I'm about done with the whole "support our troops" idea, which I hold largely responsible for the outcome of yesterdays vote.
I had always found the "I oppose the war, but I support our troops" saying to be an untenable distinction. And as the war drags on into its fourth year, and even the Democrats seem unwilling to stop it, I think we need to reject that distinction. The troops and the war are INEXTRICABLE.
War funding doesn't go to "support our troops," but rather, to continue the war in Iraq. The army, led by the commander-in-chief, as an institution is in charge of the way that the troops are "supported." If the army is not provided with enough money to run a big war, they are not going to make the troops fight with slingshots and snowballs, but rather, they will remove troops from Iraq. If they do not do this--if Petraeus or Bush choose to fight this war on the cheap--that is their choice.
I'll come right out and say that I have held an unpopular view regarding the American military from the beginning of the war. I view the troops as belonging to a somewhat bloodthirsty culture, and the service branches as having traditions that really conflict with American democracy. And I really do think that people who enlisted after 2003 bear some responsibility for continuing to participate in this war. I recently read of a young man who had been killed who signed up in 2005. He wasn't poor, he just had always wanted to join the Special Forces. He was described as a football player who "wasn't given to introspection." Excuse me for believing that people ought to exercise a little introspection before picking up a weapon and going abroad to shoot other people.
I'd like us as a party to refocus our attention from "supporting our troops" to supporting some of the many other issues that plague our country. The minimum wage is a good first step--there are many others. Let's turn toward the armies of children who need education, the armies of people who need health care, and the armies of young people who need jobs that don't involve foreign occupation.