I am not in anyway speaking for the Daily Kos community, but a response is necessary. This diary is not intended toward her alone either, but to all of those that took steps to continue this war.
Please follow me over the jump.
Update:
Some have commented that Democrats have no power to end this war because they don't have Republican support, and because Bush will veto it anyway. I don't give a damn about a veto. I don't give a damn about republican support.
If the bill that he vetoed last time was sent again, and he vetoed it again, then he would be the one holding up funding. There goes the "Democrats Wont Fund Our Troops" frame. More importantly, there would still be no funding, and if there is no funding, then there is no war.
Some say that the Democrats would be blamed regardless, and they may be right. But there would still be no funds for the war, and there would still be no rational basis for saying that Democrats didn't try to fund it.
We need to fight the labels and lies they try to pin on us more, and if we did that half as much as some try to defend the indefensible, we would be much better off.
You said:
Let me say up front that what happened today was the result of a Presidential veto and a Republican minority that doesn't care that the American people want to end this war.
The Republicans are as guilty as they come, but don't try for a minute to blame your vote on their actions. You have a mind of your own, and you chose to use it to support this war.
You said:
What we are talking about is an increase in the minimum wage, an increase in funding for military health care and veterans’ health care, and critically needed funding for agricultural disaster aid, children’s health care, and recovery from Hurricane Katrina, among other things. We are going to have a chance to pass all of it today.
That's all fine and dandy, but are those things worth another half a trillion dollars and a thousand dead soldiers? I don't think they are, nor am I convinced that these things couldn't have been obtained by standing your ground.
You said:
The second amendment provides funding for the war as requested by the President, along with 18 voluntary benchmarks put in place by Senator Warner.
The key word is "Voluntary." Or we can use the word "Toothless" if that suits you better. It really doesn't matter because the President this morning already indicated that they didn't mean much.
You said:
I hope that you will believe me when I say that I and my Democratic colleagues view this war as a tragic mistake that must come to an end.
How can you with a straight face tell any of us that this war is such a tragic mistake, and then vote to continue it. That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard. There is a word for it: Hypocrisy!
You said:
Considering that 90% of the Out of Iraq Caucus was with us in this decision, there must have been at least some reason for it.
You're right. There is a reason for it, and it is called "Collapse." I could use the word "Cowardly" and "Failure" as the media and everyone but your apologists are, but I will refrain.
You said:
A standoff would have allowed the President to keep using our soldiers as pawns, accusing Democrats of abandoning them while it is really his war that has left them to fend for themselves.
That is what you let the President make you believe, but the operative words here are "Make" and "Believe."
You said:
There is one way to stop this war, and that is to force Republicans to stop ignoring their own constituents.
Once again this is another attempt to blame someone else for your own actions. I know this because it is a part of something you seem to have overlooked: "Accountability."
There is a way to end this war, and it is for the real Democrats to stand up and do what they promised the voters they would do, end the war in Iraq, have the troops redeployed to fight terrorism, and not a civil war. Somehow you must have missed that message when you voted to continue the very war you claim is a disgrace.
All you really had to do was stand your ground, and quit listening to all of the hype about the President's scary veto. You were supposed to stand with the people, but instead you have taken a position standing against them.
I trust that you will continue to try to make us believe this capitulation is a victory, but if you will do me one small favor. When attempting to make your case, please use this bag:
