Where's The Beef? Part III

Yesterday I asked "Where's The Beef/" in relation to comments by Sen. George Voinovich and Richard Lugar in relation to the occupation of Iraq.(here and here)

"Where's The Beef"? The Bush/Cheney cabal will change nothing on their own while still in office. Neither one of them gives a damned about the Republican Party or the country. If the Republican lawmakers really want to change the course rather than stay the course they will have to do it with the only weapon they have available, the budget. The democrats can't and won't do it on their own - it's up to the Republicans to walk the walk. Will Lugar and others be willing to do that in September?

Matthew Yglesias thinks it's really too late for them anyway.

It's frustrating to see this level of attention given by the MSM and the Huffington Post alike to the theory that GOP Senators are taking on Bush over the war. I was writing about this yesterday and have a Guardian column out about it but we're way past the point for this kind of B.S.

Democrats had a bill that passed congress that would have substantially rolled back the war. Bush vetoed it. The GOP helped Bush sustain that veto. When Republicans want to revisit that legislation and vote to override Bush's veto, then they'll be breaking with Bush on Iraq. Until then, both the ones talking a good game and the ones talking bad one are, in fact, backing the president.

What's more, it seems to me that we're well passed the point where any political purpose is avdanced in a useful way by deliberately exaggerating the extent of intra-GOP disagreement. Before the 2004 election was a good time to hear about Republican dissent. Before the 2006 election, even. But folks who wait until after an electoral drubbing to start distancing themselves from their party's leaders don't deserve to be hailed as great independent thinkers.

I don't see any indication that the Republican tribe is ready to take on Bush in a meaningful way - the tribe still comes first even if it leads over a cliff. But Matt is right, it's too late anyway. That includes my own Senator Gordon Smith. Talking the talk is simply not enough.

Where's The Beef? Part II

This morning I discussed Richard Lugar's come to Jesus moment on Iraq and expressed some doubts that it really had any significance. Well the WH must see some significance as Lugar has been invited to a secret bunker for some re-education if not water boarding. But that didn't stop Sen. George Voinovich from delivering another meatless burger.
Another GOP Senator Urges Pullout

Sen. George Voinovich said Tuesday the U.S. should begin pulling troops out of Iraq, joining Richard Lugar as the second Republican lawmaker in as many days to suggest President Bush's war strategy is failing.

He said the Iraqi people must become more involved and "I don't think they'll get it until they know we're leaving."

But where it the beef?

"We must not abandon our mission, but we must begin a transition where the Iraqi government and its neighbors play a larger role in stabilizing Iraq," Voinovich wrote in a letter to Bush.

Lugar and Voinovich said they were still not ready to insist on a timetable for withdrawal.

So what are the ready to do? Hold their breath until they turn blue. I'll repeat what I said this morning:

"Where's The Beef"? The Bush/Cheney cabal will change nothing on their own while still in office. Neither one of them gives a damned about the Republican Party or the country. If the Republican lawmakers really want to change the course rather than stay the course they will have to do it with the only weapon they have available, the budget. The democrats can't and won't do it on their own - it's up to the Republicans to walk the walk. Will Lugar and others be willing to do that in September? I'm not going to hold my breath.