Shocker: “Influential” Republican Senator Calls For Bush To Announce Immediate Withdrawals

Ken McCracken • August 24, 2007

Of course, the “influential” Senator is John Warner. And he’s been against the war since at least January. But Reuters isn’t going to let that get in the way of a nice sensational-sounding headline.
Funny how Republicans never get to be described as “influential” by reporters unless they’re breaking from their party.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush should announce on September 15 a small initial pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq to spur the Iraqi government to take steps toward political reconciliation, an influential Republican senator said on Thursday.
Virginia Sen. John Warner said Bush should “announce on the 15th that in consultation with our senior military commanders he has decided to initiate the first step in a withdrawal of our forces.”

On a related note, I wonder which military leaders Warner would like Bush to talk to. I’ve yet to hear any military leaders call for immediate withdrawal. Certainly the military leader who is currently in charge of operations in Iraq, David Petraeus, isn’t calling for immediate withdrawal. And he was, as you’ll remember, the architect of the surge strategy who was unanimously appointed to his position by the Senate.
Maybe Warner thinks Bush should toss in that bit about military leaders to make his withdrawal announcement sound more official. A bit of window dressing.
Who cares what the military leaders in Iraq are actually saying.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics, War On Terror

http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

Of substance? Was I not clear enough?

You were just a bit vague.

Warner simply sees the reality that Americans are fed up with Iraq and they want this to end.

That’s what it is about? Not according to Warner.

It’s a reality too many conservatives are unwilling to accept.

You’re just making that part up.

They grab on to some report that some province is doing better and convince themselves that yes, this time it will be different and we have reached a turning point.

What? You’re all over the place.

Oh well. I was hoping for substance. It never came.
Gabriel

Simpler then?

OK.

The Iraq war is a disaster. Americans are fed up.

Warner recognizes this and says we need to start getting out.

Conservatives don’t accept this and attack Warner.
http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

Funny how Republicans never get to be described as “influential” by reporters unless they’re breaking from their party.

Right on. It’s a cheap liberal/reporter trick.
http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

Mickey said, I challenge Gabriel to list one action they (Democrats) have taken to encourage any success in the war effort in Iraq.

Notice how Gabriel ignored that challenge?

Typical, isn’t it?

I’m wondering how Iraq is all on Bush. Democrats weren’t on board? When did that part of history get rewritten? Maybe Gabriel can answer for us since he is the one who rewrote that part of history.
http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

Simpler then?

Simpler? You think that’s what I’m asking for? Good grief, you’re lost!

The Iraq war is a disaster.

Right. It’s a disaster and it’s lost. Blah blah blah. We’ve heard this song and dance before. The rhetoric is always the same.

Americans are fed up.

Warner recognizes this and says we need to start getting out.

Uh, no. Warner believes that we should begin a pull out of Iraq “to show that we mean business” to the Iraq government.

Goodness Gabriel. You can’t even get “simpler” right.

Conservatives don’t accept this and attack Warner.

Conservatives don’t accept your false narrative?

Let me know when you understand what’s going on here, okay? Get the story straight, and then try again.
Gabriel

Watching conservatives debate the Iraq war is a little like watching a family that can’t bring itself to accept that Dad in the ICU is not coming back. In that sense Warner is like the uncle who tells the family to accept that the patient is dead.
http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

Gabriel – anything of substance to add? Nothing is stopping you.
http://www.valleydeals.com/cgi-bin/board2/YaBB.pl Kevin

The guy married Elizabeth Taylor! What kind of judgment does that indicate?
Neiman

That is why conservatives do not necessarily define ourselves as Republicans. Republicans that are not conservative tend to be craven cowards, backstabbers and political whores: Warner, Lugar, McCain, Specter, Graham, Snow, and many others are among these self anointed leaders, and they are all absent any character or core values.

Warner married Elizabeth Taylor and got sloppy hundreds.
Mickey

Of the 50 states, Virginia ranks the lowest per capita IQ scores in the nation. How “influential” could he be?
http://baldheadedgeek.blogspot.com/ Bald-Headed Geek

Who decided that Warner is influential? He’s not among the leaders of the parties. Ultimately, it comes back to your original point, Rob, which is that the MSM only describes a Republican as influential if it will make the Bush 43 Administration look bad………

BHG
http://www.mattsconservativecorner.blogspot.com/ Matt

CNN was drooling over this all afternoon. Its pathetic.
Mickey

The thought of a Democrat fixing anything is amusing.

