Democrats caved last night and gave Bush everything he needs to continue his damned war. So we'll start this post with a handy household tip that many Democrats in the House and Senate are going to need.HowStuffWorks:
Fresh blood stains can usually be removed by a thorough laundering in cold water. If any stain remains, soak it in a solution of 1 quart warm water, 1/2 teaspoon dishwashing or liquid laundry detergent, and 1 tablespoon ammonia for 15 minutes. Tamp (the method of bringing a brush down with light strokes on stained durable fabrics and materials) or scrape (the method of using a scraping tool to gently lift off excess solid or caked-on stains), blotting occasionally with an absorbent pad. Continue as long as any stain is being removed. Rinse well with water, making sure to remove all traces of the ammonia. Then dry or launder.
The House vote count is here, the Senate's is here -- find out how your people voted. I called mine right; Feingold and Baldwin nay, Herb Kohl yea. Once again, my decision to back the green candidate for Kohl's seat in '06 turns out to be the right one. The guy's just a seatfiller. I'll send him the handy bloodstain tip. It'll have to do until I can Google up a tip on how to grow a freakin' spine.
And what really gets me is that you don't need a spine to do the right thing it -- voting against the war is one helluva safe bet. I don't want to Wisconsin everyone to death, but Sen. Kohl's constituency is Sen. Feingold's constituency. Feingold keeps getting re-elected -- in fact, a lot of people (myself included) hoped he'd run for president. What the hell's the problem, Herb?
A CBS News/NYT Poll shows that 72% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the war -- a number that includes 40% of Republicans. Only 33% trust Republicans to make the right decisions regarding the war and 63% support a timeline.
Seriously, there's zero political risk here.
And here's a bunch of fun. "The days of blank checks and green lights for his failed policy are over," Sen. Majority leader Harry Reid said. "Senate Democrats will never give in, never, never, never, never." Oddly, he was explaining his vote for this blank check and green light. As dishonest as any neocon, he said one thing while doing something else. Joe Biden also voted for it, pretty much assuring that his presidential campaign will never get out of the low single digits.
How bad does it have to get? Seriously, how stupid and hopeless and bloody does this whole mess have to get before dems use their damned majority to stop it? All along, I've been saying that it doesn't matter how often Bush vetoed funding, he'd have to sign eventually. The veto was irrelevant. He'd sign it or defund the war himself. There was no way Democrats could possibly lose this fight. And that's not a matter of opinion, those were literally the only options Bush would've had. It was as logically certain as it is that one plus one will always equal two.
Was it that these Democrats were afraid they'd be attacked for their vote in 2008 campaigns? Newsflash Einsteins; GOPers will attack you no matter what you do. Hell, ask John Kerry -- if they don't have anything to attack you with, they'll make stuff up. Appeasing a future election opponent is a losing proposition -- you can't possibly head off all attacks.
Now to walk on the sunny side of the street. The two 2008 Democratic frontrunners who were able to vote for the measure both voted nay. "I believe that the President should begin a phased redeployment of our troops out of Iraq and abandon this escalation," Hillary Clinton said. And Barack Obama said later, "With my vote today, I am saying to the president that enough is enough." John Edwards, now retired from the Senate and unable to vote on it, is calling for Memorial Day protests.
Someone's going to call this capitulation a compromise. I've always defined compromise as an arrangement in which all parties agree to be equally unhappy. Bush is so pleased it looks like he's going to have to change his shorts.
This ain't no compromise.
--Wisco
Technorati tags: politics; Congress; propaganda; In the Iraq war funding fight, Democrats pretty much slept with Bush
