Senate Vertebra Count: 14

Today, Senate Democrats proposed a resolution calling for transition in Iraq to native control and the withdrawal of US troops. The proposal could be best described as "silly", as it demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of what is entailed in bringing about stability in the reborn nation. The President has rightly and repeatedly said that we will be there as long as it takes and no longer. The transition continues, but so do the terrorist attacks, and it is ridiculous to impose an arbitrary withdrawal of troops on the Commander in Chief. While he has bungled one domestic policy after another, the President is among the few who has shown an understanding that things are going about as one could have expected, and that it is far more dangerous to allow terrorists to dictate the timeframe for withdrawal than to see the mission through and ensure stability in the new and free Iraq.

While the defeat of the resolution was a plus, the Senate GOP, "led" by Bill Frist, immediately proposed another resolution that said, "2006 'should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq'." This is the Senate GOP's version of the Bewitched plan for Iraq: blink twice, nod your head, and it can all be over. The Administration wants to get out of Iraq as badly as any Senator. Fortunately, for all his faults, this President understands that finishing the job is more important than responding to MoveOn.org's plan for world happiness and warm fuzzies. The non-binding resolution is a political ploy, an attempt to create daylight between Senate Republicans and the White House. Rather than showing unity, Frist & Co. are cowtowing to the defeated left and doing serious damage to the Party and, more importantly, the country.

Fortunately, fourteen members of the Senate, including one Democrat, care more about winning the war than playing politics. These fourteen members voted against both resolutions, recognizing them for what they are, and instead are standing with the President in these difficult times. Perhaps the only cause for encouragement in this sad development is that six o the seven Republican freshmen were among the 14, a good sign for the future. Those with backbone are newly elected Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Kent Conrad (D-ND) Jim DeMint (R-SC), Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), John Thune (R-SD), and David Vitter (R-LA). Sen. Jon Kyl deserves special credit for being the only one in the bunch facing a tough reelection next year. To be sure, some of these Senators are frequent problems on several issues. Even so, they all deserve credit for standing behind the President and against a Bewitched foreign policy.