Thursday, April 5, 2007

The War of the Words

The president appeared at Fort Irwin yesterday and attempted to push the meme that the Democrats are intent on “accepting defeat” in Iraq.

It was yet another attempt to apply pressure to recalcitrant Democrats who insist on conditions for continued funding of his vanity war. "The clock is ticking for our military" said Bush. He insisted that as long as his war funding bill is delayed by Congressional insistence on timelines and benchmarks, the troops are being placed at risk.


DNC Chairman Howard Dean shot back
"The Democrats in Congress have passed a bill that fully funds our troops, provides the resources they need on the battlefield and the care they deserve when they return home," Dean said. ". . . Our troops, their families and the American people can no longer afford an open-ended commitment to keep our troops in the middle of a civil war."


Americans (who, by a 7:3 ratio, oppose this war) would be well advised to heed Dr. Dean's words and remember that the Congress most certainly did pass a funding resolution, and it only needs the president’s signature, and if he vetoes it, cutting off that funding will be on his head, and his alone.

Congress can’t go wobbly now, not with his head on the verge of exploding (I admit that I was disappointed that he didn’t just go ahead and completely melt down during the presser a couple of days ago).

If he vetoes the war funding bill, then Congress should send back another one, still with benchmarks and timelines, this time tighter ones, and repeal his tax cuts as well, with a nice little note explaining that this is how they will be paying for it all.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about a war profiteering tax on the handful of corporations that handle most of the Iraq war contracts?

And a one-cent tax on each share of stock traded?

Blue Girl, Red State said...

Sounds like a splendid notion to me. Wish I would have thought of it!

Anonymous said...

And maybe shutting down Blackwater and its ilk while we're at it, too.

exMI said...

I think he should sign it and just announce that he isn't going to abide by the deadline and let the Supreme Court decide if congress can mandate troop movements. I suspect he might win that one as CiC.

Blue Girl, Red State said...

Not if the conservatives on SCOTUS are the strict constructionists they present themselves as.

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

To establish post offices and post roads;

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

To provide and maintain a navy;

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;--And

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Corpus Juris said...

Blue Girl,

How do you do it? Two blogs and all the rest. I am in awe.

As to the war funding issue, ultimately Bush will get a bill without strings, but he is going to burn a lot of what little capital he has remaining. Democrats, if they hold tough, are going to come out of the fight better than the MSM thinkd.

Larry Burkum said...

Wouldn't it be great to seize the assets of Haliburton now that they're moving their headquarters to a terrorist state?

Anonymous said...

I really appreciate the Global Citizen and Blue Girl, Red State postings and blog. You go, girl!

That's a one-cent tax on ANY stock when it's traded, BTW. (Billions traded every day.)

See you at Kevin's

Slanted Tom

exMI said...

"To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;"

Seems generally to be thought to apply to the creation of the UCMJ and the regulatrions and rules of the army. Not the tactical or strategic deployment thereof.

I really think Congresses only real recourse would be to cut off funding and I don't think they will do that. We shall see.