Democrats will set the national policy agenda in the new Congress, signaling a shift of power from the White House to congressional Democrats, freshman Sen. Jim Webb told the nation in his response to President Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Webb eschewed a direct response to President George Bush’s address, which focused heavily on a White House plan to reduce gasoline consumption dramatically over the next 10 years through increased use of ethanol and stricter fuel economy standards. Instead, Webb said any policy plan would be drafted in conjunction with Congress.
This includes the president’s proposal to increase troops numbers to deal with escalating sectarian violence in Iraq, with the decorated veteran and former naval secretaryrejecting the president’s plan.
“The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military,” Webb said in prepared remarks. “We need a new direction … an immediate shift toward strong regionally based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq’s cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.”
Webb also outlined plans to close the income gap, touting a proposal to increase the minimum wage.
He called on the president to act on both issues.
“If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way,” Webb said.
