But, pork-barrel bribes aside, if there was any legislation that deserved to be vetoed, this is certainly it.
It would set a specific troop-withdrawal deadline that has the terrorists in the Middle East cheering. It contains a thorny bureaucratic thicket of impossible-to-meet rules on troop training, rotation and deployment that would hamstring our military and endanger our troops on the ground.
"The terrorists have already marked (the withdrawal deadline) on their calendars," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
But even the Democrats know they can go only so far in their delaying tactics before voters will turn on them for playing politics with the lives of our soldiers and they said as much this week.
"If Bush vetoes an Iraq war spending bill as promised, Congress quickly will provide the money without the withdrawal timeline the White House objects to because no lawmaker wants to play chicken with our troops," Obama told the Associated Press.
"Ultimately, politically, we have to give him (the) money," Rangel said.
The White House knows it is operating from a position of strength in the current war-funding standoff. No matter how far Democrats go in pressing their antiwar efforts, they are not willing to cut off funds for the troops and the war.
When Reid this week signaled he was ready to support a much tougher war-funding cutoff bill if the timetable legislation was vetoed, the White House sent out a statement the Nevada Democrat made last Nov. 30. "We're not going to do anything to limit funding or cut off funds," he said at the time.
Reid was also one of 96 senators who voted last month for language that pledged Congress would never pass legislation "to undermine the safety of the Armed Forces of the United States or impact their ability to complete their assigned or future missions."
So when the showdown is over and Bush's veto is upheld, Congress will approve the money, buying our troops and the Iraqi military more time to stabilize and strengthen Baghdad for the longer struggle ahead. |