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by David Lightman
Connecticut Republican Chris Shays, one of the nation's most vulnerable Republican congressmen, found himself a bipartisan hero Thursday--and a target of Democrats the next day.
He had gotten a big win Thursday when House Democrats and Republicans joined to overwhelmingly approve his plan to bring back the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.
But Friday was another day.
"Chris Shays has done nothing but thump his chest, talking about his 17 trips to Iraq and how he knows more than anyone, including the Iraq Study Group," complained Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org., a group chaired by 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark.
Americans United for Change, which is usually identified with Democratic causes, also chimed in.
"Slick Chris Shays, a politician known for contorted positions and weak-kneed sleight-of-hand when it comes to controversial issues, showed what a true hypocrite he is yesterday," it said in a statement.
What's going on here is this: Shays is considered one of the nation's more vulnerable GOP incumbents, since he is the only Republican member of the House from New England. And he's been an adamant backer of the Iraq war.
The two groups' major complaint is that Shays has effectively rejected the Iraq Study Group's December 2006 recommendation on pulling U.S. troops out of that country. Shays said Friday he was being consistent in his views.
Shays is not opposed to timelines or benchmarks but sees them as the responsibility of the president, not the U.S. Congress, and has voted against legislative efforts to set dates for redeployment.
Anyway, he said, what's wrong with a bipartisan commission looking into the matter? "Why not have an independent group come in and look at this? Why not have them come back a year later?" he asked.
Comments
You don't need to bring back the Iraq War Study Group and spend more and more tax-payer money that you don't have. Why don't you just listen to the FIRST Iraq study group that told you to GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ!
Posted by: Mrs. Jesus | June 23, 2007 11:35 AM
Poor Chris Shays. Being forced to suffer the consequence of being a rubber stamp Republic. Well, he won't have to worry about any more study groups after November of next year when he gets booted out of Congress.
Posted by: weinerdog43 | June 23, 2007 7:23 PM
Pretty soon, New England will get rid of its last Republican and the Democrats will have complete control. We here in Strogerland know how wonderful that is.
Posted by: S. Sherman | June 23, 2007 9:28 PM
"Why not have an independent group come in and look at this? Why not have them come back a year later?"
Why didn't we have one at the start of this war? Why was one only appointed exactly three years into it to come out with an assessment at the end of that year? Only to have its findings bounced around before getting to a point four years into "stay the course" that a "new approach was needed." The lack of timing, foresight, and planning leaving room for flexibility is, to say the least, a disappointment. As for Shays, I leave him the benefit of the doubt since it would be independent in the name of progress assessment. BUT, I can't help to think proponents of "having another look" usually fall into two categories. One- genuinely interested in progress, or two- the answer they got the first time isn't the one they want to hear.
Posted by: AR | June 23, 2007 11:27 PM
Why doesn't everyone in the Senate and House just shutup. The military needs to run the war and quit being politically correct so they can fight the war. Instead, they are worried about what the politicans in Washington are going to say. Congress authorized the war and the war continues unitl its finished. Just like a football game, you don't say all the points on the scoreboard don't look goo, so let's stop the game in the middle. This country needs to get some guts to finish this war on terrorism which INCLUDES Irag.
Posted by: R.Line | June 24, 2007 5:01 AM
R. Line,
Congressmen have not just a right but an obligation to speak up and represent us when something (including war) isn't being done correctly and/or what we THE PEOPLE want done.
There is no winning the so-called war on terror. Terror(ism) is a tactic.
The Iraqis are in the middle of a multi-faceted civil war. Our presence is making things worse and is getting a lot more of us and them killed for no good reason.
The remedy in Iraq is a political one and one that only they can bring about.
The time is long past due for us to leave that country.
Posted by: Doug Zook | June 24, 2007 8:39 AM
S. Sherman,
Yeah, let's get rid of that Mitt Romney guy. A real 'Taxachussetts liberal'.
Posted by: C.Morris | June 25, 2007 8:49 PM