Sen. Russ Feingold:
"While I was in Iraq in February, I was able to witness firsthand the truly amazing resolve all of our troops in Iraq -- I cannot describe how very proud I am of all of those who serve. It is with that trip and those soldiers in mind that I will introduce a resolution tomorrow that calls on the President to clarify the objectives and timeframe of the current U.S. mission in Iraq, including a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. And I will work with my colleagues to hold the Administration accountable for meeting our goals and achieving clear standards of success. We owe our brave servicemen and women a concrete timetable for achieving clear goals, not vague, open-ended commitments. Having a timetable for the transfer of sovereignty and having a timetable for Iraqi elections have resulted in real political and strategic advantages. Having a timetable for the withdrawal of troops should be no different."
Feingold announced yesterday that he'll seek a resolution calling for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. From his press release:
The resolution calls on the President to identify the specific missions that the U.S. military is being asked to accomplish in Iraq, as well as the timeframe in which those missions can be successfully achieved. Most critically, Feingold's resolution calls on the President and his administration to report to Congress with a plan and timetable for the subsequent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Feingold was in Iraq with four of his Senate colleagues in February. He has long called on the administration to level with the American people regarding the nature and length of the U.S. military commitment to Iraq.
What Feingold is doing here is twofold: He's reminding the Administration that it is accountable to Congress, and throwing down the gauntlet in the Senate to grow a frickin' spine and stop dropping the ball on its own oversight role.
Feingold is also honorary chairman of the Progressive Patriots Fund. I have a particular affinity for that organization's name, because after the election, I had despairingly decided that if candidates like John Kerry were where the Democratic Party was headed, only a new progressive party (NOT the Greens, who are still too closely identified with Ralph Nader) was the answer. So like all web geeks, I first came up with a cool banner.
Whether PPF is an indication of a White House run for Feingold remains to be seen. He was touted not too long ago as a possible candidate, but being in the middle of an apparently amicable divorce won't help him in the red states.
I really wish we lived in a country in which the morality police didn't feel they had to sit in judgment of people they don't know, at the same time that their own lives are often in even worse shambles, but there we are.
Let's not forget also that the Republican Party's patron saint, Ronald Reagan, had also been divorced.
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