For the second time in two days, a Democratic Party "withdrawal" plan has been defeated in the Senate after Democrats failed to muster enough votes to overcome a Republican block. The legislation--which was drafted by Michigan Senator Carl Levin along with Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed--was defeated in a procedural vote of 47 to 47. Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow both voted in support of the bill.

The Levin-Reed bill would have required that the United States begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 90 days and complete that withdrawal within nine months. However, the "withdrawal" would leave an undetermined number of soldiers in Iraq to conduct "counterterrorism" activities, training, protecting US infrastructure. Moreover, unlike the Feingold-Reid bill, Levin's bill included no prospect of cutting funding for operations in Iraq. Levin has been steadfastly against any cut in funding.

Levin's bill received less votes today than it did when it last came up in July. At least one Democrat, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, voted against the bill because it does not tie the deadline to a cut in funding.