Paralyzed –updated below–
cross-posted on Huffington Post
It\’s hard not to quote an article with a title like this one, because unfortunately Congress\’s actions match the message. Putting Iraq war legislation on the table, fighting for and voting on it \”vexes\”
Democrats?
Awww.
Well then, I say we put uniforms on all members of Congress and ship their
sorry privileged butts off to Iraq to see how they like the reality. Maybe then the war won\’t
vex the poor babies anymore. I mean, reeally.
Democrats are acting like chickenhawk Republicans and I\’ve had enough of them
to last a lifetime. Why do they think the public threw them out of Congress last
November?
Now go back up to the link at the top of the page and get a load of Harry Reid
in the picture. It looks like he\’s actually sulking. Is this the majority leader
of the Senate? The man in charge of moving the agenda in the \”greatest
deliberative body\” on planet earth? Seriously, we need to put some hot
blood into the upper ranks of Congress, because these seasoned DC Democratic \”leaders\” are too
timid by half.
The Democrats have a majority of the American people behind them, but they
don\’t have the spine to move on Iraq. They don\’t even have the nerve to do a
pr offensive to explain and put pressure on Mr. Bush and the Republicans, utilizing
the voices of the American people. Instead, we get headlines like the one above,
with wingnut radio in ecstasy over the Democratic dithering. All because of what I\’ve
been saying all week: Democrats \”want to make sure this is still President
Bush\’s war. It\’s his war to manage, and it\’s his war to end.\” That\’s
Rep. Moran talking, but it might as well be a congressional chorus of eunuchs.
Members of Congress are not \”the only ones conflicted,\” said Rep.
John Tanner (Tenn.). \”The country\’s conflicted. We don\’t want to do the
same thing we\’ve been doing for 3 1/2 years that hasn\’t worked, but we don\’t
want to pull the plug.\”In the Senate, the Iraq debate may be on hold for a week or longer while
Democrats address concerns about a new effort to limit Bush\’s war authority.Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) had said that Iraq-related amendments
may be considered on a homeland-security bill now before the Senate. But families
of Sept. 11 victims fanned out across the Capitol yesterday, saying that a
war debate could slow progress on the legislation, which would enact security
recommendations by the bipartisan commission that studied the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks. …Iraq
Bill Vexes Democrats
Leaders Struggle to Craft Measure That Can Unite Party
With due respect to the 9/11 victims\’ families, there is a war in Iraq going
on that is putting this country in danger every day, with soldiers dying every
day, while our military collapses further every day. Congress certainly must
address the security recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, but not at the
expense of Iraq. There is no issue more pressing than Iraq. Period. It does us no good to enact the security recommendations while
our country bleeds dry in Iraq, with our national guard stretched further and
further, as the coming Afghanistan offensive by the Taliban looms large in the
very near future. What is Reid thinking?
The good news is that nobody trusts the Republicans on Iraq, for good reason. They don\’t know anything about the military, except how to use them, and they\’re completely incompetent on managing anything governmental.
The bad news is that Democrats aren\’t leading and every week that passes without concrete action on Iraq, they are losing the faith of the American people.
Playing for time on escalation failing sooner rather than later is a big gamble.
Everyone should also remember that we\’re not playing with chips. The payment is made in lives.
UPDATE (1:40 p.m.): Okay, so I\’m hearing a lot from people on this post. Below is one email, to which I will reply afterwards, because it will answer the other comments I am receiving all at once.
How can you blame the democrats when they don\’t have enough votes in the Senate to place a meaure on the floor for a vote? The same Repugs who demanded an up-or down vote are now using the filibuster they claimed was undemocratic when they maintained a small majority in the Senate. You surely remember the phrase \”America deserves an up or down vote!\” It seems to me that you are falling for the GOP tactic of blocking votes and then demeaning and blaming the Democrats for not getting anything done. The mainstrem media supports this GOP crap. I would hope you would be more clear on this issue. Nothing the Dems do can overcome a presidential veto. Nothing the Senate Dems try can get enough republican support to actually go to a vote. It is up to the people to march (literally and figuratively) on Washington. Perhaps after Bush Nukes Iran? – TS
I don\’t expect Democrats to win or to have a veto-proof majority. But I sure as hell expect them to mount a knock down drag out fight on the House and Senate floors about ending the Iraq war. I also don\’t expect the 9/11 families and homeland security, both of which matter, to take first priority over the Iraq war. Iraq comes first. Period. I expect Reid to act accordingly. I also don\’t expect all Democrats to vote as a unit. Hell would freeze first. But I expect Mr. Reid to do something besides wring his hands, as other Democrats whine about being caught between losing a vote, not being able to get a vote going, and standing up for what\’s right, which is to get out of Iraq. What I don\’t want is a bunch of pontificating gas bags and weak kneed politicians unable to craft legislation that will at least represent most Americans\’ wishes, and when the GOP doesn\’t let it get to the floor, actually do something about it, besides pout. GOP talking points? Are you kidding me? The Democrats deserve the press they\’re getting, because they\’re losing the pr war badly. It gives me no pleasure to say so, but this is a WAR we\’re talking about, not some political football. I will not coddle and cover for Democrats when they\’re behavior is irresponsible and impossible to defend.
Comments are closed.