Granite Status: Gregg, Reid step up war of words

This is an article about how Harry Reid actually is the one who stopped the debate about the war and not Republicans.

The following appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader:

 By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter

With the U.S. Senate at a standstill over non-binding Iraq resolutions, Democratic Presidential hopefuls are caught in the squeeze.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wanted Republicans to allow a simple majority vote on a Democratic-backed John Warner and Carl Levin proposal opposing a surge. But he required a 60-vote super-majority for Judd Gregg’s resolution opposing any cut in troop funding.

The Republicans refused to accept the tilted playing field, then blocked a vote on the Warner plan and the war of words was on.

“What this really comes down to is very simple,” Gregg said on the Senate floor yesterday. “This resolution would have received broad bipartisan support in this Senate,” and Reid didn’t want to appear to be backing President George Bush in any way, shape or form.

Gregg said that “rather than have a vote on our amendment, which would have received a large majority in this body — much larger than the proposal put forward as their proposal — they decided not to have a vote at all, and then they claimed that we were responsible for slowing the process. How inconsistent and indefensible is that statement? ‘I don’t have the votes; therefore, I will not allow a vote to happen, but it’s your fault that I’m not allowing the vote to happen.’ Really?”

Reid had called the GOP’s effort to force a vote on Gregg’s plan a “diversionary tactic” to avoid the real issue, Bush’s strategy in Iraq.