Good News and Bad News
…the good news is that we have plenty of it
By streiff Posted in Democrats — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Apparently the vestigial sense of shame available to the Democrat caucus has kicked in and John Murtha’s scheme for defunding the war has been canned.
House Democrats have pulled back from efforts to link additional funding for the war to strict troop-readiness standards after the proposal came under withering fire from Republicans and from their party's own moderates. That strategy was championed by Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) and endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Too bad. I would have paid good money to watch this play out.
On the other hand, the newest great idea is the repeal of the authorization for the use of force in Iraq.
"I've had enough of 'nonbinding,' " said Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who is helping to draft the new Democratic proposal. The 2002 war resolution, he said, is an obvious target.
"The authorization that we gave the president back in 2002 is completely, completely outdated, inappropriate to what we're engaged in today," he said.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) began calling for a reauthorization of the war early last month and raised it again last week, during a gathering in the office of Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). Participants included Kerry, Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.), Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), Jack Reed (R.I.) and Russell Feingold (Wis.). Those Democratic senators have emerged as an unofficial war council representing the caucus's wide range of views.
While more intelligent sounding than Murtha’s addled scheme it faces a lot of the same logical and procedural problems. We wrote on this subject a while back and if anything holding forty votes together on this will be much more of a challenge to Mitch McConnell than demanding debate on a Republican resolution on Iraq.
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Should the dem's actually carry through with this particular strategy, we may get to revisit and address the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution.
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“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.” – Ronald Reagan
From the article:
The new framework would set a goal for withdrawing combat brigades by March 31, 2008, the same timetable established by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. Once the combat phase ends, troops would be restricted to assisting Iraqis with training, border security and counterterrorism.
Huh?
How do you assist Iraqis with border security and counterterrorism without combat forces?
Isn't this just another exercise in eating your cake and having it too, while blaming Bush for your weight gain?
The War Resolution is out of date, and probably should be revised. In a responsible Congress, of course, this would simply be a reaffirmation of the goals the President has laid out and an authorization of force to achieve those ends. At the very least, it should be an acknowledgment of our promises to the new Iraqi government and her people, and a commitment to protect her sovereignty.
If they really wanted to set a deadline (no pun intended), they could set a goal date for withdrawal, which would only take effect if the facts on the ground warranted it; i.e. only if the goals laid out in the authorization have been achieved.
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the plan of M. Kerry and his allies. This is just another tactic to run away and pretend that there are no consequences. In the right hands, though, revising the war authorization would be completely appropriate (and probably should have happened already).
The U.S. Constitution does not grant that authority to the Legislative Branch. That authority is reserved for the Executive, and shall be executed by the Commander-in-Chief.
- Congress is authorized to:
- Affirm the original resolution by funding the mission.
- Recind the original resolution and refuse to appropriate additional funding for the mission.
- Accept responsibilty for their action.
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“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.” – Ronald Reagan
Harry Reid's going to have to get hard assurances that he can win a vote on this before he'll start waltzing Matilda.
Well, he doesn't have to get it - but he will, anyway. It's his, ah, style.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.