September 17, 2007 (LPAC)--Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn), the chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, acknowledged, this morning, rank and file Democrats are angry that the Democratic Congressional leadership has failed to act to bring the Iraq war to an end. "Democrats who elected us are unhappy with the Democrats in Congress," he said, during a crowded press conference at the National Press Club. "They want this war over with." Later, in response to a question on plans by the Out of Iraq Caucus to target Democrats in primaries who are not supportive enough of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, he said, "They have legitimate concerns." He noted that, "There is a lot of anger out there," and that "a lot of people are very unhappy because we haven't been able to get anything done."

Murtha, who is very close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.), indicated that whatever Iraq legislation the Democrats come up with will "probably" include a redeployment schedule with a timeline, and maybe even an end date for the U.S. withdrawal, but that ultimately "it's a leadership decision." The next war supplemental request, which Murtha predicted could be as much as $200 billion, will be the vehicle for the next big floor debate in the House and that, he indicated, will come sometime in October.