Losing the (Message) War (Again)

Sigh:

In the debate in Washington, the White House reportedly will ask Congress for an additional $50 billion to expand funding for the war in Iraq, a request that seems likely to prolong troop levels at their current elevated number into the spring of 2008, Durbin said.

Even opponents of the war, as Durbin calls himself, find themselves likely to vote for the extra money, he said. 'When it comes to the budget, I face a dilemma that some of my colleagues do,' he said.

He voted against the war 'but felt that I should always provide the resources for the troops in the field,' Durbin said. 'But it's now reached a point where we have got to change the way we appropriate this money.'

The Democrats repeatedly make the same mistake of adopting the Republican framing on this issue.

Message to Sen. Durbin: You are not being asked to fund "the troops in the field". You are being asked to fund Bush's War.

THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING!

As long as Democrats continue to talk about funding in terms of "supporting the troops" instead of "supporting Bush's War" they will ALWAYS lose the debate.

Guaranteed.

And Durbin is one of the good guys! What will it take to get through to these knuckleheads?