[Texgreen] Think progress; Conservatives Are Cracking On Iraq

[Roger Baker]

So we get chased out of Iraq, and then what? Measured in dollars per =20
barrel.  -- Roger

               ******************************************

<http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/03/conservatives-iraq/>

Conservatives Are Cracking On Iraq

President Bush has emerged from the recent veto battle more =20
politically isolated on Iraq than ever.

Despite spending weeks using his bully pulpit to blister war critics =20
with rhetoric about =93abandoning troops=94 and =93timetables for =
retreat,=94 =20
public opinion has shifted further away from his position, and =20
conservatives in Congress are breaking ranks.

This is a major success. A key to bringing an end to this war is for =20
Bush=92s supporters to finally demand a change. We=92re getting closer =20=

every day:

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME):

     =93Obviously, the president would prefer a straight funding bill =20=

with no benchmarks, no conditions, no reports,=94 said Sen. Susan =20
Collins (R-Maine). =93Many of us, on both sides of the aisle, don=92t =
see =20
that as viable.=94 [LA Times, 5/3/07]

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

     A likely sticking point is whether to include penalties if the =20
Iraqi government fails to meet the benchmarks. Democrats, and some =20
Republicans such as Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, insist that there =20=

be consequences for falling short, such as a loss of U.S. financial =20
support or the withdrawal of some coalition forces.

     =93We can=92t be there in an open-ended fashion,=94 Snowe said. =93We=
 =20
have to say: how long does it really take to pass the =20
benchmarks?=94 [Bloomberg, 5/2/07]

Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE):

     Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), a leading moderate, said many =20
Republicans are looking for a way out of Iraq, and he hopes that the =20
Democrats will work with them after Bush likely vetoes the $124 =20
billion war supplemental this week. =93I think a lot of us feel that =20
the time has come for us to look for solutions to bring this war to a =20=

close,=94 Castle said. =93And I don=92t think that=92s just a feeling =
among =20
moderate Republicans but among Republicans in general.=94 Castle said =20=

Republicans of all stripes =93are very reluctant to put in dates on our =20=

Army=94 but said that other ideas, including Blunt=92s talk of a =20
=93consequences package=94 for the Iraqi government, could bring the =20
parties together. [Roll Call, 4/30/07]

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN):

     =93I think we=92re still in a fairly toxic political environment,=94 =
=20
said Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who opposed the president=92s troop =20=

buildup but voted against the Democratic withdrawal plan. =93And I =20
think it will continue like this for a while. That=92s the =20
reality.=94 [LA Times, 5/3/07]

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC):

     But a new dynamic also is at work, with some Republicans now =20
saying that funding further military operations in Iraq with no =20
strings attached does not make practical or political sense. Rep. Bob =20=

Inglis (S.C.), a conservative who opposed the first funding bill, =20
said, =93The hallway talk is very different from the podium =20
talk.=94 [Washington Post, 5/3/07]

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

     =93We have to be engaged developing our own proposals and not just =20=

going along with what the executive branch is doing,=94 said Rep. =20
Charles Boustany Jr., a Louisiana Republican who voted against the =20
Democratic plan to force Bush to start withdrawing troops. [LA Times, =20=

5/3/07]

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA):

     Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican who has supported =20
Bush=92s war strategy even as the public has turned against it, said, =20=

=93The marketplace has become ripe for a new idea.=94 [LA Times, 5/3/07]

Filed under: Iraq

Posted by Nico=