Shameless Chris Shays was on CNN's The Situation Room last night. Shays continues to lie through his teeth about his various positions on possible Iraq withdrawals and timetables. Shays of course voted against the recent bill H R 2956, the so-called "Responsible Redeployment From Iraq Act" calling it--naturally--irresponsible. Shays mentions something about the day George Bush leaves office in 2009 being better. Or something. Who knows really.
Meanwhile another faux moderate, Susan Collins of Maine, voted in the Senate for the Levin-Reid amendment, for a withdrawal of combat forces, on July 18. So what's the difference? Well, as I see it, Collins is in the Senate and has a bit more leeway than Shays. For whatever reason, the dynamic is different perhaps because the stakes are higher or that elections are every two years in the House. The Republicans simply cannot afford to lose the seats presently occupied by Collins, Coleman, and Smith, which are definite potential pickup seats. Hagel, who is not a moderate though, voted for it as well, as did Snowe.
Shays is stuck in no-man's land. He can play the moderate but if he ever dares vote for a Democratic proposal ending this occupation he's through, and he knows it. So we're treated to this constant charade or pantomime where Shays says one thing and does another.
UPDATE: WINO Chris Shays Says He Wants Withdrawal, But Keeps Voting Against It by Greg Sargent over at TPM lists Shays most recent position/s. (The WINO caucus, as you all know, refers to Waverers In Name Only -- GOP members of Congress who are allegedly "wavering" in their support of Bush's war policies but won't vote for anything that would actually change those policies.)
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