I know a lot of people will be in DC this weekend letting Bush and Congress know that we need to be out of Iraq now. My friend OPOL says it so well but I will be there in spirit.
I'm honored to be on FDL tomorrow for an online interview with Howie Klein. I've talked to Howie off and on since I was first considering running for Congress and his support and help along the way has been invaluable. I will never forget the part he played in helping me decide to do this.
Even though a lot of us connect here online, tomorrow will be a chance to ask for more details on the campaign or me in general. Many of you know me through DKos and have come to know me as the candidate for Congress born from the netroots. I've shared some of my pain-turn-joy and some of my concerns for America now is chance for us to get to know each other a little bit more.
I want to talk about tomorrow and to express my full support and admiration for those who are there taking it to the streets. We've left this to the politicians and they still play politics and belittle the lives of our soldiers who are our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and friends. Time to step it up a notch and show them that Americans are not going to take it any more. Some of us have stood by expecting Democrats to fulfill the promises of Nov 2006 and now we are not waiting any longer. Time to speak out and time to move.
Congress holds the money but ultimately the responsibility rests with Bush. He is not my boss and he is the head of a co-equal branch of our government but as Commander in Chief it is his order which will end this war.
We tend to overlook this in our outpourings against Republican and Democratic Senators and members of Congress but at some point, the final decision rests with the President who must say "Draw up plans to bring them home quickly and above all safely. Just bring them home".
If the withdrawal is precipitous and dangerous then it is the President who bears the responsibility by not providing a clear enough order for a proper withdrawal. If Bush leaves the Iraqis to a bloodbath then it is his responsibility for not providing for their safety with a clear enough order. And this does not entail pouring gasoline on a fire expecting it do do any good.
Now we know that Bush and most of Congress will do nothing if left to their own devices. That is why tomorrow is so important. We've got to make this difficult for them to pretend that unnecessary death doesn't matter.
See you tomorrow over at FDL.