Bailing Out

There's much tut-tutting in the media about various Republicans "bailing out" of supporting the Preznit in his great Iraq adventure. The latest to use this gambit is Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). I don't buy it.

As I have written in other posts and many other bloggers have pointed out, these calls for "redeployment" or a "change in strategy" don't mean a thing. The Republicans have only begun to split from Bush on the escalation issue, not on occupying Iraq or permanent bases. Plus, as Atrios points out, having a press conference with a change-in-strategy call is pure grandstanding and meaningless. Republicans are bleeding due to the boy king and are trying to stop the flow with band aides. Unfortunately, it's likely an arterial gush which may require something a but more substantive.

When Republicans get behind legislation, and vote for a Democratically sponsored bill to remove the troops from Iraq, then it'll mean something. Until then, they're just trying to wiggle out of a noose with as little commitment as possible. It may have entertainment value, but not much more than an old rerun of Laverne and Shirley.