GOP’s Putnam: ‘It was a game and we got beat’

House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) said yesterday that Republicans were wrong to bring a resolution dealing with the Iraq war to the floor last year without allowing it to go through the full committee process.

The June 2006 debate over the Republican resolution infuriated Democrats, who characterized the measure as a political ploy.

House Republicans this year have accused Democrats of playing politics with a planned resolution on Iraq that is expected to criticize the president’s plan for increasing American forces. They have also criticized Democrats for not moving their 100-hour agenda through committee before seeking floor votes.

“You know what? They were right. It was a game and we got beat. So did we learn anything from that?” Putnam said. “It was a resolution that didn’t go through committee and it should have.”

Putnam added, “It would have been a better resolution if it had.”

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has indicated that a Democratic resolution on the troop surge in Iraq will likely come to the floor next week.