Norm Coleman: Devoid of Leadership
Senator Coleman Announces He Will Ignore the Vast Majority of Minnesotans and Once Again Vote to Enable President Bush to Prosecute Endless War in Iraq
St. Paul, MN - With the war in Iraq well into its 5th year and as U.S. forces continue to suffer tragic consequences there policing an endless civil war, Americans United for Change sharply condemned U.S. Senator Norm Coleman for his July 12 declaration that he will ignore the will of the vast majority of Minnesotans and oppose meaningful efforts in Congress to begin the safe and responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops out of harm's way in Iraq. Senator Coleman instead indicated that he may support a toothless, non-binding bill (S. 1545/HR 2574) that does absolutely nothing to change course in Iraq, but rather simply asks the President to consider recommendations similar to those issued by the Iraq Study Group (ISG).
Senator Coleman's weak-kneed, political posturing in calling for change of course in Iraq while simultaneously condemning meaningful efforts to do so, comes as three other Republican Senators -- Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska -- have signed onto a binding timeline to end the war in Iraq. All three Republican Senators are co-sponsors of the Levin-Reed amendment (S AMD 2087) to the Defense Authorization bill that requires troop withdrawals to begin 120 days after enactment of the bill, with most troops out by April 30, 2008.
"Make no mistake: by opposing the Levin-Reed amendment to safely and responsibly bring our troops home out of the crosshairs of this bloody civil war in Iraq, Senator Coleman is still very much in line with Bush's failed ‘stay the course' policy of endless war," said Donald McFarland, MN Director of Americans United For Change. "Despite the incredible amount of lip service Norm Coleman has paid to changing course in Iraq for the newspapers back home, the Senator is only enabling the President to continue failing by opposing binding legislation to bring our troops home or hiding behind toothless, non-binding resolutions that do nothing."
"More than seven in 10 Americans favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by April, and so the Senator is in for a rude shock if he thinks he can fool the people of Minnesota by backing a completely toothless, non-binding bill that does nothing to change course in Iraq and does nothing to safely bring our troops home. It's a question of leadership when Senator Coleman displays time and again a gross inability to stand up to this President when he's wrong. If Senator Coleman is serious about changing course in Iraq, he will join his Republican Colleagues Senators Snowe, Hagel and Smith in voting for the Levin-Reed timeline to end the war safely and responsibly. If he doesn't, we'll work very hard to make sure no one in Minnesota forgets it."
Senator Coleman's hugely unpopular announcement of opposition to ending the war in Iraq comes on the heels of: 1) news this week the Bush Administration met zero of its 18 benchmarks for progress in Iraq 2) a full six months after the President announced the "surge" plan, nearly 600 more American soldiers have died in Iraq, and $60 billion more has been spent; 3) More than seven in 10 Americans favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by April, according to a new nationwide poll; 4) the bombshell OP-ED in Wednesday's Washington Post from Stephen Biddle, Gen. Petreaus' confidant and security advisor, that "The surge is a long-shot gamble."; and 5) the shocking news yesterday in USA Today that "A previously undisclosed Army investigation into a January attack in Karbala that killed five U.S. soldiers concludes that Iraqi police, working alongside American troops, colluded with insurgents." [USA Today 7/11/07 ]
Americans United for Change - a leading partner in the national coalition Americans Against Escalation in Iraq -- unveiled an aggressive, six-figure TV ad campaign this week in the Twin Cities, Minnesota media market calling on Senator Norm Coleman to vote to bring the war in Iraq to a safe and responsible end. The ad blitz is timed coincide with debate in the U.S. Senate on the Defense Authorization bill and votes on several amendments to wind down the war in Iraq, including Levin-Reed (S AMD 2087). The ad release was also the first major action of the Minnesota chapter of "Iraq Summer" -- a new nationwide campaign organized by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which has dispatched nearly 100 organizers to the home states and districts of Republican Senators and Representatives who have opposed setting a timeline to end the war in Iraq.
Click Here to View ‘Still'
Ad Script | Back-up Materials
Americans United for Change is a non-profit, issue-advocacy organization best known for leading the fight to defeat the President's disastrous Social Security privatization proposal back in 2005 and is now a leading force in the effort to bring a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq.
-30-