Well, maybe not “never”, but if not now, then “when”?
This was not an unexpected victory (as both houses of Congress passed similar bills and there was little doubt that a compromise bill would be passed). This was not even really a huge victory per se, but it was a huge step forward – one of many, many huge steps that need to be taken – in order to extricate ourselves from Iraq in a not-totally-and-completely-utterly-stupid manner.
But this was the easier part.
There is still little serious doubt that Bush would veto, although many of us (and just recently a retired general) have said that it would be utterly stupid for him to NOT take the money and run (and it would be), he is too stubborn and arrogant of a man to go back on his threats, feet stomping and temper tantrums. Yes, there are not enough votes to override his veto, but that isn’t really the point right now. Send back the same bill. Or one that is more tough. Binding timeframes. A shorter timeframe of funding, with binding timeframes. The public wants it. The public needs it.
We the People demand it.
We don’t care when Joe Lieberman says “In my opinion, Iraq is not yet lost.” We don’t want to hear Bush say “Last November, the American people said they were frustrated and wanted a change of strategy on Iraq. I listened”. We are smarter than that. There was no change. Just the same stupid half baked non-plan without enough troops or proper body armor or equipment or rest or length of tour as the very stupid half baked non-plan that they had back in 2003.
Bush doesn’t get to talk tough anymore. Especially when his approval is at an all time low:
Of the 1,001 American adults polled online April 20-23, only 28% had a positive view of Mr. Bush’s job performance, down from 32% in February and from a high of 88% in the aftermath of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The current rating is his weakest showing since his inauguration.
Double especially not when his own friggin party is getting fed up with the daily death, destruction and growing civil war:
While polls have shown GOP voters are still largely behind Bush on the biggest issue of the day — the Iraq war — his base of support is showing signs of splintering. A Pew Research Center survey issued Thursday found that 54 percent of Republicans and voters who lean Republican want a presidential candidate who will take a different approach to the war in Iraq.
The public is screaming for Congress to hang tough and dig in. We are COUNTING on it now. 64% want a timeline. 57% say Congress should have the final say on troop levels. Only 24% think the increased troop levels are helping the situation. 62% don’t think that what the administration is saying about Iraq is accurate. And that is before this administration’s latest lies about Iraq were exposed.
The pressure will be tremendous. The consequences of folding now immeasurable, as there is already talk of the escalation (which by all accounts and measures is the biggest failure of all the failures so far.
Benchmarks are just as bad of an idea. There is barely a functioning government as is. And that was before newer reports of support for al-Maliki was eroding further. Hell, the benchmarks have already been missed.
They have had over four years of a failed policy. Every single idea has been an absolute disaster..
Republicans have supported and demanded timelines when it came to Bosnia. They must be called hypocrites for their lies of today. They are the ones who are supporting an arrogant and ill-advised decision with even less thought put in as each failure, lie and cover up is illuminated for the world to see.
There is no fix that our troops can provide. Even the goddamn General in charge RIGHT NOW says there is no military solution. A drastically different direction is mandated. An IMMEDIATE and radical change of direction is being called for by the American people. Your constituents. We want out. And soon (well, now but we know that “rightfuckingnow” isn’t really feasible).
The pendulum is swinging more and more towards getting out of Iraq every day. It has swung substantially since the supplemental bill was first debated in the House weeks ago. It will continue to swing in this direction. You MUST get our troops out of Iraq. The discussions with Bush must send an absolutely clear message that his plans are not going to happen.
Period.
He should thank his lucky stars that he even got the bill that is going to be in front of him. If he isn’t grateful enough, then that is too fucking bad. This should be the best bill he sees.
He dared the Democrats to come up with another plan for Iraq. Here is the plan. Don’t like it? Well then he certainly shouldn’t like the next plan more than this. Because if he does, then the public most certainly won’t. The public wants Congress to make the call here, not the administration. The public is with you, and growing stronger.
The public has your back. By an overwhelming margin.
Don’t let us down.