Senators Claire McCaskill and James Webb have called for the formation of an independent commission to investigate war profiteering in this country. The effort would be similar to one that was formed by Harry Truman during World War II, whose work on that issue was instrumental in preventing it from ever being a serious problem.
There is no more middle ground anymore for the Republicans, as much as people like Senator Arlen Specter try to find one. The war has come to the point where they must do one of two things -- either do it right or go home.
The problem is that we, as a nation, have completely lost sight of the concept of self-sacrifice that we had during the Second World War. Everybody was expected to help chip in in some way to help out with the war effort. And war contractors were expected to make their products and provide services in a way that did not involve overcharging the government. There was too much at stake then.
The fact of the matter is that I completely expect what the GOP's answer will be -- do nothing on this issue. The fact of the matter is simple -- they are guilty of the worst form of cowardice. They are guilty of cowardice because they are afraid of the consequences of trying to force us to make the kinds of sacrifices that we made during the Second World War -- and come to grips with the horrors of war. And they are guilty of cowardice because they are afraid of the alternative -- of ending the occupation of Iraq.
The kind of cowardice that the Republicans are guilty of is the kind that leads to complete paralysis. It has come to where the Bush administration has an acute powerlessness and helplessness to take the necessary steps to protect our country and to bring about peace in the Middle East. It has come to the point where even if he is saying the right thing, nobody is listening to him. Gandhi once said that you can change a violent man, but not a coward. And the cowards within the Bush administration and the rubber stamp Republicans are going to be awfully difficult to change. The best way to accomplish that is to run strong candidates against all of the incumbents and make Iraq the issue -- then, maybe, the fear of electoral defeat will force them to do the right thing, like Gordon Smith has.
And the GOP is unwilling to do the other necessary steps that it takes to "win" the war -- whatever that may be. They frame this issue as a World War II issue and invoke its memory -- but the difference is clear -- FDR always had a clear objective and definition of victory -- unconditional surrender. There have been quite a few legitimate criticisms made about that, but that was a clear objective.
The Republicans, on the other hand, are unwilling to call a draft. They are unwilling to properly equip the troops. They are unwilling to rotate the troops home every 15 months. They are unwilling to enlist or ask others to do so. All of these things are steps that Roosevelt did in World War II. All of these things are things that the Republicans are totally unwilling to do in this war.
Given the lack of resolve and the collective cowardice of the Republicans on Iraq, and their lack of willingness of seeing this thing through, I wonder if the threat is as big as they keep claiming it is. We see George Bush raising all these terror alerts going on in graphic detail how Al-Qaeda is supposedly going to attack us. Yet, when Harry Reid pressed to get the Homeland Security Bill that would implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, the Rubber Stamp Republicans blocked consideration of the bill, insisting that it be moved to next week. And Bush is not credible -- if these terror alerts are really so serious, then why is he threatening to veto the very bill that would help protect us against these terror attacks? Could it be that he is really using these terror alerts for partisan political purposes again?
And if Bush is really so concerned about terrorism, then why has he done nothing about the 214 bombings and arsons of abortion clinics in this country since the late 1970's? It's OK if you're one of the allies of the Republican Party or you happen to have business dealings with Bush. The fact that Bush lacks the resolve to see through this war means that the threat is really not so serious in the first place. The fact that Mr. George Bush Right or Wrong, Mitch McConnell, is holding up Homeland Security Legislation suggests that Bush is merely playing the terror card for partisan political purposes. And this is bolstered by the fact that Bush will do nothing about protecting this country from even more bombings by right-wing fanatics who would bomb more abortion clinics because they supposedly have a hotline from God. This tells me that Bush is guilty of selective outrage when it comes to dealing with terrorism -- he does a masterful job of playing the terror card when it suits his partisan political purposes, but then he turns around and obstructs any real efforts to protect us.
It is highly likely that Bush or the Roadblock Republicans will try to block the efforts to establish an independent commission to investigate war profiteering like they did in the last session of Congress. This makes one thing clear -- Democrats do everything that they can to protect our taxpayers against their money being misused. Republicans do not -- they have come to the point where they will roadblock just for the sake of it.