Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 2, 2010 - Obama Audaciously Takes Credit For Iraq War After Dems Opposed Surge; Voted To Defund The Troops

The Senate will take up the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to HR 1586, a shell for Majority Leader Harry Reid’s substitute amendment featuring bailout money for teachers and states. Around 5:45 PM, a cloture vote on the motion to concur is scheduled. Later in the week, the Senate could return to the stalled small business bill (H.R. 5297)or Reid’s energy bill (S.3663).

Towards the end of the week, the Senate will take up the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (IN) today expresses concern about the effects of Washington Democrats’ planned tax hikes on American families and small businesses. With Americans looking for economic certainty and private sector job growth, Chairman Pence related that raising taxes on America’s job creators, small business, is the last thing our fragile economy needs. Rep. Pence also called call for stopping the Democrats’ job-killing tax increases.

Also today, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a member of the Finance Committee, held a special blogger conference call and discussed the negative impact on the economy of Democrats letting the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire. Sen. Hatch again echoed his comment on the Senate floor on Thursday, “In just over five months from now, on January 1st, a good share of America’s most prolific potential job creators – small businesses that generally employ between 20 and 500 workers – are going to face large tax increases unless Congress acts to stop them. The problem is that President Obama and many of his allies in Congress have already made it clear that they have no intention of stopping these increases.”

Of concern to conservative bloggers was the governments continued spending problem and the pending increases of taxes, especially inheritance taxes, which affects the heartland farmers and small business owners being able to keep their businesses in tact and passed on to their families. Also, several bloggers were very concerned about the Obama administration signaling a willingness to circumvent Congress on the issue of deciding who may legally reside in the United States by using department procedures to in grant "quasi-amnesty" to illegals. And, many bloggers expressed concerns about the pending Kagan vote being pushed forward by Senator Harry Reid before the scheduled recess. It is becoming more evident every day that Kagan has far too many issues to be confirmed to a life-time appointment as a Supreme Court justice.

Politico reports today, “President Barack Obama takes the first steps of a U.S. victory lap on the war in Iraq Monday. . . . In his speech the president … stress[ed] that the end of U.S. combat missions in Iraq on August 31 will mark a key ‘transition’ in the seven-year conflict, the onset of a phase dubbed Operation New Dawn.”  In his speech, Obama said, “As a candidate for President, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. And I made it clear that by August 31, 2010 America’s combat mission in Iraq would end. And that is exactly what we are doing—as promised, on schedule.” Praising veterans who served in Iraq, Obama said, “While our country has sometimes been divided, they have fought together as one. While other individuals and institutions have shirked responsibility, they have welcomed it.”

But who might the President be referring to when he talks of people who “have shirked responsibility”? Might that include the Democrats in Congress who opposed the surge in early 2007, and voted repeatedly to cut off funds to the troops? What about Reid declaring “This war is lost,” and bragging, “We are going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war… Senator Schumer has shown me numbers that are compelling and astounding.”

And what about Democrats who accused General David Petraeus, who was in charge of turning Iraq around and implementing the surge strategy, of “cooking the books” and “manipulating the statistics”? In March 2007, then-Sen. Joe Biden said on the Senate floor, “This is ridiculous. There is no plan. I ask the President and everyone else who comes forward with a plan, whether it is capping or surging or whatever they have: Will it answer the two-word test: Then what? … What happens after we surge these women and men? And by the way, he said General Petraeus is one who believes. He may be the only one who believes this is a good idea. Virtually no one else thinks it is a good idea.” Asked about Gen. Petraeus reporting progress in Iraq, Reid said in April 2007, “No, I don't believe him, because it's not happening.” In a speech, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) accused Gen. Petreaus of “carefully manipulating the statistics” about the surge. And Biden said, “There is some accuracy to’ so-called ‘cooking-the-books’ charges being leveled against Petraeus.”

For President Obama and his administration to now be claiming credit for the successful results of the surge that he and Vice President Biden voted against, and for him to complain of people who “shirked responsibility” when Senate Democrats voted to cut off funding, declared the war lost, and bragged about the political benefits of the war is particularly audacious. President Obama’s continuing of President Bush’s strategy of winding down combat operations deserves praise, but claiming the strategy as his own and ignoring how his party behaved during the surge clearly does not.

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Tags: US Senate, US House, Washington, democrat arrogance, Iraq war,  small business, jobs, job-killing, tax bill, unemployment, the economy, Elena Kagan, SCOTUS To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!