Latest Democrat "Slow-Bleed" Scheme is "Going Nowhere"

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Facing a certain presidential veto and deep divisions undermining Democratic leaders from both the Right and Left in their Party, it's clear Democrats don't know quite what to do. As The Hill reports, the latest "slow-bleed" proposal from Democratic leaders was under attack from Democrats before they even finished briefing their own members on the details:

"Criticism came swiftly from liberal Democrats who feel the withdrawal is too slow and cautious: Out of Iraq Caucus members started their news conference to criticize the plan while Pelosi was still presenting it to the Democratic Caucus. Caucus member Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) proposed an amendment that calls for a troop withdrawal by the end of this year."

An analysis from the Associated Press demonstrates just how deep the divisions run:

"Pelosi and the leadership have struggled in recent days to come up with an approach on the war that would satisfy liberals reluctant to vote for continued funding without driving away more moderate Democrats unwilling to be seen as tying the hands of military commanders. But without a unified party, the Democratic leadership faced the possibility of a highly embarrassing defeat when the spending legislation reaches a vote, likely later this month. establishing a deadline for troop withdrawals."

With Democrats split over how to proceed and sniping at each other, one Dem staffer already admitted defeat to CongressDaily:

"'This is going nowhere,' said one senior staffer about the House supplemental war language. 'We should have just sat down with the Senate (Democrats) until we hashed out a common bill.'"

As it stands, according to the Christian Science Monitor it appears the new slow-bleed approach faces a difficult road ahead:

"As a practical matter, the legislation stands slim chance of passage as written."