Senate Rejects Democrat-backed Retreat Bill

Let the showdown begin. As mentioned yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Reid has announced that the military will get no Iraq War funding this year unless congressional Republicans and President Bush accept a deadline for retreat.

Republicans in the Senate just blocked the short-term funding bill that contained such restrictions. Well, most Republicans. Frequent fence-jumpers Gordon Smith, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Chuck Hagel voted for the bill and retreat.

I still think Democrats are underestimating just how bad this looks:

In the meantime, Democrats say, the Pentagon can use some of its $471 billion annual budget without being forced to take drastic steps.

"The days of a free lunch are over," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Yes, a Democratic senator just referred to funding an ongoing military operation as a "free lunch." Presumably, he meant a "free lunch" for President Bush--a sentiment that probably plays well for the Far Left.

But note that Democrats aren't even trying to actually defund the war. They're quick to assure us that the Pentagon can just move funds around without causing a problem (something that Secretary Gates said yesterday was not possible; see first link above). That makes this nothing more than a ploy to appease their base, who are still waiting for Democrats to make good on their Election 2006 promises.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 01:44 PM

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