I would like to follow up with a post I made a few days ago over at
California for Feingold '08 regarding Russ' amendment of the emergency spending bill for hurricane relief and resupplying troops. The amendment involves setting a deadline of December 31st, 2006 for troop redeployment from Iraq.
More below the fold...
Today Russ took the argument for troop withdraw straight to his colleagues by forcing them go on the record. As Ilya over at
Russ for President wisely said, by forcing his colleagues (especially Republicans) to refuse his amendment to the bill, they are in effect setting themselves up for a contradiction come November:
Let's get the Republicans on record opposing bringing our troops home and then let them try and run on ending the war.
Russ also made explicitly clear that he has maintained a consistent stance on this issue since August of last year:
Last August, I proposed a target date for withdrawal when I suggested U.S. troops leave Iraq by the end of 2006. This amendment in part reflects the fact that the Administration has made no progress - no progress whatsoever - in developing a clear vision for ending our military mission, redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq, and refocusing on the real national security threats that face our country.
He went on to restate why he feels this amendment is a step in the right direction for our country's national security interests:
Here's the bottom line: We need to refocus on fighting and defeating the terrorist network that attacked this country on September 11, 2001, and that means placing our Iraq policy in the context of a global effort, rather than letting it dominate our security strategy and drain vital security resources for an unlimited amount of time. The President's Iraq-centric policies are preventing us from effectively engaging serious threats around the world, including Iran, global terrorist networks, and other emerging threats. We must change course in Iraq, and we must change course now, Mr. President. It is in this spirit that I filed this amendment to this supplemental spending bill.
He closed his remarks by doggedly vowing to continue this debate with future bills that come up for vote on the Senate floor:
And, if I am not allowed a vote on my amendment to the supplemental, I can assure my colleagues that I will be looking for the next opportunity to bring this amendment to the floor for debate and a vote.
It's consistency, conviction and a pinch of chutzpah that makes this guy the only one fit to lead our country.