Chris Dodd for President

During the question and answer session following the IAFF endorsement of Chris Dodd for President, Dodd was asked about what his thoughts were on the reports that President Bush will ask Congress for an additional $50 billion in the upcoming supplemental funding bill on Iraq.

My transcript:

Reporter: "Senator, there were reports this morning that President Bush will ask Congress for $50 billion more dollars for the Iraq war. What do you have to say about that?

Dodd: "Well, I'm not surprised and I'd be very resistant to that request. I think we've, as I said we're spending well over now half a trillion dollars in this conflict. And again, it's a civil war in Iraq. This is the middle of a civil war and those who have understood this issue have argued from the very beginning that there was never going to be a military solution to the civil war in Iraq. And so I'd be very resistant and I intend to fight any efforts here, I'll do whatever I can to support whatever our troops need to have a safe and secure withdrawal from Iraq. But I don't intend to continue to fund the war over there that I think has no end. As long as we're there, I think the Iraqis are not going to come together as a people. It's about time we wound down our military presence there."

I wanted to pull out and highlight this clip from Senator Dodd speaking in Portsmouth, NH. In this segment, he talks about last week's Iraq supplemental vote and the need for leadership that will do what is right. My transcription:

People have been very generous throughout today and yesterday in expressing their gratitude for being one of fourteen votes that was cast on Thursday on this issue, saying it was courageous for you to do what you did. To be candid, there was nothing courageous about it. To me, that was the right thing to do -- what's courageous about doing what's right? What's right is redeploying our troops out of Iraq and getting out of that civil war. That's what we ought to be doing here. I'm determined to stick with this. We'll be back at this issue very quickly. We have a defense authorization bill, a defense appropriations bill, this supplemental will run out around the middle of September, first of October, so we'll be back at this issue very quickly. And I'd be less than honest if I didn't tell you I was disappointed that more people either didn't make a decision early enough or be clear enough about it or that not enough people ultimately did what I think was the only right thing to do here. And it's not only about how wrong this is as a policy, but I frame it in the context of our national security. No one is going to be elected president of the United States in 2008 if they don't make the country feel conscious about the security of our country. And what the policy in Iraq is doing, among other things, is making us far less secure. We're far more vulnerable, we're far more isolated, we're far less secure today as a result of this policy. And every hour that the policy goes on we're in greater and greater and greater danger. So this is about the national security of our nation in my view -- and the wrong decision to get us involved and sustain a policy that is isolating us and reducing our moral leadership in the world. So I'm going to stick with this - I want you to know that. I've got a bad habit about being dogged about things that I care about. On this one, I'm not moving. I want a policy that's going to end up some time this summer or this fall that says we're going to time-certain, we're going to be moving our military out of that civil conflict. And then we're going to start using a robust diplomacy and politics and economics, engage and talk to the Iranians, deal with the Syrians, start doing what a great nation ought to be doing. And that is acting like a nation that understands how important diplomacy and politics can be to advance good interests and good causes. I think that's what America wants. It's the kind of leadership we ought to have in the 21st century. And as your president, I'll do it - you have my word on that.

You can view the entirety of Senator Dodd's talk in Portsmouth here.

It has indeed been a rough day, for everyone. Senators Kerry and Feingold shared encouraging messages today via email and on Daily Kos, and I wanted to take a second and share a clip of Senator Dodd talking about the supplemental and his plan for Iraq about an hour ago on Hardball.

I think this President has dug in his heels, I don't think he has any intention of changing his policy whatsoever and I think frankly as a result of this we're gonna dig a deeper and deeper hole for ourselves here. Giving the President this supplemental is just giving him another shovel.

Yesterday afternoon Senator Dodd announced that he will be voting "NO" on the Iraq supplemental bill. He urged his colleagues in the Senate to join him and do the same. Blogs around the internet responded approvingly for his bold leadership on this crucial issue. John Nichols of The Nation writes, "Dodd is again playing a critical role in this campaign – that of the senior senator who is saying "no" to the president and forcing the hand of senators who might otherwise give Bush what he wants. No matter how the voting goes on the supplemental spending bill, grassroots Democrats who oppose the war ought to appreciate that it is Dodd who is leading in the Senate, not Clinton or Obama." Chris Woods, writing on the Iowa community blog Bleeding Heartland, believes "Sen. Dodd is a strong voice to end this war...he deserves credit for bring[ing] that debate into the Senate." Bob Geiger thinks Chris Dodd "continues to display the guts and leadership he's been showing on the war throughout the new Congress." Nicole Belle of Crooks & Liars thinks "every Democrat needs to take a similar stand." CT's own Spazeboy writes, "Dodd puts himself at the front of the pack (whether he’s polling there or not), and I like it. Candidate Dodd is taking and inspiring action, and I hope he keeps it up!" Chris Bowers of MyDD says, "Chris Dodd keeps making sense. It will be interesting to see if there is a chorus of Democrats who start to join him on this." FireDogLake's Jane Hamsher says Dodd's position on the supplemental will that other 2008 candidates will be judged. Barbara O'Brien of Mahablog writes, "Sen. Chris Dodd certainly helped himself today by making it clear he didn’t like the new appropriation bill." Indiana blogger Joh Padgett notes with appreciation the Dodd campaign's use of Twitter, YouTube, and the Dodd Blog to broadcast the news on Senator Dodd's voting position. It's my understanding that the Senate vote on the Iraq supplemental will take place later today or early tomorrow at the latest. I'll keep you posted on further developments.