Nancy Pelosi Puts George in his Place

Nancy Pelosi got passed a bill to authorize the War Supplemental financing package sought by George W. Bush, along with provisions requiring withdrawal of U.S. troops by late 2008, and further requiring the president to declare that withdrawal benchmarks were being periodically met.  The president is petulant.

The vote split largely along party lines, with a few Democrats voting against the supplemental, and almost all Republicans voting against it.  Why do Republicans hate the troops?  Why are Republicans refusing to support the troops?  They voted against funding the veterans' medical programs.  They voted against our troops in the field.  Why is the Republican Party being unpatriotic?

The House of Representatives produced a bill like so many others.  It contains core provisions, then it contains a few extraneous provisions which were extorted by congress critters who used the occasion to feed one of their favorite financial backers.  This bill therefore contains some pork barrel that would not be there in a perfect world.  But when the vote is close and the issue is important, we sometimes have to kick the peanut lobby or some other lobby $100 million in benefits or programs.  Those programs may or may not be perfectly justified, but a congressman or woman has to use their leverage when they can.  It's not a perfect situation, but it is the norm in politics.  Ultimately, it's a side issue in this matter, and not a big one.

The passage of this bill is important, even with the pork barrel which had to be added.  It provides funding for important problems veterans and troops are facing.  It starts the process of bringing home the troops, and demands our Iraqi allies step up and stand up.  It finally puts some control on the president, who has behaved like a president with no checks or balances, compliments of the thoroughly corrupt formerly Republican controlled congress which aided and abetted his criminal adventures.

Once again, Nancy Pelosi has delivered.  She accomplished something not done in over four years:  the White House has been told it must withdraw from Iraq if it wants funding for its war there.  She has taken a big step towards ending the Iraq war, in spite of all the carping from the anti-war left, who continue to do what they do best - whine like children and make spectacles of themselves.