House Retreat Bill Passes Senate

Thanks to a defection from Chuck Hagel (RINO-Media) and a return to the party fold by Dem Ben Johnson, the Senate passed by House's pork loaded Iraq supplemental bill containing timelines for defeat. I had heard earlier in the day that the Senate Republicans decided not to filibuster this bill on the basis that it would be better to allow it to go to the president where it will likely be vetoed.

That's a dangerous strategy given that something similar happened five years ago on McCain-Feingold, but instead of vetoing the measure, the president signed it expecting it to be ruled unconstitutional in the courts. That didn't happen and now we're stuck with it.

However, this time I'm fairly certain Bush will veto the bill and without sufficient votes in either house to override it, it's dead in the water. They'll have to come up with something else.

CORRECTION: An amendment to remove the withdrawal timeline from the House bill was defeated. The bill itself has not been passed in full, but looks more likely after this vote.