Eleven House Republicans met with Bush and his senior aides in the White House on Tuesday for an “unvarnished” conversation about Iraq. If the leaks from the meeting are accurate, the GOP lawmakers warned the president that his war policy is putting the future of the Republican Party at risk.
Of course, 11 possible GOP defectors aren’t enough to scare the Bush gang. Even if this delegation bucked the party and started voting with the Dems — which, we should remember, they haven’t — that’s not enough to change the policy. The House will still need a two-thirds majority to override a veto, as will the Senate. When 60 Republicans from the House and 15 from the Senate show up on Bush’s doorstep, then the White House will start taking them seriously.
Depending on the source, larger numbers may very well be on the way.
Last week, a group of 11 congressional Republicans met with President Bush to express their frustration with the state of the Iraq war, pleading with Bush to change his unpopular Iraq policy.
Today, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said, “The 11 House Republicans who went to see him speak for more than just 11 House Republicans. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Hagel said that president “may find himself standing alone sometime this fall,” noting that several conservatives are beginning to back “trap doors and exit signs” to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
I’d add that Michael Abramowitz reported today that a conservative House Republican with close ties to the leaders said the concerns voiced by the 11 have become common throughout the caucus. “That wasn’t the Tuesday Group speaking,” he said, referring to an organization of moderate GOP legislators. “No, that’s the Republican sentiment.”
Maybe. For all the Republican hand wringing, a grand total of four GOP lawmakers — two in the House (Gilchrest, W. Jones), two in the Senate (Hagel, Smith) — have been willing to put their votes where their mouths are. When the number reaches, say, double digits, it’ll be far more impressive.
