Democratic Representative Ike Skelton from Missouri was overheard by a Wall Street Journal reporter at a hearing for Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who were about to testify about current conditions in Iraq. He leaned over to say this to Republican Representative Duncan Hunter, “That really pisses me off down there, those assholes.”
Dem. Rep. Ike Skelton again was overheard saying, “Out they go,” as at least a half-dozen protesters were arrested and escorted out of the hearing. Skelton was visibly irritated. He said “Are they gone?” to nobody specific after all the “assholes” had been removed.
Forget that these may be your constituents, Mr. Skelton. Forget that these protesters voted for your party to come in and take control of Iraq and bring the troops home in November last year. Forget that your party has failed. Let’s examine the hard fact that you have ignored one congressman’s plan for no apparent or logical reason.
In February 2006, the Democrats were going to come together behind a “strategic redeployment” plan that would have had our soldiers withdrawn and redeployed to other areas outside the region by the end of 2007. Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Russ Feingold even had a plan to get troops out by July 1, 2007. Unfortunately, so far, Democrats like you, Mr. Skelton, have failed to unite behind any sort of a plan that gets our soldiers out of the chaos that engulfs Iraq.
There were brief signs that the Democrats had found their backbone in April this year. On April 26th, the House and Senate approved H.R. 1591 providing $124.2 billion primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and setting benchmarks and a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. While it did continue funding the war, it at least meant that a majority had come to their senses and realized it was time to start moving out of Iraq.
Unfortunately, President Bush vetoed H.R. 1591 days later on May 1st. That unfortunately was not the unfortunate part. The unfortunate part was that the Democrats failed to line up votes to override Bush’s veto. And so, Mr. Skelton, your party was back to having no plan, no backbone, and back to having frustrated American protesters like the ones you deem “assholes”.
The Democratic Party, the party you are part of Mr. Skelton, chose to go ahead and give Bush what he wanted and therefore, let the American people down on May 24th of this year when the Democrats passed a motion to give 120 billion dollars more to the war, which added on to the already extravagant amount of money that has been thrown at this war for the past four years with the hopes of fixing “the problem”, whatever that “problem” may be.
Ten so-called anti-war Democrats voted against the motion in the Senate. While I welcome the winds of change, Mr. Skelton, most of the ten were doing it for political reasons so that they can gain voters in the coming election. Most likely they would authorize a future war with Iran or Pakistan or whichever country the bureaucracy and policymakers in this country decide to go in and invade and rebuild for our own gain next.
Only one Democrat is really anti-war and that is Congressman Dennis Kucinich from Ohio. He has voted against authorization, funding of the war, and adamantly pushed for defunding of the war for close to a year now.
You want to know what defunding of the war is, Mr. Skelton? Well, first off, I would reckon that a few of those “assholes” who made you uncomfortable support Dennis Kucinich’s plan even if they don’t know what it is.
Kucinich’s plan works like this, Mr. Skelton:
“We do not have to fund the war. We must tell the President NO to any additional funding. No legislation is required. No vote is required. We have the money to bring the troops home. It does not require a vote. The only thing required is honesty, integrity and a willingness to end the war.”- Dennis Kucinich
You see, Mr. Skelton, those “assholes” have a legitimate reason to be upset. Democrats should have never given Gen. Petraeus his precious “surge”. Democrats should have never allowed the Iraq War to enter a new stage that would increase the violence and chaos. In lieu of all the policy blunders and past bureaucratic failures with all organizations and authorities involved with getting the job done, Democrats should never have been fooled into continuing the war under another General who would and did just give Americans more of the same. Democrats should have used the money they had to bring the troops home (and still should use money already appropriated to bring the troops home).
Those “assholes” are voters who your Democratic Party is depending on to help them win elections in November of 2008. My advice is that you and all other Democrats consider restructuring the policy supported for in Iraq and shift to a policy that involves bringing the troops home under already appropriated funds and instituting a UN peacekeeping and security task force to stabilize the region. Doing so will remove our troops who are sitting ducks for freedom fighters in Iraq who fear that we have planned a permanent occupation and an allowed corporate takeover of their oil reserves, which is well-founded.
Mr. Skelton, I realize that in Washington, as many politicians claim, one can become short-sighted. One can become out of touch with reality. And to help you, I’m encouraging you to take a vacation from those “assholes”. I’m asking you to step down and resign. I’m asking you to go on a vacation on some island where “assholes” won’t bother you. Go somewhere where the “assholes” won’t be able to be seen in much the same way that flag-draped coffins are unable to be seen in America.
The last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable with having to make policy decisions while “assholes” practice their First Amendment and speak out against the decisions you are allowing to be made or the flawed speeches lined with rhetoric you are allowing to go unchallenged at the expense of the lives of our American soldiers who will come home as veterans and live pitiful lives on the streets or in VA hospitals until they die.
1 | 2
