I don't know about you, but I am growing increasingly tired of the Democratic charade on the subject of Iraq.
When the Republicans accuse the Democrats of playing politics with the Iraq war, they are absolutely right. The Democrats have all the votes they need to end this war...now. All it takes is 41 votes in the Senate. The day that 41 Senators stand up and say they won't support another dime for this tragic occupation without a date certain for withdrawal and will filibuster any attempt to approve a blank check, it's all over.
Bush can't print the money himself. And he can't veto a bill that doesn't pass. He needs Congress to approve the funding. The Democrats have all the power they need to end this on as quick a timetable as they want to impose.
Instead, we have the Democrats putting up resolution after resolution this week, every one of which they knew were going to fail. And if one had passed by a miracle, Bush would have saved them anyway, with his veto pen.
The bottom line here has been clear from day one. For the Democrats to actually use their power to end this war, they have to be willing to take responsibility for it and the final outcome. They have to be willing to lead this country, and so far they've shown no inclination to do so.
Don't tell me the Democrats don't have the votes. That is a patently false argument. This is about politics. The Democrats in Washington are letting troops continue to die in Iraq so they can reap the political rewards in the 2008 election. That's all this is about. That's why Harry Reid tossed all these loser resolutions into the hopper this week... as he stated today, this is now a Republican war. These votes this week were about sending that message to voters.
And please, don't waste my time with arguments that a stronger Democratic majority will finally bring an end to the war. I don't believe it. They have the power now and they won't use it. What makes you think they'll use it in January 2009? The 2010 elections will be right around the corner, after all, and the Dems won't want to be tarred as the party that lost Iraq. Better to let the killing continue, right?
The fact is, if this war isn't winding down by the end of next year, it's going to become the Dem's problem. JFK's war became LBJ's became Tricky Dick's. And it will belong to the next president, and that will most likely be a Democrat. And if by some miracle that president actually gets us out of this mess, the right wing and their media will blame the Democrats for whatever happens in that poor, cursed country. One way or another, the Dems are going to have to take responsibility for Iraq or we will be there for another 50 years.
It really is that simple.
The only question is how many more troops need to die before the Democrats stand up and take responsibility to lead?