The Shortest Term
Posted on
Friday, May 25, 2007
by Gary A. Ballard
The last week has been a depressing one for anyone following Congressional activity, unless you are a fan of the current administration and its army of sycophantic fearmongers. First we had the news that a "compromise" had been reached in the immigration battle, a compromise which promised to give President Bush and his corporate backers the cheap slave labor it wanted. Then, we were treated to the news that the Democrats in Congress had reached a "compromise" with President Bush on Iraq war funding. The word compromise is in quotes because both of these deals are nothing like a compromise, unless your definition of compromise is the one used by the Bush administration. You know the definition, as seen in their wonderful diplomatic relations with North Korea, Iran and the UN. Give us what we want or we'll do it anyway and blame you when it fails. And if we're being really petulant, we'll blow the shit out of you and everyone we love in a fit of pique. The two deals struck by Congress with the White House this week represent a low point in politics, and are a depressing reminder that the Democratic party still have not gotten their collective shit together.
This Democratic majority came in with clear mandates from the people of this country. The message was clear. The Bush administration and its rubber stamp Congress were driving this country into ruin, and the Democrats were needed to fix it, real quick like. The main symptom of the problem was clearly the war in Iraq, but it was only a symptom of the real problem. This president and his vice president in charge were dangerously abusive of their power, and were constantly seeking to legitimize that overreaches of power through lies, deception, political wrangling and worst of all, redefining the terms of their office's authority. More than just ending the war in Iraq, the Democrats needed to attack the disease at its core, a runaway rogue branch of government doing what it wanted, when it wanted with no checks to its authority.
These two bills are wretched displays of simpering surrender, resembling the servility of a whipped dog who has rolled over to show its belly to its master. I realize its difficult to go against an obstinate President without the two-thirds majority needed to override his veto. I get that. But that doesn't mean it's suddenly acceptable for this Congress to give up after the first veto.
The immigration bill is a joke. It's a bald-faced paean to the gods of exploitative capitalism. Not only does it grant amnesty to law-breakers, giving illegal immigrants a clear path to citizenship while not helping those immigrants who have chosen to follow the hard yet legitimate path, but it does so for the worst of reasons. Grading immigrants on a point system, it gives greater emphasis on work-related skills than anything else. It's almost a recruiting application for corporations seeking to hire illegals. Even worse, it favors those job skills over family units, which is the galling part. The bill reads like nothing more than a corporate wish list for cheap yet skilled labor. Does this country really want to change the slogan "Give me your tired, your poor,. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" to "Give us your doctors, your engineers because American labor wants too much money and too many benefits?" Protecting the working man from exploitation by corporate greedheads is supposed to be one of the planks of the Democratic Party Platform, and this bill shits upon that ideal.
But the Iraq war funding bill is worse. The Democratic majority was elected to end the Iraq War. Poll after poll after poll have proven that the vast majority of Americans want us to get the fuck out of Iraq as quickly as possible. We are tired of watching Americans die because they are trying to referee the worst type of civil war, one fought over which religious sect gets to control the political power in a country. There may never have been a more obvious mandate for any Congress in history. But the Democratic majority has pissed upon that mandate by offering a bill that gives the President everything he wanted in the first place.
To the Congressional Democrats who voted for this spending bill, I must ask you. What do you think this accomplished? Do you think that by giving the President what he wants now, he'll later show you some love on something you want? If the President were a reasonable man, that might happen, but the President is not a reasonable man. He is the bullheaded retard puppet with Dick Cheney's hand pulling the strings. Dick Cheney is an unreasonable cunt, who believes that compromise involves you agreeing with him completely. They will not budge because they do not have to. Furthermore, despite their intractability causing disruptions in funding to the troops, they will continue to blame the Democrats for the delays and their servile news media will let them do so. These people are cut from the same mold as Newt Gingrich only less cuddly. They will not quit, they will not give up, unless you compel them to do so.
The proper course of action for a responsible majority who cannot override a veto is not to just give in. Every minute our troops are in Iraq is a minute they are the target of someone. They have no support over there. There is no functioning government, police force or army for our troops to get support from. They are in an unwinnable situation, with no fucking idea what conditions will constitute a strategic victory. They are living day to day, trying to keep their head down so that it doesn't get shot off or blown up by one of any number of hidden enemies. The responsible course of action for the majority is to meet the rock with a hard place.
Keep hammering at the timelines. If he vetoes one bill with timelines, send him another goddamn bill with timelines. If he vetos that, send it again. No amount of jiggering, rejiggering, semantics or wordplay is going to garner a Presidential signature if the bill compels him to do anything he does not want to do, especially if it compels him to take responsibility for his failures. And when it comes to the time that the military has no more funds with which to carry out the Iraq war, if the President still will not accept timelines, then refuse to fund the war. Refuse it. It's going to hurt and it's going to seem intransigent. But you know what?
It's the right goddamn thing to do.
The President needs to have his arm twisted. The Congress controls the purse strings. Funding his wars only makes you culpable in senseless slaughter. And if the President still refuses to bring our troops home, impeach him. God knows he's done so many things worth impeachment that I'm quite sure SOMETHING would stick, if nothing more than obstruction of justice and the crime of lying to the American people.
Stop being pussies. Stop worrying about taking the blame in the short term. Take that short term political hit. Nothing will erase the memory of defunding the military like pictures of the troops coming home right as we head into primary season. Republicans who supported the President, who support the war in Iraq will be unable to fight against the image of military families embracing on the tarmac after a long nightmare of separation. That's the image you want to hang on Democratic Presidential Candidates, those joyous reunions of the bravest of men and women in the world.
I would like to give thanks to Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama and all the others who voted against the funding bill. Now if the rest of the Democrats would grow some sack, perhaps we could end this shameful chapter in American history and get back to cleaning up the rest of the administration's messes. New Orleans residents still need houses.
This Democratic majority came in with clear mandates from the people of this country. The message was clear. The Bush administration and its rubber stamp Congress were driving this country into ruin, and the Democrats were needed to fix it, real quick like. The main symptom of the problem was clearly the war in Iraq, but it was only a symptom of the real problem. This president and his vice president in charge were dangerously abusive of their power, and were constantly seeking to legitimize that overreaches of power through lies, deception, political wrangling and worst of all, redefining the terms of their office's authority. More than just ending the war in Iraq, the Democrats needed to attack the disease at its core, a runaway rogue branch of government doing what it wanted, when it wanted with no checks to its authority.
These two bills are wretched displays of simpering surrender, resembling the servility of a whipped dog who has rolled over to show its belly to its master. I realize its difficult to go against an obstinate President without the two-thirds majority needed to override his veto. I get that. But that doesn't mean it's suddenly acceptable for this Congress to give up after the first veto.
The immigration bill is a joke. It's a bald-faced paean to the gods of exploitative capitalism. Not only does it grant amnesty to law-breakers, giving illegal immigrants a clear path to citizenship while not helping those immigrants who have chosen to follow the hard yet legitimate path, but it does so for the worst of reasons. Grading immigrants on a point system, it gives greater emphasis on work-related skills than anything else. It's almost a recruiting application for corporations seeking to hire illegals. Even worse, it favors those job skills over family units, which is the galling part. The bill reads like nothing more than a corporate wish list for cheap yet skilled labor. Does this country really want to change the slogan "Give me your tired, your poor,. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" to "Give us your doctors, your engineers because American labor wants too much money and too many benefits?" Protecting the working man from exploitation by corporate greedheads is supposed to be one of the planks of the Democratic Party Platform, and this bill shits upon that ideal.
But the Iraq war funding bill is worse. The Democratic majority was elected to end the Iraq War. Poll after poll after poll have proven that the vast majority of Americans want us to get the fuck out of Iraq as quickly as possible. We are tired of watching Americans die because they are trying to referee the worst type of civil war, one fought over which religious sect gets to control the political power in a country. There may never have been a more obvious mandate for any Congress in history. But the Democratic majority has pissed upon that mandate by offering a bill that gives the President everything he wanted in the first place.
To the Congressional Democrats who voted for this spending bill, I must ask you. What do you think this accomplished? Do you think that by giving the President what he wants now, he'll later show you some love on something you want? If the President were a reasonable man, that might happen, but the President is not a reasonable man. He is the bullheaded retard puppet with Dick Cheney's hand pulling the strings. Dick Cheney is an unreasonable cunt, who believes that compromise involves you agreeing with him completely. They will not budge because they do not have to. Furthermore, despite their intractability causing disruptions in funding to the troops, they will continue to blame the Democrats for the delays and their servile news media will let them do so. These people are cut from the same mold as Newt Gingrich only less cuddly. They will not quit, they will not give up, unless you compel them to do so.
The proper course of action for a responsible majority who cannot override a veto is not to just give in. Every minute our troops are in Iraq is a minute they are the target of someone. They have no support over there. There is no functioning government, police force or army for our troops to get support from. They are in an unwinnable situation, with no fucking idea what conditions will constitute a strategic victory. They are living day to day, trying to keep their head down so that it doesn't get shot off or blown up by one of any number of hidden enemies. The responsible course of action for the majority is to meet the rock with a hard place.
Keep hammering at the timelines. If he vetoes one bill with timelines, send him another goddamn bill with timelines. If he vetos that, send it again. No amount of jiggering, rejiggering, semantics or wordplay is going to garner a Presidential signature if the bill compels him to do anything he does not want to do, especially if it compels him to take responsibility for his failures. And when it comes to the time that the military has no more funds with which to carry out the Iraq war, if the President still will not accept timelines, then refuse to fund the war. Refuse it. It's going to hurt and it's going to seem intransigent. But you know what?
It's the right goddamn thing to do.
The President needs to have his arm twisted. The Congress controls the purse strings. Funding his wars only makes you culpable in senseless slaughter. And if the President still refuses to bring our troops home, impeach him. God knows he's done so many things worth impeachment that I'm quite sure SOMETHING would stick, if nothing more than obstruction of justice and the crime of lying to the American people.
Stop being pussies. Stop worrying about taking the blame in the short term. Take that short term political hit. Nothing will erase the memory of defunding the military like pictures of the troops coming home right as we head into primary season. Republicans who supported the President, who support the war in Iraq will be unable to fight against the image of military families embracing on the tarmac after a long nightmare of separation. That's the image you want to hang on Democratic Presidential Candidates, those joyous reunions of the bravest of men and women in the world.
I would like to give thanks to Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama and all the others who voted against the funding bill. Now if the rest of the Democrats would grow some sack, perhaps we could end this shameful chapter in American history and get back to cleaning up the rest of the administration's messes. New Orleans residents still need houses.
Labels: Bush Administration, Government Corruption, Iraq, Politics
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 9:34 AM
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