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Republicans Hand Down Order on Debating Iraq: "Don't Mention, You Know, Iraq"

The House of Representatives has begun debating the Democrats' Iraq War resolution that expresses disapproval of the president's troop increase. Republican leadership has handed down an edict on how all good GOPers are to behave.

We know this because Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) office somehow got a letter from Reps. John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) to their Republican colleages entitled "Iraq Resolution Debate, Their Terms or Ours?" I've excerpted below. Via ThinkProgress:

"The debate should not be about the surge or its details. This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."

"Rather, the debate must be about the global threat of the radical Islamic movement."

There's more on this "global threat" -- enough to make Muslims around the world think we're fighting a war against them, even -- and a jab at the "liberal mainstream media." Read the full letter in pdf format here.

Update: Democratic talking points here.

Comments

"If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."

If the prossecuting attorney is not allowed to present the evidence then the guilty go free.

The Republicans are absolutely correct with one little footnote, they already lost. It's too late now for a miracle.

They're desperately seeking a source for a credible nuclear attack on us, Russia? That's obviously calculated to reopen old wounds that can only happen in the old wounded. We need to be allied with Russia in the global war on terror. It looks an awful lot like a masterpiece of failed diplomacy. Name a worse one in the country's history.

Posted by: grunt on 02/14/07 at 9:36 AM

"If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose. Rather, the debate must be about the global threat of the radical Islamic movement."

Do you ever get the feeling that there's a lot of Republicans up there on the Hill with their fingers jammed into their ears? It's as if they believe that if they ignore the conversation on the other side of the aisle, they can pretend that conversation never took place? This ostrich mentality has already proven incredibly reckless, so much so that I think their heads are stuck in a much darker and smellier place than the sand.

Trust us, there are WMD in Iraq.
Trust us, there is no global warming.
Trust us, the troop surge is the path to victory.

What's the old saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. To quote Peter Townshend of The Who, I "won't get fooled again"!

Posted by: Deacon on 02/14/07 at 11:46 AM

The Republican party is a mess at the moment..

Posted by: Ames Tiedeman on 02/14/07 at 3:06 PM

Exactly, don't mention Iraq. Smart tactic -- that is, if we were a nation full of time people. And we are not.

Actually, there is one Republican that is talking substantively about Iraq. Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas, completely tore apart Bush's Iraq argument on the House floor. Here is the video...very good stuff.
http://www.thebluestate.com/2007/02/video_texas_rep.html

Oops...he mentioned Iraq. Better start smearing him then.

Posted by: Todd on 02/14/07 at 4:28 PM