Friday, Sept. 7, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid started making calls from his hometown of Searchlight last week. He continued after returning to Washington this week.
One by one, the Senate majority leader is reaching out to Republicans to see how far they might move in his direction on legislation to change the course of the war in Iraq .
The number of Republicans he needs is 10, Reid said Thursday. If 10 Republicans join the 50 Democrats, Reid would have the 60 votes he needs to move Iraq legislation forward.
Democrats declined to name the Republicans they consider most friendly, but the list would come as no surprise. As Reid said in a Sun interview last month: "We know who they are."
The list of likely targets starts with Republican senators who already have broke n with their party on a major Iraq vote . Those are Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon.
That's four.
Next is a mix of Republicans who have in different ways signaled an interest in changing the direction in Iraq. Those include lawmakers who have made public statements about the need for a change: Pete Domenici of New Mexico, George Voinovich of Ohio and Richard Lugar of Indiana.
That makes the total seven.
Also considered possible allies are Republicans who signed as co-sponsors of a proposal supporting the goals of the 2006 bipartisan Iraq Study Group. That list includes some senators already mentioned as well as Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Robert Bennett of Utah and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.
That brings the list to 10.
Others in the mix are Republicans who have joined Democrats on other aspects of Iraq legislation, such as requiring rest time for troops between deployments or allowing the Senate to voice opposition to the surge. Among those are Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, John Sununu of New Hampshire and Norm Coleman of Minnesota.
That's a total of 13.
It hasn't happened yet, Reid will likely communicate with Sen. John Warner of Virginia, the Republicans' leading voice on military affairs , who returned from Iraq last month and said President Bush should start withdrawing troops by Christmas.
Finally, Reid has mentioned Alaska's Lisa Murkowski as someone who might be interested in some type of change in Iraq.
So make the number of possible allies 15. None of them is certain. Some will be nonstarters. But for Reid, the number 10 starts coming into focus.
Democrats have been stymied in their efforts to change the course of the war since taking power in January. Although multiple bills have passed the House, they repeatedly die in the Senate , unable to meet the 60-vote threshold for cutting off debate .
Reid told reporters Thursday that "there's nothing off the table" in his cross-aisle talks. He wants to hear what Republicans could accept.
But Reid's new willingness to forge an agreement with Republicans rather than continue to insist on a strict withdrawal deadline has brought dissent from within his party. Critics say he is giving vulnerable Republicans a way to please anti-war voters while doing little to actually end the conflict. Many of the Republicans on the list face tough reelection prospects next year.
The legislation that could emerge is still being debated. One scenario is that the Senate will take a series of votes on various pieces of legislation - from a broad bill to limit the number of troops to legislation requiring the Pentagon to give troops a minimum period of time off between tours, which in July fell just four votes shy of the 60 needed.
Congress will hear the long-awaited report from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker next week on the progress of President Bush's " surge " of troops. The Senate will begin debating Iraq legislation Sept. 17.
Until then, Reid will keep calling Republicans, trying to see what it will take to get to 10.
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