Thursday Roundup: Iraq Steps Up

The American people disagree with the war. The Baker Commission disagrees with the war. Retired generals disagree with the war. The British are no longer even willing to acknowledge that this is a war in the first place. Yet George W. continues to insist on putting more effort into a failed cause and sending more troops into harm's way. Is there anyone he'll listen to?

How about the Iraqi parliament?

The Politico has the story (sadly but understandably scant on bill details and heavy on U.S. reactions) on the bill currently in the Iraqi parliament "asking U.S. forces to leave." Apparently, a majority of parliament members have pledged support for the bill. And every American politician that gave the Politico a quote stated that if the Iraqi parliament requested that the U.S. leave, the effect would be "tremendous." Considering that the only effect that would be seen as "tremendous" would be a troop withdrawal, I do wish someone had gotten a quote on the subject from the White House — whose representatives were conspicuously absent from the Politico's quote smorgasbord. I doubt they'll stay silent long, however.

The Times has a biographical story on James B. Comey, following up on yesterday's news of his candid Senate hearing Tuesday. Josh covered that in yesterday's roundup, but if you haven't already, you should see the video of the testimony (from PoliticsTV, through Texas Kaos — nice catch, guys!). Seriously, go see it — I don't hold any pretenses as to Jim Comey being a saint, but the story he told was absolutely riveting.

Ever heard of a Z visa? No? That's because it doesn't exist — yet. But it's one part of a tentative Senate deal brokered by Senators Ed Kennedy and Jon Kyl that might actually give the immigration reform push some momentum. The plan would include not only Z visas, which would allow undocumented immigrants to live and work lawfully in the U.S. after passing a criminal background check and paying a $5000 fine, but also a temporary-worker program for 400,000 migrants a year, 18,000 more Border Patrol agents, border fencing, and a computerized employee-verification system. WaPo's quote from Senator Kennedy: "This is not the architecture of an immigration bill that I would have initially liked to see, but we're not dealing with that. This is a legislative process." And apparently quite a messy one. Take a look at the article and see if you can wrap your head around all the caveats and quid pro quos on this one.

The Texas legislature is, of course, no less contentious. The Statesman is taking the opportunity to have a little fun with it, as can be seen from the lede on their story on Dewhurst's nasty letter in response to the Democratic blockade on the Voter ID bill:

Nearly three hours into a 45-minute Senate recess, Lt. Gov David Dewhurst said that he was shocked - SHOCKED - to learn that a letter on the Voter ID bill with his name on it had made it into the hands of the press.

Your winnings, Mr. Dewhurst — oh, wait, it doesn't seem like you have any. That was possibly even funnier than their piece called "Lt. Gov. to Public: 'My Bad'." Dewhurst: comedic fodder for news writers everywhere. Don't let Josh know — he'll get his writing yuks all up on that.

The Dallas Morning News takes a more serious approach in pointing out that despite the fact that Republicans are spending their time eating their young on the Lege floor, they could actually get something productive done if they get their act together. The House and Senate have both passed different versions of legislation requiring record votes at certain steps in the legislative process, though the Senate's version is far more sweeping than the House's. The bills are both sponsored by Republicans, but hey — I'm a big fan of transparency, no matter how I get it. It seems very possible that a compromise on this could reasonably be reached, if members are willing to put enough time into it. I'm not holding my breath, but I am crossing my fingers.

And finally today, the U.S. Border Patrol, which has understandably been looking for new avenues of recruitment, has what the Washington Times calls an "ambitious hiring plan:" they are the newest sponsors of Jay Robinson Racing's No. 28 Chevy for the rest of the NASCAR season. I couldn't make this stuff up, folks. I have to admit, though, that after my initial chuckle, it didn't strike me as such a bad idea. Recruiters will be at those races looking for interested candidates for the positions, which start at $35,000/year with benefits. As the article points out, the NASCAR crowd is a proven demographic for this sort of thing, used often and successfully in the past by Armed Forces recruitment, so why not? One at least has to give them points for creativity in solving a seemingly insurmountable problem. We'll see how that works out for them.