A Bush Veto Avoids Accountability and Harms Troops

Both Houses of Congress have passed an emergency supplemental appropriations bill that contains benchmarks and goals for progress in Iraq as well as a timetable for redeployment of American troops in Iraq. This is about accountability that has so far been lacking in the Bush administration's execution of the Iraq War.

George Bush's threat to veto this accountability is embarrassing. It sends a message to the world that his policy is to sustain a failed war policy that is further increasing instability in the region. It also signals to the nascent Iraqi government that we will prop them up, regardless of their unwillingness to assume responsibility for their own country.

It should further be said that the benchmarks and goals contained in the bill were originally suggested by Bush's own Department of Defense. Democratic Leadership simply placed those suggestions into law.

To veto the supplemental would serve only to avoid this accountability. For the past six years, George Bush has not had a Congress that was willing to hold him accountable for anything. Thankfully, the Democratic Congress has lived up to its responsibility to do what the Republican-led Congress wouldn't.

If Bush vetoes this bill, it will deny much needed funding to the troops. The military would not be able to afford to deploy new troops, effectively extending the already-extended tours of the men and women currently in Iraq. He should be mindful of this before acting grossly irresponsible and using his veto power.

Those of us on the Left should repeat this argument as often as possible. To repeat in much simpler terms, a veto avoids accountability and harms our troops.

Here is a video of Speaker Pelosi's comments on the bill, the Iraq Accountability Act. For good measure, I'm also going to include what I think are two more amazing speeches. The second one is Representative Jack Murtha, who is a veteran and largely responsible for moving us so far in the right direction on Iraq policy. The third is Freshman Representative Patrick Murphy. Patrick is a fantastic guy and continues to make me proud with the way he is conducting himself in office.

Hands off my Speaker!

I am just about sick and tired of the time, effort, and attention that has been focused on the mode of transportation that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi uses to get from DC to California. CNN reports that House Republicans spent hours on the House floor yesterday saying things like "Democrats are abusing their power." That's crap.

Let's make this REAL simple. The United States Government provides the Speaker of the House secure, military transportation when engaging in official travel. The Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives requested that the military provide her with a plane that did not require refueling during the cross country trip, per security guidelines.

The House Republicans are not only disingenuous, they are wasting time that could be better spent. Perhaps they want to avoid talking about important issues. Issues, like, say.....a pointless war for which we are sacrificing thousands of lives. Yeah, that is probably more important than which plane the military uses to shuttle the Speaker between Washington and California.

Move on!

Welcome Madame Speaker

Nancy Pelosi will be sworn in as the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives on January 4th. This is an incredibly historic moment that we should be very proud of. She has worked very hard for our Party and our country. She is disciplined, focused, and politically talented. After successfully raising SIX children, I believe she is capable of anything.

Such an historic moment merits celebration. Accordingly, the Speaker-Elect has planned four days of diverse events to honor the occasion of her ascension to one of the most powerful positions in government. Many of these events are as simple as a dinner with her family, mass at her old Church in Baltimore, the renaming of the street she lived on as a kid, a meeting with female legislators from around the nation, and a non-denominational church service on Capitol Hill. Of course, there will be a glitzy fundraiser to pad the bank account of the DCCC. There's even a party at the Italian Embassy. So what?

The Republicans can't stand it. Here's an excerpt from the Washington Post where Republican flack Mike Murphy shows how utterly bitter his party is to see Pelosi take the Speaker's gavel:

Mike Murphy, a Republican political consultant and former adviser to Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), said the four-day extravaganza is excessive. "What? No fireworks?" he said. "I'm glad they canceled the tickertape parade. They probably couldn't find biodegradable tickertape and a hybrid convertible."

He said the schedule is "classic Pelosi."

"She's not known for a light touch," he said. "She has every right to throw a new-speaker celebration, but it's 500 percent from what is normal. It's an aggressive act to grab the spotlight. Sounds to me like there's nobody at the meetings saying, 'Maybe that's a little too much.' She's needs a deputy chief of staff from the 'It's Not About You' department."

What's his problem? He must not think it's necessary for the newly elected Speaker of the House to pay homage to the people and traditions that laid the foundation for her successful political career. It must be the Republican notion that people who achieve success 'deserve it.' Instead of showing an appreciation for diversity, the Republicans would hold a long series of fundraisers with their hands held wide open to collect fat checks from K Street attached to legislation written by lobbyists for their corporate clients.

Times are changing and they can't stand it. Welcome, Madame Speaker!

PELOSI'S NEXT CHALLENGE

This is from today's edition of National Journal's Hotline:

Pelosi's Third Ethical Quandry

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), who is being investigated by the FBI, is in line to take over the House panel that sets the bureau's budget. Mollohan is the ranking Dem on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the DoJ, which includes the FBI. This "pending appointment poses an ethical dilemma" for Pelosi, who helped fellow Dems win by "vowing to clean up" Capitol Hill's "culture of corruption."

CREW exec dir Melanie Sloan: "If the Democrats want to be taken seriously as the party of ethics reform, then every time one of their members gets into trouble, they're going to have to take it seriously." A Pelosi spokesperson didn't respond to requests for comment, while Mollohan's office and the DoJ "declined to comment" (Faler/Forsythe, Bloomberg News, 12/5).


Nancy Pelosi doesn't really need another barrage of speculation as to whether she will be appointing ethically challenged Democrats to Chair anything. After all of the negative press following her endorsement of Rep. Jack Murtha, then the annoyingly drawn out Intelligence Committee saga, this will be disposed of in quick measure.

By passing over Mollohan, Pelosi can name Rep. Jose Serrano, further reaching out to the Hispanic Caucus. Given the ever-increasing Hispanic population in the U.S. and their increased support of the Democratic Party in the midterm election, this appointment would make a great deal of sense. It would also not be likely to anger the Congressional Black Caucus, as the only member of the Caucus on the Subcommittee is last in line for the post.

This seems to be a win-win-win for Pelosi.