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Levin-Reed Amendment Defines the Democratic Party

(Arlington County Democratic Committee)

Report from the Chairman

Peter Rousselot

As this column goes to press, the Democrats in Congress are seeking an up or down vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment on U.S. policy in Iraq. Recognizing that they don’t have 51 votes to defeat this amendment, the Republicans are seeking to filibuster it because the Democrats don’t appear to have 60 votes to cut off debate and force an up or down vote. The failure of so-called “moderate” Republicans like John Warner of Virginia to support Levin-Reed underscores the right wing extremism of Republicans nationally and in Virginia, and demonstrates why we should be working at every electoral level: local, state, and national to elect more Democrats and oust the Republicans from leadership.

In introducing the amendment, Senator Levin (D-MI) stated: “Our current open-ended policy is counterproductive and unsustainable. The Administration’s policy of ‘we’ll be there for as long as Iraq needs us’ will result in Iraqis depending on us longer. Three and a half years into the conflict, we should tell the Iraqis that the American security blanket is not permanent. Beginning a phased redeployment this year will add incentives for the Iraqis to make the hard compromises necessary to bring their country together and secure it. They need to do that job themselves and our amendment is one way to prod them to make that commitment and stick to it.”

Although he has some reservations about it not going far enough, Senator Webb supports Levin-Reed. Webb notes: “The strength of this amendment is that it mandates a turn-around in our current operational policy. It would be wrong to call the ‘surge’ a strategy. *** [The surge] is simply one more in a long line of operational experiments that have kept our military forces in the middle of a problem that, in the end, will only be resolved by the Iraqis themselves”.  

There is no point in waiting until September or October or January for further progress reports on the so-called surge because the surge cannot succeed without a political solution in Iraq, and only the Iraqis can achieve a political solution. Moreover, the risk that the Iraqis will fail to achieve a political solution is a risk we simply have to assume because the risks of “staying the course” are infinitely greater. Republicans like John Warner are pursuing a policy designed to provide cover for George Bush and the Republican Party at the expense of American lives, money, and national security. The debate and vote on Levin-Reed has exposed these motives in very stark terms.

John Warner and George Bush are doing all that they can to raise money to keep the Republicans in control of the Virginia legislature. The Republicans in Washington and Richmond are tied together by ideology, money, and a tight web of special interest support. If you oppose the stands that John Warner and George Bush are taking on Levin-Reed and on the Iraq war, rest assured that there is something you can do---even though you personally cannot vote on Levin-Reed. You can join Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Mary Margaret Whipple, Brian Moran and other Democratic leaders here in Virginia to help reclaim Democratic majorities in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates.

As I urged last month, please support our ACDC 21/51 Committee’s activities to reclaim Democratic majorities in the VA Virginia legislature. The URL for our 21/51 Committee is at www.2151virginia.org. Sign up and you choose how and where you’d like to help. Also, check out the newly-launched “Community News” online newsletter for updates on 21/51 activities.