Murtha continues to deny reality...

Apparently, Representative Murtha is waiting on approving any further war spending, hoping that either more Republicans will share his delusions about the current status of the war or that the tide of war will shift, we'll begin to lose, and that Republicans will come around to his point of view.

This really strikes me as a stupid position for the Democrats to take. They appear to have gone from hoping that the war would fail to blindly assuming that it will, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Why they think that Republicans are going to move to their side when the war is going well is completely beyond me.

Democrats to wait on funding war
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Democrats are poised to delay money for the Iraq war by several weeks, giving them time to calculate their next move and see if Republican support for President Bush's policies deteriorate.

The funding delay would likely cause only a minor disruption for the Defense Department. But it will escalate an already heated standoff between the Democratic-controlled Congress and Bush, who says at least 130,000 troops are needed in Iraq through next summer.

"Just because this administration wears blinders, we cannot afford the limitations of their shortsighted world view," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a Vietnam veteran and prominent war critic.

Democrats are in a tough spot. Still lacking enough votes in the Senate to pass legislation ordering troops home by spring, they would have to soften their approach if they want to attract more Republicans. But doing so would rile much of the party's rank-and-file, elected on anti-war platforms and eager to cut of money for combat.