Are the Republicans worried about their decision to filibuster money for the troops? I think maybe they are. Their latest strategy smacks of desperation.
Senate Republicans suggested Friday that the White House might warm to a Democratic proposal to ramp up domestic spending if interim funding for the Iraq war is added to the package.
With new Iraq funding stalled and Democrats trying to find a middle ground in the ongoing battle with the White House over domestic spending, Republicans say piecing the two plans together could produce a bipartisan deal. But Democrats reacted coolly to the suggestion.
Jon Kyl of Arizona, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, predicted that Republicans would be willing to “talk about some things” if Democrats offer an omnibus appropriations bill free of “pork-barrel” spending with several months’ worth of Iraq war funding and no conditions attached.
There’s always the possibility that the Republicans are being insincere here. After all, their entire election strategy is predicated on creating gridlock in Washington.
Republicans, facing a difficult election year and bitter about their minority status, have chosen to make things as difficult as possible for Democrats. They have slowed the pace of business to a crawl, forced procedural votes at every opportunity and hammered away at nearly every Democratic initiative.
Republicans have taken to referring to a “broken Congress” and appear in no hurry to help repair it.
“Republicans sense they are going to have a tough time next year,” Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, said. “So any way they can stain Democrats and anything they can do to make this place look dysfunctional and blame everybody for it, they think that is going to help them.”
That strategy would certainly get blown up if they were to back down and sign a bunch of domestic appropriations in exchange for no-string-attached money for permawar in Iraq. If the Republicans are sincere, their still getting the back of the hand from Harry Reid.
The Republican offer, however, is making little headway within the Democratic Conference. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said his “thoughts on compromising domestic spending [are] somewhat laughable.”
Reid said the president just signed into law a $460 billion Pentagon funding bill that can supply enough war funding until the end of February or the middle of March. He criticized Republicans for blocking on Friday $50 billion in additional war funding that also included a goal of withdrawing troops from Iraq by December 2008.
“We offered him some more money. He refused that,” Reid said. “So if [Republicans] want to follow the president over the cliff, then they’re welcome to do that.”
In other words, Reid is telling the Republicans to pound sand. And, for now, that’s all I can ask.