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Vote on Sen. Biden partition proposal to put presidential candidates on the spot |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 09/25/07 06:08 PM [ET] |
Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. (D-Del.) has long advocated his own political solution to the war in Iraq. On Tuesday, it could be part of the political solution for his flagging presidential candidacy.
The scheduled vote on Biden’s proposal to regionalize Iraq’s government hands the long-shot presidential candidate one of few opportunities to gain traction as the first nominating contests approach. It could also put his opponents in the awkward position of supporting legislation that provides a fellow candidate with a political victory.
Biden’s proposal has been added as an amendment to the defense authorization bill, but it is almost sure to fail under the 60-vote threshold mandated for Iraq amendments.
Still, the votes of three of Biden’s Democratic presidential opponents will be closely watched. And Biden, who has staked his presidential fortunes to the proposal in much the same way Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) staked his to the troop increase in Iraq, will be ready to pounce.
On the Senate floor on Friday, Biden challenged his colleagues.
“I get it. You may not like all parts of it,” Biden said. “I can’t guarantee an outcome to this, but I would like you to think about it. If you don’t like Biden’s proposal, what is your idea?”
Some of the candidates have suggested in the past that they might support such a proposal, but most have stopped short of endorsing it. One, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), jumped on board earlier this year and teamed up with Biden to propose the legislation.
Since Brownback’s backing, the proposal has been slowly gaining momentum and now boasts a bipartisan stable of 10 co-sponsors. They include Democrats Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and John Kerry (Mass.) as well as Republican Gordon Smith (Ore.), who could face a difficult reelection bid in 2008.
But whether the measure gains a foothold in the national dialogue depends largely on Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), as well as the other presidential candidates, including McCain.
At a July town hall meeting in Iowa, Obama said Biden’s brainchild might “end up being the best solution.” Another Democratic candidate, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, also has suggested he might favor the idea.
An Obama aide said the senator is leaning toward supporting the measure.
Obama reiterated his potential support at a debate last month but worried that it would be viewed as a U.S.-imposed process.
“The Biden amendment, which is a non-binding sense of the Senate, recognizes this important fact, and as such, Sen. Obama is inclined to support it,” the aide said.
Dodd has echoed those reservations and has had some harsh words for the proposal. But he has also said it might be a realistic end result.
A Richardson spokesman said the amendment is “a nice gesture, but it does not mean progress in Iraq.”
“It’s only when the Iraqis decide that they are going to take their own steps to make progress that we’ll see any movement,” spokesman Tom Reynolds said. “And that is only going to happen when U.S. forces are coming out and no residual troops will be left behind.”
The amendment expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should takes steps to encourage the major factions in Iraq to reach a political settlement that divides the country into regions under a weak federal government — one Kurdish, one Shiite and one Sunni.
Supporters of the legislation suggest those who vote against it — a Biden aide said support was likely to be “maybe in the 20s, maybe a little higher” — will be forced to explain their own alternatives.
Over the weekend, Biden issued a petition to supporters and urged them to contact Clinton, Dodd and Obama to urge them to support the amendment. Biden has accused the other candidates of not taking the political solution in Iraq seriously.
Brownback has spoken frequently of the proposal and advocated for it on the floor on Friday, but Biden has grabbed hold of the mantle this week. Biden last week issued a lengthy list of statements from foreign policy experts that suggest support for his idea.
Biden has sought to differentiate his Iraq views in several different ways from his Democratic opponents, most notably being the only one of the four to vote to continue funding the war. He has taken the stance that he will vote for funding as long as there are troops on the ground.
Manu Raju contributed to this report. |
