Dear George,
The Democrats are claiming victory in defeat in the fight over the Iraq funding bill. Their reasoning underscores why the GOP will sweep the 2008 election.
It seems the poor dears can’t handle criticism. The reason they “prevailed” (folded) is that they were frightened of right-wing criticism if they passed another funding bill with a timetable. The Right can be so mean! It never occurred to the Democrats to start screaming, “Neanderthal chickenhawks,” at the top of their lungs, or point out that the war was bankrupting America, or that it was the most fucked up military operation in America’s history, or that it was a war crime because it violate the U.N. Charter’s strictures against aggressive wars.
The Dems wilted because they lacked the votes to override a veto. They don’t understand that politics is theater. In a play, actors play defined roles that give the play it color and heft. If the Democrats had any feel for drama, they would have passed at least two more bills with a timetable and forced the Republicans to filibuster them. Once the Republicans had finished making asses out of themselves defending an undefendable war, Congress could have passed an interim funding bill without a deadline, but with a “presigning” statement attached saying a timetable would accompany to the next bill. They would have had you by the short hairs.
When faced with certain defeat the idea is to make your opponent’s victory as costly as possible.
But, to do so would have been impolite, and the Democrats are, if nothing else, very polite. No, they decided it was better to fold their tents so they could survive to fold their tents on another day.
They remind me of the story that is told of a man whose boss struck him with a club each time he showed up for work. Without fail, day in and day out, as soon as the man stepped through the doorway, the club came down. One day the man stepped through the doorway, and the boss wasn’t there.
So the man waited.
Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones
5:13:56 AM 
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