My War Will Go On

David Weigel | May 22, 2007

The Democratic Congress is ducking a fight over Iraq withdrawal and working on a watered-down war funding bill.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will present a plan to House Democrats for a war funding bill that won't include a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq but will feature benchmarks with consequences, according to Democratic leadership aides.

The bill also would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour from $5.15 per hour, and fund other domestic spending programs, which were still being negotiated.

... Leadership aides said the benchmarks would be tied to Iraq reconstruction aid and would require President Bush to present to Congress 18 reports before August.

Great plan: The White House may not answer the subpoenas coming out of Congress, but it'll surely file 18 timely reports.

Over at RedState, Mark I (not be confused with Deep Purple Mark I, the soulful artists who gave the world "Hush") is ready to declare victory over the real enemies: Nancy Pelosi, anonymous Democratic sources, and some birds.