy.
Republicans shrugged off the planned marathon debate as political theater. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Republicans "welcome further debate" but that there was no reason why the Senate couldn't vote sooner.
The political sparring came as several Republican congressional staffers met privately with Bush aides in the West Wing of the White House to hash out an effective communications strategy on the war.
According to one member who attended, Bush made a brief surprise visit and thanked the staffers — spokespeople for Republican leadership on Capitol Hill — for sticking behind him. Bush told the staffers he would not rethink his Iraq policies until a critical military assessment comes in September.
(Continued here.)
Associated Press
The Senate this week will pull its first all-night debate on the Iraq war in advance of a vote on whether to bring home all combat troops by next spring, Democrats said Monday.
The rare, round-the-clock session Tuesday night through Wednesday morning is intended to bait Republicans into an exhaustive debate on the politically unpopular war, as well as punish GOP members for routinely blocking anti-war legislation.
"How many sleepless nights have our soldiers and their families had?" said Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Democrats are trying to ratchet up pressure on Republicans who have grown uneasy with the lack of progress and begun questioning President Bush's military strategy.
Republicans shrugged off the planned marathon debate as political theater. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Republicans "welcome further debate" but that there was no reason why the Senate couldn't vote sooner.
The political sparring came as several Republican congressional staffers met privately with Bush aides in the West Wing of the White House to hash out an effective communications strategy on the war.
According to one member who attended, Bush made a brief surprise visit and thanked the staffers — spokespeople for Republican leadership on Capitol Hill — for sticking behind him. Bush told the staffers he would not rethink his Iraq policies until a critical military assessment comes in September.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
all night session..sounds dramatic.. can the dems get anything done though, thats the question..
reports like
this say that any break though is unlikely
bhumika
politics desk,the newsroom
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