Redstate

By jpers36 Posted in Archived — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Check out the AP report on the failed cloture motion. After admitting that the vote "was a sound defeat for Democrats", the article goes on to put a positive spin on the situation, highlighting the possible fracturing of Republican resolve:

Republicans were mostly unified in their opposition to sidetrack the legislation, with four exceptions. Three Republicans — Sens. Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska — announced previously they support setting a deadline on the war.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is up for re-election next year, also voted to advance the bill. Spokesman Kevin Kelley said Collins believes the measure should be subject to a simple majority vote and not the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster. She opposes the legislation, however, Kelley said.

Other GOP members, while uneasy about the war, said they could not support legislation that would force Bush to adhere to a firm pullout date.

So, what about the Democrats? Any dissidents there?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a strong supporter of troop withdrawals, nonetheless cast the sole Democratic vote to block the legislation — a parlimentary tack that allows him to resurrect the measure at a later date.

Honestly, this worried me -- where's the mention of Steady Joe Lieberman? He hadn't lost his resolve on the war, had he?

Turns out he hasn't. Lieberman voted with the Republicans against cloture. So how did the AP get away with not mentioning Lieberman at all in the article? It's the little "I" next to his party identification. Lieberman's an Independent Democrat, not a Democrat, so no need to mention his continuing support for the war!