Republicans criticize Cantwell over Iraq war (flip-flopping)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Cantwell_Iraq.html

Republicans criticize Cantwell over Iraq war


ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- The leader of Washington state Republicans is accusing Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of flip-flopping on the Iraq war.

Cantwell, who voted in favor of the war in 2002 and has supported all measures to fund it, was one of 38 Democratic senators who signed a letter to President Bush in October, urging him to "change the course" in Iraq. Last month, she voted in favor of a Democratic amendment calling for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Washington state GOP Chairman Chris Vance called Cantwell's recent actions hypocritical and suggested she is reacting to liberal critics who are dissatisfied with her support for the war and have urged her to take a more partisan approach.

"I think this issue defines who Maria Cantwell is," Vance said Tuesday. "She is a politician with no real convictions, who will take whatever stance is popular at the time to get re-elected. She's a phony."