In a race that has seen some Republican contenders deploy monikers like “full scale conservative,” “Reagan conservative,” and “real conservative” to describe the belief systems that they will run on, it is clear that presumptive nominee John McCain wants the Republican base to know that he is Bush’s Boy. He’s standing closer to Bush than ever before, most notably in support of the escalation of the Iraq war, appropriately dubbed the McCain Doctrine by John Edwards.

Yesterday McCain carried Bush’s water and attacked Democrats and Republicans (like Sam Brownback and Chuck Hagel) who are seeking to condemn the Iraq war escalation through a non-binding resolution of the Senate.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to say that you disapprove of a mission and you don’t want to fund it and you don’t want it to go, but yet you don’t take the action necessary to prevent it,” said McCain, top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a 2008 presidential candidate from Arizona.
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“I do believe that if you really believe that this is doomed to failure and is going to cost American lives, then you should do what’s necessary to prevent it from happening rather than a [nonbinding] vote of “disapproval,’ ” McCain said.

“This is a vote of no confidence in both the mission and the troops who are going over there,” he said, noting the proposal does not seek to cut off money for troops.

McCain is daring the Democrats to push legislation that actually stops the legislation. On the one hand, accusing Democrats of being intellectually inconsistent denies them the coming victory of strengthening the majority caucus of senators who oppose escalation with a number of key Republicans. McCain wants to make the rejection of his vision for Iraq by his colleagues in the senate a victory for Bush by invalidating the opposition.

Yet McCain can only do that by legitimizing what will surely come next – full-blown legislation limiting the scope of the Iraq war and defining the conditions by which Congress will assume control over combat. When the majority of the senate decides that their non-binding resolution has to be followed up with something with teeth after the escalation has failed to bring violence in Iraq under control, McCain’s words will serve as justification for Democrats to stop the war.

By trying to cover Bush’s ass at every turn, McCain has created a huge opening for Democrats to oppose the war in coming months. When legislation is introduced to “do what’s necessary to prevent” more American lives from being lost, McCain’s statements yesterday will provide license for the movement from non-binding to binding resolutions on the war.

Where will McCain be then? In the intellectually dishonest position of claiming that anti-war senators have acted irresponsibly by trying to legislate what they believe is necessary to save American lives.

Technorati Tags: Iraq, John McCain

Posted by Matt Browner Hamlin
Monday, February 5, 2007 at 10:57 am

1 Response to “Bush’s Boy Blasts Escalation Opponents, But Justifies Anti-War Legislation”

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