News Conference With Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell

Statement

NEWS CONFERENCE WITH SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY); SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I-CT); SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (D-AZ); AND PETE HEGSETH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VETS FOR FREEDOM
SUBJECT: IRAQ DEBATE

S-207, THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
3:07 P.M. EDT, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2007

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SEN. MCCONNELL: Thank you for being here this afternoon. We have a lot of people behind us. Just let me tell you in advance, in order to shorten up the program just a bit, I'm going to make some observations, then turn to Senator Lieberman and then Senator McCain, and then we'll turn to Pete Hegseth, who is with Vets for Freedom. I also want to acknowledge Jerry Shaw (sp) from Kentucky, who is here as well. It's great to see him. We thank him for his service.

We'd like to welcome all these Vets for Freedom. These brave men and women, along with their fellow soldiers serving in Iraq, are fighting to protect our way of life and give the Iraqis the opportunity to control their own country. It's because of the efforts of soldiers like Jerry Shaw (sp) from Kentucky, that I just mentioned, that we're actually seeing significant progress in Iraq.

The Democrats, unfortunately, are trying to undermine the efforts of our troops and restrict the ability of our generals to carry out their mission. The Levin amendment contains nothing but vague assertions, the meaning of which would presumably be hammered out in conference -- unfortunately, away from public scrutiny.

The Democrats' strategy for Iraq is to change course. That's all we hear, change course. But change does not necessarily mean progress. The important question is not whether we're going to change course; rather, it's what kind of change are we advocating? The Democratic leadership has said nothing so far on that point.

I'd like to point out that these are votes that, frankly, we could have had at any point. You're going to be subjected to theater tonight, and bad theater, at that. We've offered to have the vote today. We offered, frankly, to have the vote at any point they'd like to have it.

So the definition of a filibuster is trying to prevent a vote. We're anxious to have the vote. If they want to debate all night, we'll be here. I brought this matter up at a just completed lunch in this room. There are plenty of volunteers and we'll be here to discuss this issue as long as they would like.

These patriotic Americans who are behind us deserve an opportunity to be heard, and after hearing from Senator Lieberman and Senator -- from Senator McCain, we'll call on the leader of this group.

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