Projo Politics Blog

Rhode Island's Jack Reed was among a handful of high-profile Democratic senators to speak at a news conference Saturday afternoon immediately following the Senate's contentious vote on whether to debate an Iraq resolution.

Democrats needed 60 votes in the unusual weekend session to move forward. But Senate Republicans blocked the measure. Even with a handful of Republican defections, the final vote was 56 to 34.

"Today, the Republicans blocked again a debate over the war in Iraq. They have attempted to shield the president, but they can't shield him from the fact that 70 percent of the people of the United States disapprove of his escalation," Reed said at the Capitol Hill press conference, according to a transcript provided by his office.

"There's a lot of talk about supporting the troops," Reed continued. "The best way to support the troops is to get the policy right, and, today, the Republicans prevented us from getting the policy right."

Rhode Island's junior senator and fellow Democrat, Sheldon Whitehouse, didn't participate in the press conference, but he issued a statement immediately after the vote.

“I’m proud that the Democratic leadership brought up this critical vote today. Importantly, the outcome was 56 seeking to vote against the president’s escalation of troop levels in Iraq, to 34 seeking to block that vote. 56 to 34 is a strong message," Whitehouse said.

“Yesterday, I spoke again on the Senate floor, and read from a few of the thousands of messages I have received from Rhode Islanders calling on us to bring our troops home. It’s troublingly clear the President isn’t listening, but the Democrats in the Senate are. We will keep pressure on this administration to change course in Iraq. If the president does not offer the new direction Americans demand, we will.”

Senate Democrats yesterday pledged renewed efforts to curtail the Iraq war, suggesting they will seek to limit a 2002 measure authorizing President Bush's use of force against Saddam Hussein.

The Associated Press quoted Reed as saying, Senate Democrats are "sitting down already ... and trying to work out a new approach."

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

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