The House Vote on retreating from Iraq raised my eyebrows a bit today. The fact that 219 of 231 Democrats voted for it doesn’t surprise me (though it still saddens me). The fact that 191 of 201 Republicans voted against it doesn’t surprise me either. However, there were two teensy-weensy facts about it that caught my attention.
First, Cubin (R-Wy) decided to abstain. I don’t know if she was absent or actively sat on her thumbs, but she stayed off the record. I’ll keep the door open for the possibility that she had a family emergency or other worthy engagement that kept her from voting, but it would have been nice to have my former Representative voice an opinion on behalf of Wyoming.
Second, Duncan Jr. (R-Tn) decided to vote in favor. He has solid reasoning for wishing we had not gotten involved (mostly regarding dishonesty about our intentions), but this is a curious move. Late last year, he had sent a mailer that had very explicitly stated his logic on the Iraq situation. Summary: he didn’t like it at all, but he wouldn’t want to do anything to cause further harm to the troops or the country and would act on the present situation. It was a rather honorable dissension that the Democrats could have really learned from. I would really like to know why he voted for withdrawal, though. It seems to me that the greater risk of harm to the country comes from losing Iraq. I’ll give that he has better information than I do, but it’s really puzzling.
So, out of 10 Republicans not voting against it, I’m directly tied to two: one of four supporters, and one of six abstainers. Just my luck.
One final note: earlier this week, reports suggest that the Army is having trouble recruiting again. Do you possibly think that Congressional actions like this have any effect on the strength of our armed forces? If Congress wants to play games, I’ll bring my Parcheesi board over. It’s about their speed.
