Democrats Will Delay War Appropriations Action, Want Surtax

The Democrats on Capitol Hill have been a pretty spineless and inept bunch since they took over Congress in January. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the battle against the war in Iraq-Nam. However, they to seem to be evolving into vertebrates of late. They have told the president they won’t even consider his request for more money until next year, and some have suggested a war surtax. They’ve even won some Republicans over to a plan to make the Pentagon issue reports on the war’s progress. It isn’t a strategic withdrawal yet, but it’s progress.

The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, David Obey (D-WI), said yesterday that his committee would not even consider looking at the $189 billion in emergency spending that the White House has requested for the wars in Iraq-Nam and Afghanistan. “As chairman of the appropriations committee, I have no intention of reporting out of committee any time in this session of Congress any such request that simply serves to continue the status quo,” he said. The Pentagon will be running out of money for combat operations by then, and that creates a great deal of leverage for the Dems. The question is what they intend to do with it. Some say they want a timetable in exchange for more money, but the nation has been down that path already. Perhaps this time, they'll let the president veto the bill and then just move on.

Congressman Obey also suggested, with the support of former Marine John Murtha (D-PA) and James McGovern (D-MA), a surtax to fund the war. It would range from 2% to 15% based on income. That would bring in about $150 billion a year, enough to fund the wars. And as Congressman Obey said, “If this war is important enough to fight, it’s important enough to pay for. If you don’t like the cost, shut down the war.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) proved once again that she’s unfit for the job by shooting down the idea immediately -- as one Republican mocked, finally a tax Ms. Pelosi opposes.

The most hopeful thing the Dems achieved was securing Republican support for a bill requiring the Pentagon to make regular reports to Congress on the progress of the war. The bill didn’t require withdrawal deadlines, but the regular appearance of men in uniform saying “We need more time,” will eventually wear thin. The vote was 377-46 in favor, the “yeas” composed of 196 Democrats and 181 Republicans. That is the beginning of a peace coalition even if the proposal is less ambitious than this journal would like.

All of this is still far behind the wishes of the American people. A poll out earlier this week showed 70% wanted reduced funding for the wars in Iraq-Nam and Afghanistan. Only 25% support the Busheviks' demand for $189 billion this brand-new fiscal year. Eventually though, Congress will come around; they are the nation’s leaders – they’ll have to follow the people before the next election or find themselves new jobs.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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