Floodgates

With Rep. Murtha's recent resolution to redeploy out of Iraq, while keeping troops on the immediate horizon wasn't voted on, the Republicans played a trick on the American public by introducing their own bill. Here is Rep. Murtha's:

Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That:

Section 1. The deployment of United States Forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.

Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

Now here is what GOP leadership did to it:

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

I believe the GOP bastardized the resolution to shut off all debate on the war in Iraq. They pulled this stunt so they could say "Murtha didn't even vote for his own resolution." I just hope the American public will research this bill and see how the GOP bastardized this great show of leadership by Rep. Murtha. They also pushed the resolution through without much debate, at least the debate that such a resolution deserves. I hope the debate will rage on in Congress as well as in America on John Murtha's show of courage in defying this administration's "stay the course" rhetoric. By the looks of things, America is sick of staying the course.