Profiles in Courage, 2007

Senate Republicans again squashed hopes for any discussion of the Iraq war in that chamber. Sure, it was a non-binding resolution that would've forced nothing whatsoever on the Prez and his beloved escalation, but the Republican filibuster reveals that party's true fear of addressing any aspect of the Iraq situation at all. The non-binding resolution passed the House on Friday, so they're on record (for what that's worth) against the surge. That thumbs down provides a greater contrast to the Senate Republicans' discomfort in even allowing the subject to come up.

Harry Reid said, "The Senate is not done with this issue," and although he promised that the non-binding resolution wouldn't come up again, he didn't say just what the next move would be. He could do worse than to take John Averosis's advice to put the Prez's actual plan forward for an up-or-down vote. No one could have an excuse to filibuster, because then they'd be preventing potential support for the Prez. There's no need to insist on any other resolutions, because this one lets the Senate focus on the unadorned issue. And this also gets the Senate, particularly those Republicans who are up for reelection in next year, on the record one way or another. And it also doesn't force what many see as the awkward issue of cutting back funding for the troops. They'll have to face that down at some point, but there's no reason to let it get in the way of a straight yes-or-no vote on sending more troops to Iraq.