| Trumpeting what Speaker Jeff Merkley apparently is calling his own "major policy rollout" on Iraq--as written by someone else and only 8 months into his campaign for Senate--Kari Chisholm yesterday noted Merkley's endorsement of a Responsible Plan for Iraq, the policy initiative spearheaded by WA House candidate Darcy Burner to just go ahead and get started on ending the war. Despite a) Steve Novick's endorsement of the same plan having come some hours earlier and mentioned both at DailyKos and MyDD (the latter by about 10AM); b) the plan being formally released just a day before; and c) the plan largely echoing Novick's own statements on how to handle the conflict, made months --in comments to his piece Chisholm referred to Novick as a "johnny come lately" who rushed something out in order to pre-empt Merkley and steal his thunder. I know for a fact that's not true, although certainly Merkley has done plenty of it himseilf--but that doesn't ever seem to stop Kari. It did get around some, but as somewhat of a prominent info arm for Steve's campaign, I was remiss in not putting something here at LO (although apparently this blog and you the reader don't matter to much of the Merkley crowd, so maybe Kari still would have missed it). So here's the link to Novick's endorsement, and a little of what he had to say: “I am proud to throw my support behind this new effort to build a progressive consensus on ending the war in Iraq in a way that will help that nation rebuild, while reversing the damage the war has done here at home,” said Novick. “Many of the ideas contained in the plan are not new and, indeed, I and others have been advocating for them over the past months. But with this clear set of objectives, I believe that Darcy Burner, Major General Eaton and others are laying the foundation for a coalition that I believe can bring our troops home with honor.” The Plan, announced yesterday, identifies two key strategic concerns raised by the conflict in Iraq – how to bring the American military engagement in Iraq to a responsible end and how to prevent a repeat of the mistakes made in the lead up to the war and its execution. In particular, the Plan emphasizes that there are no military solutions to address the underlying diplomatic, political and economic challenges faced in Iraq. Rather, the problem must be addressed through a host of non-military and diplomatic steps to engage the region in the reconstruction effort and address the ongoing humanitarian crisis taking place in Iraq and on its borders. “All of the ideas included in this plan are eminently feasible. It is simply a matter of the political will to chart a new direction on Iraq and for this nation. I am proud to stand with these progressive candidates and leaders from across the nation to offer voters a clear choice in this election on Iraq and on the future of this country,” said Novick. “Here in Oregon, the contrast couldn’t be clearer with Gordon Smith supporting John McCain and his plan to stay in Iraq through the end of this century. Voters know that the path we are on cannot bring success and that it is time for change. This Plan will only help to underscore that contrast.”
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