Partisan Pentagon meeting
I wasn't going to blog this but I happened to catch the entire segment on the repeat of this Chris Matthews' show and Andrea Mitchell's comment seemed even bigger a bombshell having heard it in context.
Really. Shouldn't the good general be briefing both parties on progress? I mean is this a war or an election? And if the Republicans already have their own deadline, what the hell is all the posturing about? Why didn't they pass a bi-partisan bill already that stipulates a benchmark for the surge in order to get continued funding?
Meanwhile, with so much left unsaid about real events, I was appalled that these "serious" pundits spent the last two minutes of the show discussing Bill Clinton's television viewing habits, complete with I love Lucy clips -- one of which featured Lucy getting a spanking. Don't these people know we're at war?
Update: New developments. Latest post here.
[thanks to The Blog Report for the link]
MITCHELL: The Republicans were against the surge but they felt it was fait accompli, and that they were willing to give Petraeus until August. He told them there will be real progress by August. They have told him at a caucus meeting as very, very recently, that if there isn’t progress by August — and real progress means not a day of violence and a day of sanity — that they will pull the plug.Booman Tribune voiced my first thought and goes to make a few well founded objections.
I think it is inappropriate for the commanding general in Iraq to meet privately with the Republican caucus to plot a legislative strategy for dealing with the Democrats. And that is what it appears Mitchell was reporting.
Really. Shouldn't the good general be briefing both parties on progress? I mean is this a war or an election? And if the Republicans already have their own deadline, what the hell is all the posturing about? Why didn't they pass a bi-partisan bill already that stipulates a benchmark for the surge in order to get continued funding?
Meanwhile, with so much left unsaid about real events, I was appalled that these "serious" pundits spent the last two minutes of the show discussing Bill Clinton's television viewing habits, complete with I love Lucy clips -- one of which featured Lucy getting a spanking. Don't these people know we're at war?
Update: New developments. Latest post here.
[thanks to The Blog Report for the link]
posted by Libby Spencer at 10:48 PM
8 Comments:
Yeah. I heard an explosion, too.
Of course we all knew--especially after the Ted Westhusing story was "buried"--that Petraeus is a BushCo operative.
That's why he got the job after Casey "retired."
But I am having a hard time accepting the fact that he would meet with one party's political caucus to the exclusion of the other.
He was appointed by Gates and Pace, who answer to the Congress, not BushCo or the RNC.
It borders on insurrection.
Libby,
Actually, the Democrats may have chosen not to meet with Petraeus.
If true, Petraeus didn't choose his audience, they chose him.
I have a feeling there's more than one Westhusing buried in the closet Liberal Elite. In years to come we'll hear many more ugly stories.
But this is beyond the pale for me. Talk about politicizing the government.
Joe, thanks for widening the perspective but offering me an inside tip from Redstate is sort of like me offering you an unconfirmed inside tip from Kos. They may well be true but hardly can be considered non-partisan and really need a second reference for full belief.
Nonetheless, if it's true, I'd apologize but I haven't any inkling in the mainstream about this at all.
I thought of that as well, Libby -- and to tell you the truth, it's something I'd like to clear up. Maybe when I have time this evening I'll dig around to see it there is any MSM confirmation on this.
No apology necessary even if I find some...I trust you implicitly not to have posted this item maliciously. Booman's a pretty big site, after all.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Joe. I do have to point out that the talking heads were clearly discussing the meeting on Chris Matthews show. Andrea Mitchell was vehement on the point that the GOP has given the General a deadline. If you watch the video - she was dead serious.
Even Mitchell reversed her story today:
MITCHELL: Well, it‘s a good thing you bring that out. He‘s been telling senators—he had, in fact, a closed-circuit briefing for the senators, Democrats as well as Republicans, and he is telling them that he will report some progress, that he hopes to be able to report some progress by August. And in turn, what many Republican senators are saying, Chris, is that if there isn‘t real progress by the end of the summer, that‘s when there are going to really break with the president, that they‘re going along with this surge out of respect for the generals. But in his closed briefing—they went over to the Pentagon and had that briefing, Democrats as well as Republican senators,, and he made it clear to them that he thinks he can report some progress.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17928859/
Too bad the retraction won't be nearly as big a story as the original lie.
Munsey - If you see the update on the post, I corrected the record. I didn't notice that Redstate or James corrected theirs that the Dems refused to show up though.
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