Iraq vote comes down to holdouts

Thursday, March 22, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

WASHINGTON - Of the 15 Democrats who could doom the House's chances to pass its Iraq withdrawal plan this week, two are on Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley's list.

She is among lawmakers in the Democratic whip operation responsible for rounding up votes, and her count of Western representatives found two fence sitters.

One is bothered by the Democratic plan to call for a firm date in 2008 for troop withdrawal. The other is disappointed that the bill does not bring the troops home sooner.

Berkley understands their anxiety. She said on the House floor two months ago that she was "opposed to a fixed timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq." When votes on the Iraq bill are cast today or later, she will likely switch her position and vote for the bill.

"You don't get to pick and choose in this legislation what you get to vote for," Berkley said in an interview this week. "This is the package."

The choice Berkley made has been playing out all week as House Democrats try to secure 218 votes from the 233-member caucus to pass the bill.

The congresswoman believes the vote will be Democrats' best chance "to get accountability" from the Bush administration on the war.

While the focus has been on whether Democrats can bring their diverse members together to stem the war, Republicans also face a difficult choice.

As voter opposition to the war grows, do Nevada's Republican Reps. Jon Porter and Dean Heller join Democrats who have public support? Or do they stand by their party and face hit pieces in the next election that they prolonged the conflict and failed to provide the troops with gear, rest and health care?

The proposal is tied to President Bush's war spending bill, which Democrats increased to $124 billion with extra spending on health care.

Their plan requires troops to be rested and battle ready before they are shipped off to combat. It also requires the Iraqis to reach benchmarks in their ability to govern, or face an earlier withdrawal of U.S. troops .

"It's no win for the Republicans," UNR political science professor Eric Herzik said. Democrats, he said, have "crafted a bill that no matter how the Republicans vote, they are voting against public opinion."

Nevadans by a 2 to 1 margin believe the war has not been worth it, according to a poll co-sponsored by the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Porter's spokesman said he could not comment until the bill's final version was presented. Heller was unavailable for comment Wednesday.