Senate Democrats made Republicans stand, talk and sit for marathon arguments against the protracted war in Iraq in an all-night session where the most eye-catching props were the beds brought in for the sleepy.
Republicans, indeed, responded with a yawn — agreeing to stay around as Tuesday turned to today and respond to any votes that might be scheduled even though they remained steadfast in their opposition to the Democrats' anti-war legislation.
Senate's all-nighter on Iraq draws mostly yawns
Typical AP narrative, isn't it? Democrats being unreasonable and Republicans "steadfast" in defending a ludicrous occupation of a country that long ago tired of our presence.
Reuters adds:
As the night wore on, Democratic aides delivered packages of toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant to fellow Republican aides with an attached note: "A few supplies for your sleepless night. Help us bring an end to the war."
Democrats make all-night push for change in Iraq
Apparently, the leaked NIE hasn't helped the Republicans' cause as much as they'd hoped:
Democrats seized on the report as evidence that the more than $400 billion spent by the United States on the Iraq war has done little to improve national security. They have urged the Bush administration to refocus efforts at undermining al Qaeda in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other regions.
Democrats make all-night push for change in Iraq
Supposedly, there are Republicans on the fence on this issue. whom Greg Sargent has dubbed Waverers In Name Only, WINOs for short. Sometimes acronyms really are appropriate. These guys can't quit the stuff that is killing them.
"This is nonsense," said Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
Added Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., of his Democratic colleagues: "I bet I can stay up longer than they can."
Senate's all-nighter on Iraq draws mostly yawns
Stevens and Coburn don't seem to expend much energy on being conscious, so they can probably outlast most folks their age. No word on how that actually worked out, though.
Sargent pegged the Republican strategy today, which is basically to take advantage of the short attention spans of many voters:
As noted earlier, the WINO caucus -- Waverers In Name Only -- is home to all the GOP Senators who are said by the press to be "wavering" in their support of Bush's policies but keep opposing legislative measures that would actually change those policies. These WINO caucus Senators are just voicing doubts about Bush in order to appease their worried constituents and dupe the public into thinking that the Republicans are serious about forcing Bush to change course, when they're not prepared to do anything that would actually bring this about in the real world.
Lugar, Domenici Will Oppose Withdrawal Bill, Keeping Them In GOP WINO Caucus
In addition to Lugar and Domenici, Susan Collins, and George Voinovich are all part of the WINO caucus, with all save Collins seemingly determined to stay there.
Meanwhile, Senator Richard Durbin has compiled a list of wavering Republican Senators. If you happen to be a constituent of one of them, please call or e-mail them to tell them you don't appreciate their efforts so far, and that maybe it's time for a change in direction.
Of course, if you're not in one of those states, but have a Republican Senator anyway, feel free to let them know how you feel. They need to be reminded whose country it is every once in a while. If your Senator is a Democrat, Firedoglake has toll free numbers you can use to say thank you.
UPDATE: (11:45AM EDT) Apparently, Republicans have blocked a vote on the Levin-Reed bill. No word on what's next. I saw this on Taylor's site. No word on what's going to happen next.
UPDATE 2 (11:55AM EDT): Perhaps Sen. Collins has had a change of heart. CSPAN1 is reporting that she voted to "advance" the bill, which would mean that she was voting for cloture.
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