They're starting as whispers, throwaway lines that are easy to miss amid broad promises of party unity. But at the very moment that both the White House and congressional Democrats need members of their parties to fall in line, the rank-and-file is growing restless.
There was House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) yesterday, pleading for patience with the "troop surge" but then setting a deadline of his own by which House Republicans – attention, Mr. President – expect progress. "By the time we get to September or October, members are going to want to know how well this is working, and if it isn't, what's Plan B," Boehner said, on a day that the US suffered six more combat deaths in Iraq. LINK
The Bush White House has never been known for its strong relationships with Congress, so here's a translation: When congressional leaders talk about the "will of the members," that's code for, "I'm on borrowed time with my folks." The Washington Post's David Broder wrote yesterday that politicians will eventually follow the public in ending the war. "It is hard to imagine the Republicans going into the presidential election of 2008 with 150,000 American troops still taking heavy casualties in Iraq," Broder wrote. LINK
On the Democratic side, former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) made clear on ABC's "This Week" that he will continue to push Democrats to use Congress' "funding authority" to insist on a troop pull-out, even though Democratic leaders are shopping compromise proposals that stop short of that. "America has asked the Democratic leadership in the Congress to stand firm, and that's exactly what I'm saying they should do," Edwards said, as he leads the leftward scramble on the war among 2008 presidential candidates. LINK
Moveon.org delivered an even starker message to congressional Democrats last week, The New York Times' Michael Luo reported in a Sunday must-read write-up of the discipline and clout of anti-war groups. "If Democrats appear to capitulate to Bushpassing a bill without measures to end the war - the unity Democrats have enjoyed and Democratic leadership has so expertly built, will immediately disappear," the liberal group wrote to congressional leaders. LINK
President Bush enjoys (or suffers through) a day of pomp and pageantry with a royal visit today. It's not easy being queen, and the presidency isn't particularly pleasurable these days either: The war-pending bill Democrats are crafting will probably hold back more than half the money Bush wants pending a second vote in July, David Rogers reports today in The Wall Street Journal. LINK
By then, both sides will have heard plenty more from their bases.