Sticks, Stones and Chicken Bones
The game of “Chicken” being played by the Congress and the White House just got a lot more interesting. With passage of the war supplemental by the Senate last week, the next move looked to be the President’s. Bush declared that he would veto any bill Congress sent to his desk that included a timetable for withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, and without the votes necessary to override a Presidential veto, it looked as if the Democrats would be forced to provide funding for the war with no stipulations. That may still be the case, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid upped the ante today by announcing that if the President vetoes the supplemental, he will cosponsor legislation with Senator Russ Feingold that seeks to cut off the funding for the continued occupation of Iraq. Way to go Harry, I didn’t think you had it in you. The only way to win this game is to commit, and floor it! Make President Bush choke on the chicken bone the way he did on that pretzel.
In an op-ed in Salon today, Senator Feingold compares the Feingold-Reid bill to one passed by the Senate in 1993 that cut off funding for military operations in Somalia. The White House and Congressional Republicans can continue to spew their faux patriotic crap about “supporting the troops” but with a real debate on ending the war that is put front and center by the Democratic Leadership, comes the possibility of solid and vocal support from the public. That the Republicans are engaging in the most hypocritical of arguments for allowing the Bush administration to continue on its disastrous course when they cut off funding for the troops in Somalia is to be expected, but exposing and harping on that hypocrisy can only be good for efforts to end the occupation. Nothing will convince the 20 percenters that Bush’s policies are NOT in fact ordained by God, but the other 80% can be made to shout, “Enough is enough already!”
The question has never been, will the public support cutting off funding for Bush’s failed Iraq policy, but instead has been, will the Democrats find the stones to do it? There is no one in the Senate with more credibility on Iraq than Senator Russ Feingold and I’m encouraged that leadership has finally decided to support his efforts (I suspect it was the carrot on the stick to secure Feingold’s support for the supplemental in the first place). I don’t know if Harry Reid’s skills are as honed as Nancy Pelosi’s when it comes to whipping the support necessary to get a bill passed, but I’m certainly looking forward to finding out.
posted by The (liberal)Girl Next Door @ 10:48 AM
11 Comments:
I'll stick to quoting American Presidents:
"The supremacy of the civil over the military authority I deem [one of] the essential principles of our Government, and consequently [one of] those which ought to shape its administration." --Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural, 1801.
Did LGND write this posting? It has none of her personality. Just asking.
UHHHH....aside from manifesting
an insight into the game within the game, an accurate &
appropriate nailing of Repug
hypocrisy and perfidy and the long standing admiration for Sen Feingold....nope, no trace of LG in this!
My goodness! Such strange things to say about LGND's post.
The post is extremely well written. And her opening lines carefully lead us through the legislative process with the same skill as a hockey commentator covering a face off.
Perhaps there's a general shock to hearing politics actually being discussed as politics and not some childish game of name-calling.
It's been a long time since the Democrats had the numbers to call the shots, to ask the tough questions, and to follow through on a threat. Now they can. And it's exciting.
The Dems have been playing a defensive game for over a decade and so it's wonderful to see them go on the offensive. What I see LGND doing is talking real tactics and real strategy. And I applaud her. It makes a great change from the slogan chanting of the past that barely kept hope alive.
There is something very rotten about this administration and it's both shocking and thrilling to see it crumble before our eyes. We're seeing real politics at last and it calls for a different way of reporting.
Hi Mollie ... love the title you labeled your latest commentary with. That's the key to hooking your audience's attention and getting them to explore your analysis further.
In addition, you wrote a strong lead to prod them into reading your subsequent thoughts.
"The game of “Chicken” being played by the Congress and the White House just got a lot more interesting. With passage of the war supplemental by the Senate last week, the next move looked to be the President’s."
Much of what is written in the Blogsosphere is junk and unimaginative but your political observations always deliver, titillating us with a perfect blend of facts and advocacy.
Rebecca Blood, author of "The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog" said recently that they can provide users with access to "pre-surfed" information, as blog editors pick out the tidbits of information that they find most interesting, and highlight those tidbits for their readers.
This is what you do and why I read your Column as frequently as I can.
In my humble opinion, Liberal Girl Next Door is a shining emerald within the Progressive political blog community, helping others to focus on the difficult issues besetting our world.
If anyone here doubts her ability or sincerity just browse through her archieved work dating back to 2005.
From one Blog author to another ... keep up the excellent work and don't listen to the dittohead detractors who realize blogging efforts like yours are slowly shifting power back into the hands of the people away from institutionalized mind think.
The work of an artist is never done and as writers we must continue to craft our words for the benefit of others in the Internet community.
Peace,
Cosmic
I watched Bush's pathetic Rose Garden press conference. No wonder he gave so few Q&A sessions during his first six years; he's not good at answering the tough questions.
He's trying to play up this nonsense that the Democrats are going to be pulling the rug out from under America's troops. As if it wasn't his Veto that was doing that.
The Pentagon still has plenty of cash and so the troops won't be broke until June. And, if Bush does veto the bill, Congress can come back with a scaled down budget --say, a third of what he's asking for-- which will mean he'll have to come begging again in August. By then we'll all have seen his surge fail. And getting the nervous Republicans to join the Democrats will be a lot easier.
I was amazed how many times Bush froze during the question period. He really is lost. And he knows he'll have to pull the troops out.
Good News: Iran will be releasing the 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines taken in disputed waters two weeks ago. This should be a lesson to Bush that talking to one's enemies can lead to a peaceful solution.
Reponse to David's "Good News" - Bush also knows that peace through talking doesn't make his rich buddies more money
Well, I actually think that poor Dubya is thinking of his "legacy". He looks so downcast that I'm sure no one is bringing him an ounce of good news. He's grasping at straws and hoping he can spin this war past January 2009. He doesn't want to go down as the All-Time Biggest Loser. But American historians have placed him --midway through his presidency-- among the top three WORST presidents EVER.
/That'll be something to read in the next editon of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
And the page(s) of The Reader chronicling Dubya's ignominious record may become especially useful, should a TP shortage be discovered belatedly.
Well.... LGND, has your writing style changed?
Kinglingman--Are you trying to suggest that I'm no longer writing this blog, that maybe I've outsourced the job? I can't figure out what you find so different about this post, but I assure you, it's still me.
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