May 1, 2007, Bring it on
I'm kind of disappointed by the mealy-mouthed comments coming from Democratic leaders prior to what was inevitable, to wit, the President vetoed the Iraq war funding bill that contained time-tables for troop withdrawals. E-mails I keep getting from John Edwards suggest that the Democrats continue to send the President the same bill, until he signs it.
My view is that the Democrats should now move on to their legislative priorities, minimum wage increases, expanding health insurance to the working poor and all children, restoring low income housing subsidies cut by the President's mean-spiritedness, combatting global warming, and... you know. An entirely progressive agenda.
The war funding? Well, the President vetoed it, and the Democrats don't have the votes to override the veto. Fine then. In this case, vetoes work two ways: each house of Congress also carries a veto... this is why we hadn't had a minimum wage increase in the last six years of the Clinton Administration: the Republican majorities simply refused to bring the measures to the floor, and stymied any efforts that got around that refusal.
So, that would be my suggestion: do nothing further.
At this point, the President is at 28% approval ratings, and declining fast. If he wants to play from his extraordinarily weak hand... let him. There's nothing to negotiate, here. The people elected Democratic majorities to end this war. One way or another. [BTW... my view is that it is not automatic that the Iraqi situation is a foregone loser... but there is strong evidence we are making things worse for the Iraqi people by staying, and certainly, any effort where George W. Bush is the ultimate decision-maker is pretty much per se doomed to failure.]
So... that's it. The Democrats gave the President what he wanted, with enough loopholes to fly a C-130 through. But it was not good enough for the five-year old in chief.
Fine, then, Mr. President. You don't like the bill you're served, then you'll go to bed with no bill at all. Good night.
Comments
At last! You have taken the words out of my mouth. The Dems bent over backwards to give Bush the funding he sought. He vetoed that. So let him put that in his pipe and smoke it. Lets move on to bigger issues.
Posted by Robert Della Valle at May 2, 2007 1:24 PM
At last! You have taken the words out of my mouth. The Dems bent over backwards to give Bush the funding he sought. He vetoed that. So let him put that in his pipe and smoke it. Lets move on to bigger issues.
Posted by Robert Della Valle at May 2, 2007 1:24 PM
At last! You have taken the words out of my mouth. The Dems bent over backwards to give Bush the funding he sought. He vetoed that. So let him put that in his pipe and smoke it. Lets move on to bigger issues.
Posted by Robert Della Valle at May 2, 2007 1:24 PM