DO THEY REALLY MEAN IT? "Democrats Say They Won’t Back Down on War"

That's the headline in today's New York Times.

There are all kinds of quotes from various Dems in the article signifying that they are going to be relentless.

“We are going to keep plugging away,” said Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

“There is a lot of unease and disappointment,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who is running for president. “The perception is that we are not leading on this issue. I get it every single day, wherever I go.”

But Mr. Murtha, one of the most respected voices on military affairs, said Democrats would not relent in their effort to pull out the troops.

“For two years I have publicly fought for the redeployment of our troops from Iraq,” he said. “Congressional Democrats will not stop championing the will of the American people until our troops come home.”

big words, but is there a bigger meaning?

The Republicans, on the other hand, are retorting with their usual stand:

“The commander in chief is the guy in charge of running a war, and they can’t affect that,” said Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida. “And they are not going to get the votes to do what they are trying to do, so I don’t see why they continue.”

Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, echoed his party’s contention that Congress should not interfere with the making of progress in Iraq. “The American people, I think, would rather have General Petraeus running the war than members of Congress,” he said, referring to Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq. “He has proven his strategy is working.”

The GOP is making one additional push against what they perceive as a purely political strategy by the Dems:

“The Democrats have been pursuing a very political agenda, rather than a get-things-done kind of agenda,” Mr. Martinez said, adding that the vote on Iraq last Friday was “designed to satisfy Moveon.org,” in a reference to the liberal, antiwar group.

Well, I do declare, Miss Scarlett. Isn't that what the GOP has been doing for the last several years? Aren't they the ones who were touting a "Republican" government forever? A major fear of the Founding Fathers was not just monarchy but also a terror of the majority. Mr. Rove made comments over and over about a permanent Republican government.

My, my, how times change...

So, the Dems are keeping up the rhetoric that they mean business. I've done two previous posts on this: what would happen if the Dems were to do what they say? and then an UPDATE. But just a couple of days isn't proof in the pudding...

i want to see this continuing when the money runs out that the Pentagon has. i want to see the Dems sticking to their guns to use a well-worn cliché. i want to see, ultimately, the process of government forced back into use, where the Tsar and his minions start talking to the Dems about compromise. not threatening and throwing tantrums that it's their way or the highway.

talk is cheap. action speaks a thousand times louder.

hhhmmmmmm? i wonder, if any Dems are reading this, that they got the point that i used all the italicized clichés in a cynical/sarcastic way?

just asking...