The dems CAN stop the war, even without enough senate votes to pass a bill, even without enough votes to over-ride a Bush veto.
Imagine me standing a mile away, on an open savanah, in Africa, waving to a galloping herd of elephants to stop. I do it for three seconds, then turn around, shaking my head, muttering... "I tried to stop them." You would look at me as though I were either a liar or idiot. You might be disgusted that I would insult you with the suggestion that you take me seriously.
The members of congress are coming back to a request from Bush for another $50 billion in Iraq war funding. Nancy Pelosi is probably going to say there's nothing she can do to stop it. Harry Reid will do the same.
The Bluedog democrats and other conservative Democrats will probably pretend they are doing their job and pass a bill funding the money, but with requirements for a phased withdrawal. This will will be a lie and a fraud. They know it will not pass in the senate. They're doing it so they can say they are trying to end the war. They are waving, from a mile away at that thundering herd of elephants, knowing full well that it will not work.
The fact is, if the Democrats can work together, with courage and toughness, they can stop the war now. They don't have to pass any legislation. At dinner with friends last night, I told the story of the body parts and the rectum to illustrate my point.
At some point in evolutional history, all the parts had a discussion because they all wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be boss because I am the master controller for all the body's responses and functions."The feet said, "We should be Boss because we get the rest of you where yuo want to go."
The heart said, "I pump the blood that supplies nourishment and energy to you all, so I should be in charge."It went on and on with the hands, the lungs, and the eyes, then finally the rectum spoke up. The other parts all laughed at the idea of the rectum being the Boss. So the rectum went on strike, shutting itself down, refusing to work. After a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands went limp and sweaty, the heart began to beat wildly, the lungs began to heave and the brain became dizzy and lightheaded.
It didn't take long before they all decided that the rectum should be boss.
The story's moral: You don't need brains to be in charge - any asshole can do it.
In the case of the congress, the democratic representatives without the guts to stand up for their constituents are failing America, keeping our democracy from working properly. But the message could also be that while the house can't successfully pass a bill that will be approved by the senate that overcomes veto by President Bush, they can just hunker down, like the rectum in the joke, and refuse to authorize the funding. They can refuse to authorize ANY further funding until the troops are withdrawn.
They should expect the right wingers, the president and all the media surrogates and pundits to raise hell, whining and crying about the Democrats not supporting the troops. And they should be prepared to come back strong rebutting the lies. They should come up with a budget to run ads counter to the attack the right wing will throw at them. The response should be tough and hit back even harder than the right wingers hit, accusing the minority of betraying the troops and lying, of allowing yes men generals who replace honest generals to protect a president who is a lying failure.
They can do this. It will take courage and cooperation and teamwork.
If they do it, they will win even bigger next year, in the '08 elections. If they fail to get the job done, they will be hurt by that failure.
While they're at it, they should pass clear legislation forbidding Bush from directing an attack against Iran. And force the Republicans to filibuster. The vast majority of Americans oppose such a war. It's
