I watched the Senate vote tonight. 80-14.
Even Robert Byrd who has been a loud, vocal and fearless critic and opponent of the war since even before the beginning voted aye. Why? No one can credibly call Robert Byrd either a fool or a coward. So why would he do that?
This site has been dominated all day by angry loud mouths who demand everything right now. They stamp their feet, threaten to quit, to take their ball and go home, they spit vile invective in the direction of anyone who opposes them (sound familiar?) including Representative Louise Slaughter who made a brave attempt to explain today.
It’s about votes folks, and we don’t yet have them. I’m as disappointed and frustrated as anyone. The polls all show that 70%+ of the American people oppose the war. They think it was a bad idea, a mistake to begin with. And it was.
But Senators and Representatives represent districts not the nation as a whole. And all of them must calculate where opinion stands in their district. Many will rightly see that although people oppose the war, many people would be aghast at leaving troops there without adequate arms, munitions and supplies, at risk in a dangerous endeavor. And that is exactly what George Bush would do, all the while blaming it on Congress.
Who were the 14? Obama, Clinton, Kennedy, Dodd, Kerry ... the visible public lightning rods. But 80-14 says something we might ought to listen to. Maybe the Senators know and udnerstand a thing or two we don't.
Personally I’m depressed tonight, depressed by the outcome of the vote(s) but equally depressed by the shallow, hotheaded and shortsighted sentiment I’ve watched here.
In the end we will prevail, but the truth is, cutting funding won’t do it. The ONLY thing that will do it is removing the "decider in chief," either through impeachment or election. That is the hard reality.
So, do you have the patience and guts to stick it out or are you ready to walk away before the battle is won because its all too messy for you?