Framing the Debate to Control the Debate...

© 2007 Note: Due to unforseen circumstances this entry is using the article straight from Think Progress

Leaked Letter Reveals Conservative Strategy For Iraq Debate: Don’t Talk About Iraq
This week, the House of Representatives is debating a resolution opposing President Bush’s Iraq escalation. The resolution is just 58 words long, and has only one purpose: “Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.”

But a leaked letter obtained today by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) office reveals that conservatives have formulated a strategy to avoid talking about the central question of the debate.

In the letter, leading conservative Reps. John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) inform their allies: “The debate should not be about the surge or its details. This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily.” Shadegg and Hoekstra warn, if conservatives are forced to debate “the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose.”

Boehner Weeps For ‘Solemn’ Debate — Then Says Iraq Critics Are Taking Al Qaeda’s ‘Bait’ »
NBC reported, “House Minority Leader John Boehner got emotional this morning as he spoke about the ’solemn’ debate that the House is set to begin today over the non-binding resolution opposing Bush’s troop increase.” Boehner “began to shed tears.”

Boehner’s fleeting moment of solemnity was quickly replaced with divisive attacks on Iraq war critics. Speaking on the House floor, Boehner began the House debate on the anti-escalation resolution by calling it a criticism of “the latest effort by American forces to win in Iraq.” Boehner said that escalation opponents are taking the “bait” of “al Qaeda and terrorist sympathizers” by using Iraq to “divide us here at home.”

February 13, 2007
Think Progress