The Democrats in a Box [Sorry, Tommy]

The Weekly Standard ^ | 9/14/2002 | Stephen F. Hayes

[NYS_Eric]

The Democrats in a Box
Bush will insist on an Iraq vote, and Congress looks unlikely to defy him.
by Stephen F. Hayes
09/23/2002, Volume 008, Issue 02

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS seem to agree on at least one aspect of the current debate over U.S. policy in Iraq: President Bush will eventually have bipartisan backing from Congress for the use of force against Saddam Hussein. "The strong presumption is that the president will get strong bipartisan support on a resolution," says Dan Gerstein, communications director for Senator Joseph Lieberman.

How and when he gets a vote on such a resolution, however, are questions that split Democrats. Several senators--Georgia's Zell Miller, John Edwards of North Carolina, and Lieberman prominent among them--have indicated that they will vote in favor of such a resolution regardless of when it's presented. Others rushed to praise the president's U.N. speech last Thursday, and then promptly set about throwing up additional obstacles to an expedited vote. In that second group are senators Joe Biden, John Kerry, Carl Levin, and, most important, Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

The remaining opposition is largely conditional. Biden called Bush's address to the U.N. General Assembly "brilliant," but said that he doesn't want a vote before the elections, lest the debate become too politicized. Daschle trotted out a list of questions he needs answered before he could support a resolution, although he allowed that a vote before Congress recesses a month from now is "likely." Levin wants to give the president a sort of calibrated authorization--little bits here and there--a proposal one GOP senator calls "nuts." But the strangest idea came from Kerry, who in essence, recommended a congressional resolution calling for a U.N. resolution before Congress votes on a final resolution.

The president was dismissive of such an approach in comments he made Friday. "Democrats waiting for the U.N. to act? I can't imagine an elected . . . member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives saying 'I think I'm going to wait for the United Nations to make a decision," Bush said with a muffled laugh. "It seems like to me that if you're representing the United States you ought to be making a decision on what's best for the United States."

Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican who has become a leading voice for conservatives in the upper chamber, also criticized those who would delay a vote on a congressional resolution. "Liberals are now saying this is a multi-stage process. First, the U.N. speech; second, the U.N. debate; third, a U.N. resolution; and only then can we take this up," he says. "They want to slice and dice it. This has to happen now. We can walk and chew gum at the same time."

Kyl says he called National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to suggest that the president send a letter to Congress formally requesting a vote. Administration officials say that such a letter is not yet in the works, but they are leaving that option open. Regardless of how it happens, though, the president will demand a congressional vote before Congress leaves town in early October. "The president answered that question himself with one word: yes," says White House congressional liaison Nick Calio. "So, yes, we are going to be insistent."

While administration officials won't characterize the threat from Saddam as "imminent," they contend that the matter is urgent enough to warrant immediate action in Congress. "If Iraq did something tomorrow and Americans got hurt, what do you think the people on the Hill would be saying to us?" comments a senior White House official.

Although Bush has not yet formally requested a vote, he has made his feelings clear to leaders of both chambers: He wants an accelerated vote. The administration is forming bipartisan working groups in both the House and the Senate that are expected to meet two to three times weekly until the president has gotten congressional approval.

Zell Miller, a frequent Bush supporter, is one of a handful of Democrats whom the White House is counting on to make the case in his party. "Without question, I am with the president," says Miller. "I am already convinced. He has made the case with me."

Administration officials concede that they have "more work to do" with Democrats, but they are confident that much of the remaining opposition will disappear over the coming weeks, as the president details the threat. The U.N. speech, says a national security official with knowledge of administration planning, "wasn't our first shot, it wasn't our last shot, and it certainly wasn't our best shot" at making the case against Saddam Hussein. "Put it this way--the U.N. speech was the first act of a three-act play. If [Democrats] are bailing on their opposition to the president now, wait until people see Act II, when there will be new revelations about just how serious a threat we face."


Stephen F. Hayes is a staff writer at The Weekly Standard.

[Paleo Conservative]

Sounds like Daschole is between Iraq and a hard place.

[RightOnline]

The truth is, Daschle is well aware that as soon as the shootin' starts, this country pulls together like our foes........and the rest of the world.......just can't believe. That means that Bush will receive tremendous support from the populace, and his "numbers" will soar. That means, right before an election, that a Republican President will have sky-high numbers.......and that doesn't bode well for the Democrats.

It IS all about politics with Daschle. Period. End of story. Always has been.

