The Democrats in Congress snidely waited until the anniversary of Bush's speech 4 years ago on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln to send him their version of the Iraq war funding bill, complete with pull out dates for the troops, constrictions on deploying troops in the future, a raise in the federal minimum wage and $21 billion in assorted `special interest spending' .
And the President, as promised, vetoed it in record time.
(By the way, for any interested parties,the words `mission accomplished' were not part of that speech on the aircraft carrier, one of the President's better efforts as a speaker. The transcript is here, and it is truly sad that the resolve and declaration of principles in it turned out to be more rhetoric than reality.)
Frankly, this marks a new low in American politics. Regardless of how one feels about the Iraq War, the spectacle of a supposedly patriotic Congress attempting to make political capital on the backs of the men and women fighting in Iraq will go down one of the most gutless and despicable exhibitions in our Republic's history.
Had the Democrats in Congress voted to defund the war outright and withdraw our forces immediately, I would have disagreed with it, but I would have respected it much more than the cynical spectacle of sending a bill to the president knowing that he would veto it merely for the sake of what Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and their ilk feel is an advantage when it comes to partisan electoral politics.
I'm sure that we'll see some appropriate posturing from the Democrats in Congress on how the president is being `difficult' and `intransigent' and `defying the will of the American people.'
But they may in fact have it very wrong. Ultimately, I don't think that as a nation we're prepared to have our military broken on this particular wheel simply to benefit a bunch of appeasement minded political hacks.
In my view, the American people stopped supporting Iraq once it became clear that the Bush Administration had no intention of using it as a platform to win the global war we're engaged in.
But, as I wrote after the election,while the American people may have voted to send Bush and his Republican enablers a message, neither the message nor the recipient is the one they intended...and they are only now getting a clue as to what sort of inmates they have allowed to take over the asylum.
This is as near sighted as it is sophmoric. First, no one said that bush verbalized "Mission Accomplished." That was put up by his political hacks in an effort to make him look like a leader. They had the Lincoln turned around so that they wouldn't show the very close skyline of San Diego. They delayed the guys getting home an all for a chance to make Bush look like a hero. That was disgusting, but to the point about the Democracts in congress. With their slim majority they are doing what they can to make this President change course in Iraq. They are putting pressure on him while his poll numbers keep falling(I am teaching Government class again) What is unpatriotic is keeping them our kids in harms way without a plan, without an exit strategy, without the proper leadership or reinforcements. Do we have to list the political misadventures, the outright incompetence, the political purges and power grabs made by this administration? The most "gutless and despicable exhibition" is seeing this President stumble and fumble while our kids are dying, caught in a civil war. What is gutless is his inability to see the trainwreck that he has caused, what is despicable is the lies and happy talk of "progress in Iraq." Save you moral outrage for something important, Bush has been making political capital on the dead backs of our troops for too long.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteIf we're being honest, which I assume we are...
Actually, a number of Democrats have quoted Bush as saying `mission accomplished', most notably Harry Reid and DNC head Howard Dean. That's why I included a transcript.
And by the way, I'd like to see the proof that the banner was posted by the president's `political hacks'. It might very well have been done by the sailors themselves, to honor their commander in chief.
If you read this site, you will notice that I have been extremely critical of the Bush Administration's mismanagement of this war. And I fully grant you that Iraq is a failed exercise that we should terminate in the best way possible.However, that's no excuse for the present exercise in cowardice.
You say you teach government, right(why am I not surprised)?
Remember the basic stuff about the responsibilities of the legislative and executive branches? The PRESIDENT is the commander in chief of the armed forces of this country, while CONGRESS has the responsibility of legislation.
What they are doing ( and we both know it) is deliberately trying to distance themselves from policy they in fact voted for while lacking the basic guts to defund the war and call for an immediate pull out..BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT IT WILL WIN THEM CONGRESSIONAL SEATS AND THE WHITE HOUSE IN NOVEMBER and they lack the courage to take the political fallout that would occur from doing that. Harry Reid and other Democrat leaders have said as much.
If they feel that the war is wrong, they have the moral responsibility to defund the war and call for an immediate pullout. I don't agree with that, but at least I could respect it.
The only honest Democrat leader who appears to be willing to do what he feels is right and take the consequences is Dennis Kucinich.
The rightness or wrongness of the war aside, have you ever considered for a moment what effect this has on the morale of our troops in the field? How it has encouraged our enemies?
Didn't think so.
BTW, we differ on one important point, and I believe that this is a good illustration of why most of Democratic party's leadership is unfit to lead the country.
I am interested in victory in the War on Jihad, which includes not only dealing with the nation-states that support, fund and harbor Islamic fascism but making the country secure here at home, including our borders.
You, and the politicians you obviously admire are looking for exit strategies and `disengagement', regardless of the cost.
I grant you that President Bush has at best done a middling to poor job on the former. But the majority of the Democrat party are not even in the game. And what's more, as many of them have expressed, they don't even know there's a game on.
It appears that you and people of your persuasion have allowed yourselves to be deluded by your obvious hatred of the president into forgetting that, regardless of how he's performed, the fact that we're at war hasn't changed, and it encompasses much more than Iraq.
Regards,
ff