Young Takes on a More Partisan Tone

Congressman Bill Young's future plans have been a source of much speculation here, but let's take a look at what he's actually been up to.

While some folks have focused on his recent inaction on the Walter Reed scandal(rather than working to fix the problems which he saw in his frequent visits to the facility, he opted to simply stop visiting wounded soldiers at the hospital), I'm interested in a recent parliamentary maneuver he engaged in.

Young recently introduced an amendment in the House Appropriations Committee calling for immediate and total withdrawal from Iraq. "I'm not going to vote for it," said Young, "but let's find out where Congress really stands."

This was a little partisan maneuver to damange anti-war Democrats and was not serious, especially when one considers that even most of the members of the House "Out of Iraq" Caucus support a phased withdrawal over the rest of 2007, rather the immediate withdrawal. Had Young introduced a amendment calling for a phased withdrawal over the next nine months or twelve months, he might have actually succeeded in learning where Congress stands, but that wasn't what this was about.

So what was it about? Does Young's willingness to play these games signal increased partisanship from the long-serving politician? If so, rumors of his retirement might be overrated.