The "Magic Number" is 41 - Not 51, Not 60, Not 67
by roncorvus
The magic number is 41, not 60. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the fact it takes only 41 Senators to kill any bill in the Senate.
In other words, 41 Senate Democrats could have ALREADY ENDED THIS WAR by their 41 selves, by simply filibustering Bush's warfunding bills. Such an option is an old, tried and true tactic used by both parties in the Senate. Each party has more than the 41 Senators needed to block each other's bills. Currently, each party has 49 Senators and two "independents."
THEREFORE, I reiterate: 41 Democratic Senators could have already ended this war by preventing Bush's war appropriations bills from even coming to the Senate floor for a vote. THE PROBLEM IS, the Democratic Party refuses to cut funding to this war. Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi flat out stated that, "Democrats will not cut funding to this war." The problem with this Democratic Party zero-sum position is history - American history; the ONLY WAY our troops have been brought home since the inception of the War Powers Act is when Congress completely cut ALL funds to the war or military action in question; and each time, it was AGAINST the sitting U.S. President's will.
See, http://www.projectfilibuster.com Click on "Withdrawal History."
One of the silliest arguments void of one iota of logic is the infamous bi-partisan claim that we can't cut funding to the troops because we would be harming the troops by cutting funds to our troops in the field. This pro-war bi-partisan mantra can be heard anytime someone suggests cutting funds to the troops. Hillary, Obama and Edwards have all three VOWED never to cut funding to the troops. Obama just voted AGAIN, for the umpteenth time to continue funding The Big Red War Machine, yet his campaign is going on another, "I'm different from Hillary" mediablitz.
It's truly amazing how Democrats have CONvinced Americans that to REMOVE American soldiers from Iraq would be MORE HARMFUL than TO KEEP THEM IN IRAQ! Unbelievable pro-war doublespeak.
Hillary, Obama, Edwards, Biden and others, love to tell the Big Fat Lie to the American people that Democrats do not have the votes needed to stop this war - that it is the Republicans' fault - we need more Republican votes, otherwise, we're dead in the water, stuck in Iraq.
When I call Hillary and the others "LIARS," I do NOT mean it figuratively; I mean it LITERALLY.
These guys are liars, plain and simple. The magic number is NOT 60, or 67, as Joe Biden claims; the Magic Number is 41 folks, and don't ever forget it. It's not about getting 60 votes to pass a bill Senate Democrats and Republicans can agree upon, it's about using 41 existing Senate Democrat votes to kill Bush's multi-billion dollar warfunding bill.
If there was a God, he would allow a human being to ask Hillary (and the others) on national television, "Why do you keep telling everyone that we don't have enough votes to end the war in Iraq, since everyone knows 41 Senate Democrats could have already ended this war via filibuster of the war appropriations bills???????" Why?
The silence would be deafening........or not. Maybe Hillary would auto-waltz right into Pre-Fab Excuse #798: "We can't cut funding to the troops because it would leave our troops unprotected in harm's way."
That ole, shoeworn, partyline excuse and a quarter will get you a...........well, it sure as hell won't get you a cup of coffee these days.
.r o n ron@roncorvus.com
