In the heady days of wrangling over which Iraq bill would be brought before the Senate I sent Senator Landrieu an email expressing my desire that she support a bill with teeth and not the Warner mess that she had supposedly signed on to.
Below is the response I got from her office.
Dear Mr. ___:
Thank you for contacting me to express your views on what has to be the most challenging issue before our nation - the war in Iraq. I believe that our nation should take every appropriate step to attain victory in this war, and bring peace and stability to the region. Over the last several months, important efforts to determine a way forward in Iraq have been presented to the American people. One of the most important was the report of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group. Following release of this report, the President announced that he would develop a new strategy for Iraq. During this process he held discussions with members of Congress, and I was invited to participate. The President indicated that his plan would involve a surge of additional troops into Baghdad in an effort to restore order to that warn-torn city. I made every effort to work with the President and his Administration to develop a successful Iraq strategy and my argument to the President was that we should not send any additional personnel to Iraq until we have clear benchmarks to measure success - benchmarks that will keep our commitment to Iraq from becoming an open-ended morass. Regrettably, to date, objective benchmarks needed to gauge the success of our involvement have not been provided. Without these standards, we are just inviting further uncertainty that could spiral into further escalation without the results we hope to achieve. As a result, I have gone on record in opposition to the President's surge plan. I continue to work for better options to win the global war on terror, to achieve success in Iraq, to provide stability in the Middle East and to speed the return of our troops home. I know we all pray for the safety of our men and women in uniform, now serving our nation and the cause of freedom so bravely.
With warmest regards,
I am Sincerely,
Mary L. Landrieu
United States Senator
I don’t know if it’s an overabundance of caution, fear of the conservative nature of Louisiana, or just dithering in the face of controversy, but this response is a lesson in how to say nothing in 1000 words or more. And don't forget that she supported Ol Joe this past election.
EDIT:
http://www.vote-smart.org/...
Looks like she voted FOR the Bankruptcy bill....which was definitely one she didn't have to vote for. Can't figure why she would do that......especially in Louisiana.