Curt Weldon: Unbound

The Times Herald has an article about how Republicans like Weldon, "desperate to hold onto his seat", are talking about time tables in Iraq.

Weldon, with 10 two-year terms behind him in the House, is preparing to submit a nonbinding resolution that would say Bush should take a troop-return approach based on success milestones under criteria determined by military officers.

A nonbinding resolution? Gee, Curt, what a chicken-sh*t hawk move that is.

1. A nonbinding resolution is the Congressional equivalent of taking your sister to the prom. This can only fool people that don't know your sister and aren't suspicious about the lack of dancing and kissing.
   This is a strickly "for show" move by Weldon that has no actual effect whether it passes or not.
   
   
2. Is Curt really going to trust the pull-out decision to military commanders that have stopped wasting their time looking for the WMDs that Weldon still thinks are there?
   Curt, don't cut-and-run from your WMD fantasies! Change your resolution to prevent the troops from pulling out until they find Saddam's non-existence WMD arsenal.
   
   
3. For the past 3 years of the war in Iraq, Bush and Rumsfeld have ignored military requests for more troops. They have disengenuously claimed that if the commanders ask for more troops, they will get them. In reality, they have made it clear that any commanders that contradict Administration policy by asking for more troops will find a short end to their careers.
   So, even if Weldon's resolution was put into effect, Bush and Rummy still hold the careers of the commanders by the short-hairs.
   
   
4. If this were actually a real bill, does Weldon think that a President who overreaches his Constitution authority would sign something that took away his control over his supposed strategy in Iraq?
   I think we need a bill requiring authors of pin-head resolutions like this to pass a drug test first.
   

And the Weldon campaign response:

Weldon's press secretary said his proposal goes beyond that and depoliticizes the timing for withdrawals by placing it in the hands of military commanders.
"This calls on the president to be more clear about something that's already being done. This calls on the president to explain more clearly to the American people something that constituents in the congressman's district and people and citizens across the country have been talking about. That is, what is our plan? When will this end?" said John Tomaszewski, the press secretary.

- It politicizes it more by making it for show instead of a real bill.
- Weldon has criticized the opinion of military Veterans like Joe Sestak and John Murtha when they talk about when to pull out troops. So, which is it Curt: do you want or not want the opinion of those that have served?
- How does this call for the President to be more clear? Doesn't it merely attempt to shift the responsibilty from the President who proudly caused the problems?
- Um, the reason that the constituents in the congressman's district are talking about it is because Setak is talking about it and the voters agree with Sestak.
- "That is, what is our plan? When will this end?" Gee, Curt, maybe these are questions Congress should be asking Rumsfeld UNDER OATH!!

I guess we'll have to wait until Dems control congress to get some answers.

My prediction: Weldon's "Resolution for the Unbound" will go over like a lead balloon.