On Tuesday afternoon rookie Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz (MN-01) was interviewed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s political show Hardball. Earlier in the day Walz had spoken multiple times on the floor of the U.S. House supporting a Democrat-backed resolution criticizing President George W. Bush’s decision to add more troops to Iraq.

Walz’s counterpart on Hardball was Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia; though Kingston is also a new member of the House, he put Walz on the defensive throughout most of the interview.

Kingston stated Democrats needed to come up with an actual plan and “put their money where their mouth is” instead of focusing on non-binding resolutions.

Walz countered that the Democrats did have a plan—but he focused on generalities, such as fixing the “failed plan and failed policy” of the Bush administration and better “securing the nation from the war on terror.”

Kingston took advantage of his minority party status and pounced on Walz:

“You guys are now in the front seat, get out of the backseat and start driving the car. This is a non-binding, silly, intramural resolution…If this thing is a lost cause … why are we spending more and more days there. Why not introduce an immediate withdrawal? … If we are fighting a lost cause we need to bring the troops home tomorrow.”

Walz seemed uncomfortable with the position Kingston had placed him, and the Minnesota Congressman faced the camera speechless for nearly 5 seconds.

When asked by Matthews if there would be a vote on funding for the war sometime this year, Walz said ‘yes.’

Posted in Iraq, Media, Minnesota, MN US House, National Politics, U.S. House

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