The Democrats have been committed to failure from the start. I challenge Gabriel to list one action they (Democrats) have taken to encourage any success in the war effort in Iraq.
Democrats have no problem with “moral authority” as long as that authority just happens to agree with and justify their beliefs.
After all, if morality is relative; if truth is subjective and there is no objective “good” or “bad”; then why bother to look any further?
The truth is that the postmodern Democrats don’t need to believe anything that they say. In fact, they can easily ignore evidence, (the surge) that contradicts their arguments; never acknowledge that their arguments (or more precisely, their beliefs) have been debunked and; and ultimately they can simply redefine words or resort to word games.
Which is just a lot of psycho speak for saying the Democrats don’t give a rat’s ass for anyone but themselves.
And that’s’ just a nice way of saying they are nothing but hypocrites and full of crap.
http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

Like I wrote, conservatives simply can’t accept what’s happening in Iraq.

That’s been your red herring. The subject is Warner and his statements of withdrawal, remember?

Btw, how many times are you going to repeat yourself?

You are yet another example of that.

How? Do you even know?

Reality has a bad habit of crashing on you. That’s why Republicans lost in 2006 and why they will also lose, massively, in 2008.

Why did they lose? Because of reality? What? I thought it was because of corruption. Looking at who won and who lost and examining the issues can lead one to that kind of conclusion. But you say that it is “reality”. Hmm…interesting.

The good news for you is that I suspect that Bush won’t follow Warner’s advice and it will be up to the Democratic president and Congress in 2009 to get out us of the mess Bush created.

What did Bush create again?

That way you and the other conservatives can convince yourselves that it’s all the Dem’s fault, just like you convinced yourselves that the Dems and the liberals and the press lost Vietnam.

That’s a nice narrative.

Now here’s a question: why is Warner proposing a pullout of Iraq? You had the reality wrong on that account (which makes it funny that you speak of reality as if you had any clue of where and what it is).
http://www.mattsconservativecorner.blogspot.com/ Matt

If you can’t see the huge mess I doubt there’s anything I can say that will make you notice it.

Again, not sure what this huge mess is. Economic prosperity, low unemployment, progress in Iraq? Please, enlighten me.
http://www.mattsconservativecorner.blogspot.com/ Matt

A huge mess that the next Dem president and Congress will have to, somehow,. try and fix.

What exactly is this “huge mess”? If there is this “mess”, how will the Dems fix it?
Gabriel

Yes mickey. But sadly for you they hold Congress and in 2009 will hold the WH. Such is life.
Gabriel

Like I wrote, conservatives simply can’t accept what’s happening in Iraq. You are yet another example of that.

If it makes you feel better believe what you want. Believe we have turned a corner, believe we are winning, believe it’s all the Democrat’s or the press’s fault.

Reality has a bad habit of crashing on you. That’s why Republicans lost in 2006 and why they will also lose, massively, in 2008.

The good news for you is that I suspect that Bush won’t follow Warner’s advice and it will be up to the Democratic president and Congress in 2009 to get out us of the mess Bush created. That way you and the other conservatives can convince yourselves that it’s all the Dem’s fault, just like you convinced yourselves that the Dems and the liberals and the press lost Vietnam.
http://www.mattsconservativecorner.blogspot.com/ Matt

Looks like our friend Gabriel is stumped…
Gabriel

If you can’t see the huge mess I doubt there’s anything I can say that will make you notice it. I admit, I find it incredible that in August 2007 there are still people that think the way you do.

Clearly this is one of those issues that will never be resolved in any rational debate. And maybe that’s for the better.
Gabriel

What did Bush create?

A huge mess that the next Dem president and Congress will have to, somehow,. try and fix.
Gabriel

Of substance? Was I not clear enough? OK, I’ll try again.

Warner simply sees the reality that Americans are fed up with Iraq and they want this to end. It’s a reality too many conservatives are unwilling to accept. They grab on to some report that some province is doing better and convince themselves that yes, this time it will be different and we have reached a turning point.
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/Anna/ Anna

judgment does that indicate?

That he knows how to make a quick buck?
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Well, he did marry her circa 1976:

Of course, he was also her 6th husband. Or 7th, if you want to count the two marriages to Richard Burton separately.

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Shocker: “Influential” Republican Senator Calls For Bush To Announce Immediate Withdrawals

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