[Nick Danger]

If [Democrats] are bailing on their opposition to the president now, wait until people see Act II, when there will be new revelations about just how serious a threat we face."

But first, let's get all these clowns on the record saying things like, "No, let's dither," and "This calls for some serious hand-wringing."

After all, there's an election coming up. We have attacks ads to make. They should be in them.

[unbiasedtruth]

Absolutely. If anyone is playing politics with this issue, it's the Rats. However, this time, their camp is fragmented. You have some like Zell Miller who want a vote because it's the right thing to do. Some want the vote because they want the issue off the table while they focus on the November election. Other dems don't want the vote because they fear the president could act before the election and America will rally behind Bush. And then you have Tommy boy Daschle who wants to wait until after the election, hoping Saddam blows up an American city so that he can blame Bush for doing nothing.

[Tom D.]

The weather is just beginning to get cooler in the Mid-East. Our soldiers are going to be laying siege to Baghdad in anti-chemical suits. Daschle wants to wait until a good part of the cool weather for the next 12 months passes before he votes to authorize our military to start this process. I guess Dachle, et al think that Congress should vote for authorization in January (or possibly in mid tolate December in a lame duck session with a lot of debate), just in time for our soldiers to get there for the beginning of the summer.

[McGavin999]

"If Iraq did something tomorrow and Americans got hurt, what do you think the people on the Hill would be saying to us?" comments a senior White House official.

I don't know what the people on the Hill will be saying to the WH but the American people won't be saying a word. We'll be too busy heading for the Capitol carrying hot tar and feather pillows. Mr. Daschle won't like finding out first hand what hot tar can do to a naked body.

[jwalsh07]

Kudos to Zell Miller and John McCain who are both putting country first at a crucial time in America's history.

[MichiganMan]

Sounds like Daschole is between Iraq and a hard place.

Oh, well done! :)

Shame though that it is unlikely to have any political reprecussions on either him or my local partisan obstructionist, Carl Levin.

[Trust but Verify]

Zell Miller is a Good Guy. Why does he stay on the side of the Bad Guys? Come on, Zell, you can do it!

[Reo]

"It IS all about politics with Daschle. Period. End of story. Always has been."

Little Tommie Daschle appears to be getting smaller and smaller and smaller.........

[layman]

If my math is reasonably accurate, .7% of US voters cast a vote for Dasshole ... less than 1%. Is there any other senator who received fewer votes than this? Anybody know?

[NYS_Eric]

As much as I loathe the man, I wouldn't hold this against him. If Thune wins, the percentage would be similar. The strength of our Republic is that smaller states are well represented in one legislative chamber. Without it, California and New York would start telling the nation how high to jump.

[Green Knight]

Think about it. While his switching parties would hand control back to Republicans, he'd appear just as craven and spineless as Jumpin' Jim Jeffords. Have no idea if the guy even wants to switch parties. But if he does, he'd probably want to do it in a much more classier way. Not right after he was elected as a Democrat by his constituents and purely for his own gain the way Jeffords did it.

[Trust but Verify]

He could make his case to the voters in Georgia for switching parties in one sentence. Tom Daschle is putting the nation in peril by undermining the President at every turn.

[meenie]

One thing overlooked in the voting on Iraq, and the time frame involved. We are looking at a very unstable stock market and the likelihood of a crash sending the economy and financial markets into turmoil. If this took place before the general election, it could change the outcome considerably. The timing of a resolution in Congress becomes very important.

[T. Jefferson]

We are looking at a very unstable stock market and the likelihood of a crash sending the economy and financial markets into turmoil.

I prefer history to be our guide. When Bush 41 attacked, the market soared, the war was over in 24 hours, and the dems looked like fools. Here's how this will go down. 1. UN will do nothing. 2. Dashle will refuse to hold a vote. 3. Bush will hold a fireside chat explaining the attack of Iraq on or about Oct. 7th. 4. The war will last a week tops. In reality, the war is already under way, a new governing body is waiting to take over and in position. Bush's numbers will go to 88% and Rep. will win back the Senate. Daschle will go down in flames.

[The Vast Right Wing]

"Without it, California and New York would start telling the nation how high to jump."

Actually they would be telling the rest of the country to bend over.

[mwl1]

Let's start referring to the bastard as Sen. Tom Daschle, D-Iraq.

[mwl1]

This is a great article by the Weekly Standard, especially the last several paragraphs. Most comforting.