It gets hard to keep track of all this stuff, doesn't it?
When we have a President of the United States doing so many things wrong, for so long and we finally get a Democratic Congress that will actually take their oversight responsibilities seriously, well, the bills start flying faster than Dick Cheney can say "go f*** yourself" to Senator Patrick Leahy.
So let me clear up what's happening in the Senate where, at press time, we have three pieces of legislation that seek to neuter George W. Bush's ability to escalate the Iraq war.
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has introduced one bill, currently cosponsored by seven Senators, to remove any funding for sending additional troops to Iraq. The legislation proposed by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) doesn't mention money, but cuts right to the chase by simply mandating that any new troop deployment for Iraq must be approved by Congress.
Then there's the Biden-Hagel-Levin resolution, introduced on Wednesday, that more or less tells Bush that Congress is against escalating the war but, as a non-binding resolution, does not compel the president to cancel sending 22,000 more troops to Iraq.
The best way to make sense of this is to cut to (quite literally) the bottom line of these bills to see what Congress is really trying to say.
In all three pieces of legislation, good preambles are given spelling out exactly what the problem is -- in other words, they all detail just what a mess Iraq has become and why the American people have said "enough." Some or all of the bills cite the 3,000 troops we have lost, the number of Americans wounded, the number of Iraqis who have died and the total lack of foundation for a continued U.S. presence in Iraq based on the original resolution allowing Bush to start the war.
Statements are cited from Generals Abizaid and Casey saying more troops will not get the job done and all three mention the sectarian violence and the fact that our military is now smack-dab in the middle of a civil war.
The bipartisan, non-binding resolution also mentions America's standing in the world, saying "the situation in Iraq is damaging the standing, influence, and interests of the United States in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world."
OK, so all three establish that the whole thing's a mess and we should not be pursuing John McCain's advice of putting more troops in such an awful situation -- but what's to be done?
The Biden-Hagel-Levin resolution is what's called a Senate Concurrent Resolution -- meaning that it also goes to the House of Representatives for a vote -- and it expresses the resolve of Congress that we no longer belong in Iraq, that the only solution is political, that regional political involvement is necessary and that the U.S. should have an "expedited timeline" for having Iraqi forces, not American troops, halt the sectarian violence.
But the big line is the one that says "it is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating the United States military force in Iraq."
All well and good -- and it's nice to have a Republican or two on board -- but it does nothing to tangibly alter Bush's intended course of action. As Republican Chuck Hagel, one of the measure's authors, said on CNN this morning, Bush "can't dismiss the Congress like it's some appendage" instead of a coequal branch of government representing the peoples' will, but you know that's not how this White House views governing.
As for the Kennedy bill, the bottom line is as follows:
"President George W. Bush should not be permitted to increase the number of United States troops in harm's way in the civil war in Iraq without a new authorization from Congress that reflects the reality of the changed circumstances on the ground in Iraq.
"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be obligated or expended by the United States Government to increase the number of United States military forces in Iraq above the number for such forces which existed as of January 9, 2007, without a specific authorization of Congress by law for such an increase."
So Kennedy's legislation cuts off the money for new troops going to Iraq and, while it would be binding on the president, the White House insists it already has the money to send the 22,000 extra troops without any additional funding from Capitol Hill.
If that's true, the best option may be Dodd's legislation, which does not rely on funding restrictions but simply lays it on the line by prohibiting any further troops from being sent without Congressional approval.
McCain has jumped aboard the USS Sink-A-Lot for sure!!!
Bush's first mate welcomed him aboard, it was more less an lure, with a personal invitation to dine at the G.W.Bushiite Captain's table and his devilish crew. Some mighty temptation there!!!
by
Fred F (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 361 comments)
on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 9:09:45 PM
I think the Biden-Hagel-Levin resolution is the best way to go for now. I like Hagel and want him involved. Being a Republican, he is an excellent spokesperson against the war. I think his stand against the issue has really helped the issue be a bipartisan effort instead of it just being "Democrats" who are against the war. He also makes it easier for Republicans in the country to adopt the same attitude and still consider themselves "Republican."
by
Arouet (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments)
on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 11:15:23 PM
Anti Amnesty McCain Doctrine For Dummies & George W Bush!
So dare I add "And George W Bush" speaking of Dummies?...
Since its also hard to tell which is The Dummy and which
one is The Ventrilogist Generalissmo Foul Up George W Bush
or Good Old Boy & World Class Bush Buttkisser Amnesty
John McCain apart,since after all they are the reason that
we really do need a book like,"Anti-McCain-Doctrine
Legislation For Dummies" and we all can use a similiar
one for "The Queen of San Francisco Looney Tones, Democrat
Mental Midget Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Pelosi's Prince
Consort Wimpy Harebrain Harry The Wishy Washy!" So as you
can see that I'm an Equal Time Critic and Independent
Voter that thinks both the Democrats and Republicans Suck!
by
Ralph (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 74 comments)
on Friday, January 19, 2007 at 3:36:29 PM
4 comments
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It gets hard to keep track of all this stuff, doesn't it?
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