Senate GOP says: No to vote

Greg Sargent reports that the GOP have blocked the anti-escalation resolution from getting one of those Up-or-Down votes the Republicans claimed to be so fond of. However, they are now on the record as supporting this latest "bold leap forward" and we'll see how that plays at election time.

As expected, GOP Senators succeeded today in preventing the anti-escalation resolution passed by the House yesterday from going to the floor in the Senate -- the second time in a row the GOP has succeeded in scuttling Senate debate on the "surge." Senate Dems fell four votes short of the magic number of 60 votes they needed for a filibuster-proof victory. The vote was 56-34, with seven GOP Senators defecting to vote with Dems in favor of debating the anti-escalation measure. Update: Harry Reid's statement on the vote.

Reid:

“Today, a bipartisan majority of the United States Senate voted against the President’s flawed plan to escalate the war. The Senate joined the House of Representatives, put itself on the record, and told the President that America needs a new direction in Iraq. As for the Republicans who chose once again to block further debate and protect President Bush, the American people now know they support the escalation.

“Today’s vote against the escalation is not the end of this Iraq debate in the Senate. This war is too important to permit Senate Republicans to brush it aside. The Bush Administration’s failures have put our troops and America in a deep hole, and it is time for this country and this Congress to climb out. The Republican Leadership can run from this debate, but they can’t hide. The Senate will keep fighting to force President Bush to change course.”