Isn't it funny? On the day the Democrats explain how capitulation on the Iraqi funding bill puts the Bush administration right where they want it - in the driver's seat apparently - a poll is released that shows opposition to the Iraq War is at its highest:
Six in 10 Americans surveyed say the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, and more than three in four say that things are going badly there - including nearly half who say things are going very badly, the poll found.
Still, the majority of Americans support continuing to finance the war, as long as the Iraqi government meets specific goals.
It's that second bit, of course, that?s driving Congress into the arms of the President.
Not only are Democrats planning on folding on Iraq - forgetting why we supported them in the first place, apparently - they're going to hide their votes on the supplemental bill behind a procedural trick, so you won't be able to tell how your representative voted:
Here's how it is expected to work....Every bill comes to the House floor with what is known as a "rule" that sets the terms of the debate over the legislation in question. House members first vote to approve this parliamentary rule, and then vote on the legislation. Today, however, Democrats are planning to essentially include the Iraq blank check bill IN the rule itself, by making sure the underlying bill the rule brings to the floor includes no timelines for withdrawal, and that the rule only allows amendments that fund the war with no restrictions - blank check amendments that House Democratic leaders know Republicans will have the votes to pass.
This means that when the public goes to look for the real vote on the Iraq supplemental bill, the public won't find that. All we will find is a complex parliamentary procedure vote, which was the real vote. Democratic lawmakers, of course, will use the Memorial Day recess to tell their angry constituents they really are using all of their power to end the war, that they voted against the Republican blank check amendment which the rule deliberately propels, and that the vote on the rule - which was the real vote for war - wasn't really the important vote, when, in fact, they know very well it is the biggest vote on the war since original 2002 authorization for the invasion....
Classy.
What strikes me as odd is that this capitulation and cover-up implies that Democrats in DC think that they can't influence how the nation talks about the war. But they can. In fact, a united and principled stand against this war now would do wonders in changing the discussion on the war and the presidency.
Remember, people like principled stands.
Remember, the President is extremely unpopular. The country does not trust him. Democrats would do nothing but gain in the popular eye if they challenge Bush directly. Krugman said it best when he called Iraq a "hostage situation." The President is the rogue madman, careless with the lives of our troops he's supposed to be safeguarding, playing his little game of funding chicken while the nation and Congress sent him a clear message that they want withdrawal timetables.
If Democrats think the situation will be any different in September, they're kidding themselves. If that mythic moderate Republican support never materializes, the Democratic Congress will be hung out to dry.
Still, and again, a quick reminder to everybody who's p*ssed off right now: this the President's war, the President's standoff, and the President's irrational and unresponsive nature to blame. It's easy to be irate with our Democratic representatives, but it's truly an extraordinary time we live in, with an extraordinary President in control (and I don't mean that in a good way). It's not surprising that a body of ordinary men and women is having trouble leading us out of the mess. It takes courage to challenge institutions, and risk reputation and career to do what's right.
In the meantime, we can continue to nudge them along.
