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House Dems upset over split on war |
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By Mike Soraghan
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Posted: 08/02/07 07:30 PM [ET] |
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reversed herself on Iraq strategy Wednesday, revealing a fight within the Democratic Caucus over how much Democrats should compromise to gain agreement with Republicans on the unpopular war.
Progressive Caucus leaders were fuming after they walked into a meeting with Pelosi to find out that she had decided to allow a vote Thursday on an Iraq bill they consider too mild.
Sponsored by Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and John Tanner (D-Tenn.), the bill would order President Bush to deliver within two months a plan on how to redeploy troops. It will be on the suspension calendar, meaning there will be no amendments, but it needs a two-thirds majority to pass.
That bill got 24 Republican votes in the Armed Services Committee last week, but it may lose votes from liberal Democrats who have pledged not to support Iraq redeployment measures that don’t include a “date certain.”
“It takes us backwards,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), an Out of Iraq caucus leader. “If Democrats want to give Republicans votes to go home with when they’ve done nothing to redeploy our troops, that’s bad.”
Progressive leaders feel that such measures give cover to Republicans to go home for the August break and tell constituents they have voted for redeployment, without voting on strict measures that would order Bush to bring the troops home.
But Abercrombie said it’s wrong to say he’s providing cover to Republicans.
“It would be amusing if it wasn’t such a dumb thought,” Abercrombie said. “In a time of war, we should not be positioning ourselves for political advantage.”
The issue at first appeared to be settled early Wednesday. House Democratic leaders had decided against holding votes before the August recess on any redeployment measures. Pelosi had agreed with other Democrats that voting on Abercrombie’s bill, or another proposal by Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), would give Republicans a way out on the war issue.
Abercrombie, however, did not accept that. He went to the floor in the morning and started voting with Republicans on motions to adjourn, in protest of Democratic handling of a children’s health insurance bill. Then he made his own motion to adjourn to contest the leadership’s decision not to bring his Iraq bill to the floor.
“I was sending signals,” said Abercrombie, adding that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) then came over “and expressed his consternation.”
“Then, wonder of wonders, I was able to concentrate the attention of leadership in a very positive way,” said Abercrombie.
He would not say he was promised a vote, but Democratic aides said the bill will come up Thursday.
“I guess they decided we know what we’re doing,” Abercrombie said.
Later that morning, Woolsey, joined by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), walked into a meeting to learn that Abercrombie’s measure would get a vote.
The Progressive Caucus members were delivering a message and a letter stating that they would not support withdrawal measures if they failed to set a timeline for combat troops to be out of Iraq. The lawmakers told Pelosi they saw Abercrombie’s bill as a step backward.
“[Pelosi] sees it differently,” Woolsey said.
Schakowsky said there was agreement that the “really big votes” start in September, when Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, is scheduled to give a report on the progress of President Bush’s “surge” policy.
“The question is what will best position us,” she said. “The discussion was whether this in any way negates that the House took a firm position” earlier this summer, when Democrats voted for withdrawal by April of 2008.
Abercrombie is, in fact, a member of the Progressive Caucus, but he has not gotten other members to support his plan. He brought it up several weeks ago, at which point members expressed their dislike, an aide said. Members had been relieved when it appeared to go away.
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