Kevin Drum not batting well on Iraq this week

After yesterday telling "second tier" Democratic presidential candidates to withdraw, Drum now says that without a cloture-proof 60, let alone a veto-proof 67 in the Senate, Democrats are hamstrung on Iraq action.

Once again, like, you're wrong, wrong, wrong on Iraq, Kevin.

The magic number in the Senate is 41; that prevents cloture and blocks any funding bill that doesn't defund Iraq.

You’re wrong, Kevin, and Harry Reid is wrong when he says the same thing. I believe more and more that Ted Rall is right about Congressional Democrats on Iraq.

If it takes government gridlock or a funding meltdown by invoking cloture against ANY budget bill that continues to fund Iraq, that’s what it takes.

Do it, dammit.

And I was steamed.

Update: Yes, and I remembered that budget bills are approved through a cloture-free reconciliation process after I originally posted and before I read the first two comments.

BUT, you can still run cloture on any other bill that even smacks of getting close to Iraq; or even of bills that have ZERO connection to Iraq. There are end run ways of still making 41 the magic number, and I don't care if it causes a Congressional clusterfuck or not.

Remember, Reid himself used "reverse cloture" for the overnight speak-a-thon on Iraq earlier this year.

So, even though Kevin's procedurally right, it's only in the narrowest of senses.

Don't let Reid say otherwise.

I read Kevin’s post right after hearing Reid make the same claim on All Things Considered, followed by Mitch (I’m the lying senator McConnell, not the lying intelligence director McConnell) McConnell.