Posted by
arandomguy on Monday, March 12, 2007 11:31:35 PM
Top Democrats in the House have backed down from an addendum to a military spending bill which would require President Bush to get congressional approval before going to war with Iran. Conservative Democrats, GOP house members, as well as some pro-Israel members of the house lobbied successfully for the change in strategy. This is one attempt at destroying the US Constitution that has been shot down. Let us hope the others are struck down just the same.
This news comes as Democrats are pursuing an initial "test vote" on an Appropriations bill that would require President Bush to withdraw troops from active combat on or before September 1, 2008. Dick Cheney today, coming out hard against Democrats, said this only helps the enemy by giving him a clock to watch. This bill is foolish and dangerous, and I applaud the President for saying he will veto it should it pass the house (I doubt it will get past the Senate filibuster). Even if it passes the house, there is no way it will garner the 2/3 majority needed to override the president's veto - but it will set a dangerous precedent nonetheless.
House GOP leader John Boehner also had the right idea. In a statement issued today, he said "Republicans will continue to stand united in this debate, and will oppose
efforts by Democrats to undermine the ability of General Petraeus and our troops
to achieve victory in the Global War on Terror." It is good to hear these statements from our leaders, because they are the people in charge of deciding the fate of this war - and let us hope they have made the right decisions.
Another statement by Cheney, released today, explains that it is ridiculous for members of the House and Senate to oppose tying the administrations hands in relation to Iran, but support tying the administrations hands in relation to Iraq. "It is simply not consistent for anyone to demand aggressive action against the
menace posed by the Iranian regime while at the same time acquiescing in a
retreat from Iraq that would leave our worst enemies dramatically emboldened and
Israel's best friend, the United States, dangerously weakened," he said.
It seems the Democrats have more than they bargained for, now that they are in the (very slim) majority. Though they have their far left nut-jobs who are demanding a withdrawal immediately, the conservative and moderate Democrats oppose tying the commander-in-chief's hands too much - which is good because it is a dangerous path to enter. This is just the latest of many resolutions the Democrats have released that are doomed to fail, because of GOP opposition, and because the Democratic platform simply does not resonate with people.
At least now they have the balls to admit what it is they stand for - a total retreat from a hot war zone, that would have catastrophic results for this country. They have passed the "non-binding" stage, which sends harshly worded letters of disapproval to the President. Though I oppose them, it's nice that they finally are showing their true colors - that they stand for retreat, defeat, and weakening of America.
Additionally, many democratic leaders didn't count on something they should have foreseen. In order to win election in November, the Democrats had to nominate several moderate and conservative Democrats. However, these Democrats are not in line with the rank-and-file leftists who are increasingly prominent within the party, and will not go along with such measures as timetables for withdrawal, and legislation attempting to tie the President's hands in foreign policy matters. Since the House majority hinges on having all Democrats vote the same way - 15 defections and the nay's outnumber the aye's - the Democrats need to work hard to keep everybody in line. This will be difficult considering leftists want one thing, and the more conservative Democrats something totally different.
This wasn't something the Democrats counted on, and despite their best efforts to cover it, they will eventually break under the strain of leadership, just as the Republicans did.