Their puerile petulance is one thing, but we are talking about an area over which the president is primarily in charge: foreign policy. This means it is incumbent on them to come to the White House to discuss the matter. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, "The President is the sole organ of the nation in its external affairs, and its sole representative with foreign nations. The [executive] department is entrusted with the whole foreign intercourse of the nation."

But these Democrats will not honor protocol, will not play by the rules and will not respect their constitutional role, even though their abominable behavior guarantees negative consequences to our national security and fighting forces.

If you doubt the welfare of the troops depends on this funding, read Defense Secretary Robert Gates' letter to Sen. Robert Byrd -- courtesy of Jed Babbin at Human Events -- addressing the indispensability of congressional action on the supplemental funding bill.

Without the supplemental, according to Gates, the Army will soon begin: "reducing Army quality of life initiatives reducing the repair and maintenance of equipment necessary for deployment training [and] curtailing the training of Army Guard and Reserve units within the U.S., reducing their readiness levels."

Gates says the Army will also begin "reducing the pace of equipment overhaul work at Army depots curtailing training rotations for Brigade Combat Teams currently scheduled for overseas deployment, [which] would likely require the further extension of currently deployed forces [and delay] acceleration of additional modularized Army brigades necessary to expand the Army unit rotational pool and reduce the stress on existing units."

Meanwhile, Harry Reid fiddles, the globe-trotting Nancy Pelosi flouts presidential authority and the Logan Act, Sen. Biden waxes negative and Sen. Byrd exhorts all of these charlatans to ratchet up their mischief.

If I were not actually witnessing this spectacle unfold before our eyes, I wouldn't believe it.