The negotiations begin
Now that Bush has vetoed the spending bill passed by Congress last week, and the Democrats failed to overturn the veto (which was fully expected), negotiations between the white house and Congress will begin:
"The 222-203 vote, far short of the two-thirds majority needed for a veto override, occurred just ahead of a White House meeting that Bush called to begin compromise talks with congressional leaders of both parties on new legislation to finance the war, now in its fifth year."
Bush of course takes issue with the part of the bill that calls for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq, starting October 1 and completed by March 1, 2008. The Democrats should go to the negotiating table with this: a phased withdrawal starting September 1 and completed by February 1. If Georgie still wants to fuck around, their next offer should be a phased withdrawal starting August 1 and completed by January 1. And so on. Do not relent, do not stop the pressure.
As for the next step, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold had this to say:
The next step to ending the war isn't to give in, but to step up the pressure on the President. I'm pleased to be working with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a bill to end our open-ended military commitment in Iraq. Now that the President has rejected the will of the American people with this veto, our bill, or some other proposal to end funding for a failed policy, should be the next step to end the war.
Exactly, don't back down. Here's hoping the Democrats prevail.
"The 222-203 vote, far short of the two-thirds majority needed for a veto override, occurred just ahead of a White House meeting that Bush called to begin compromise talks with congressional leaders of both parties on new legislation to finance the war, now in its fifth year."
Bush of course takes issue with the part of the bill that calls for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq, starting October 1 and completed by March 1, 2008. The Democrats should go to the negotiating table with this: a phased withdrawal starting September 1 and completed by February 1. If Georgie still wants to fuck around, their next offer should be a phased withdrawal starting August 1 and completed by January 1. And so on. Do not relent, do not stop the pressure.
As for the next step, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold had this to say:
The next step to ending the war isn't to give in, but to step up the pressure on the President. I'm pleased to be working with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a bill to end our open-ended military commitment in Iraq. Now that the President has rejected the will of the American people with this veto, our bill, or some other proposal to end funding for a failed policy, should be the next step to end the war.
Exactly, don't back down. Here's hoping the Democrats prevail.
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