The Democrats threw in the towel today, leaking the news that they will pass an Iraq war funding bill that runs through the end of the fiscal year, without trying to add pork or deadlines for withdrawal.
Democratic leaders say they will have the bill on the President’s desk by the end of the week, and that they are trying to avoid another veto fight that they can’t win.
There is a parallel between President Bush and our own governor Tim Pawlenty. In Minnesota, as in Washington, the Democrats won control of the legislature last November. Since the new legislative session began, Governor Pawlenty has taken a much more aggressive approach to vetoing legislation than he did before November, when the House was in Republican hands. Now, he is fending off the Democrats’ efforts to raise taxes and is trying to keep spending in line at a time when the state has a $2 billion surplus. Pawlenty’s vetoes have enhanced his popularity with conservatives and his perceived strength vis-a-vis the Democrats. To some degree, the same thing may happen at the federal level, as Bush can battle more openly with Congressional Democrats than he was willing to do when Congress was in Republican hands.
Via Power Line News.
SCOTT adds: An astute reader comments:
The Dems may fold, but the game’s not up yet. If on Friday you see Nancy and Harry slapping themselves on the back for being so damn patriotic, know that something is up…
While it is true that they are backing off their surrender date, and unrelated pork, they are not being as magnanimous as it sounds. The Dems on the Hill are still toying with some ideas so awful that the only way to rationalize them is to assume that they are trying to set the Administration (and the US) up for failure.
The House seems to change everyday and I can’t tell you what Monday’s plan for failure entails. It’s a bunch of kids running around with scissors over there. The Senate is less of a mess but still practicing the theater of the absurd. For example, they want reports on the civilian surge’s political and economic “benchmarks” in July and September. Nothing objectionable, right? Well, the fine print is a problem. The fine print says that the State Department wouldn’t receive any money for promoting economic growth or political reconciliation unless the July report certifies political and economic progress. Get that? Without that money, we can’t deploy our people beyond the Green Zone. Without our people deployed, we will have little lasting influence on political and economic events. It forces us to cede the political and economic space to Iran and al Qaida. It’s nuts! It’s so disingenuous it gives me a headache. If the Dems want us to fail so bad why don’t they just pull everyone out. Why keep the troops there for another year, and keep all the diplomats stuck in the embassy like a tethered goat? I wish the White House would face these bullies down and force the Democrats to explain why they are so eager to see America fail in Iraq.
(PS: Who wrote this Senate plan, you ask? Well, it’s called the “Warner Plan.” That’s gotta be a clue. With friends like these…shame).
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