Denver, Colorado - Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak issued the following statement commending Colorado Democrats for keeping their promise to fight for a new direction in Iraq and blasting President Bush’s attempt to stifle debate by threatening to veto the Iraq supplemental spending bill passed today by the House of Representatives:

"President Bush and his Republican colleagues in Congress still refuse to put partisanship aside and join Democrats in fighting for a new direction in Iraq. Last November, the American people went to the polls and demanded change. Today, Democrats sent the President a clear message that we will continue to support our troops by demanding that Iraqis take responsibility for their own country and providing our troops the resources to keep them safe and get them home.

"Rather than accept a real debate into how to end the President's permanent commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq, President Bush chose to stifle that debate by threatening to veto the strong bill Democrats passed today. Now that Coloradans have spoken, and President Bush has made clear that he refuses to listen to the will of the people, Colorado Republicans like Marilyn Musgrave, Doug Lamborn, and Tom Tancredo need to decide whether they stand with the President or stand with our troops and the people of Colorado."