Michael Collins: Bending Over For Bush

Saturday, 24 May 2008, 7:47 pm
Column: Michael Collins

Bending Over For Bush

21 War Loving Senate Democrats
Give Bush $165 Billion for More War

Michael Collins
"Scoop" Independent News
Washington, D.C.

It is now their war. Iraq has been and will be the war of every Senator and Representative who funds the madness.

Over four thousand U.S. troops have been killed in battle in Iraq. Ten times that number have major injuries. Sixty thousand have post traumatic stress disorder. Suicides among veterans are at an epidemic rate, 18 per day, particularly for those who have served in combat. Over a million Iraqis have died as a result of the lawlessness and unrest due to the Bush-Cheney invasion. There are five million Iraqi orphans. "Before it's over," the war will cost three trillion dollars, but there's no end in sight.
Yet each of these Democrats cast that all aside and voted to provide the very worst president in our history, a blatant incompetent, with $165 billion dollars to continue the war.

Democratic Hall of Shame:
Democratic Senators voting more funding for the Bush-Cheney war.

Why would they do that? Because their president asked them to:

"The United States Congress needs to pass a responsible war funding bill that does not tie the hands of our commanders," Bush said. Reuters May 22, 2008

But wait. Weren't the Democrats swept into control of both houses of Congress in 2006 in order to obey the public will by getting us out of Iraq? Didn't they promise to stand up to the insanity of providing more money for a war that gets us into more trouble simply through its continuation?

We've come to expect this out of the lock-step Republicans who are "made men" in the culture of death. Weren't the Democrats supposed to make a difference? It is now abundantly clear that the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party is still in the minority and that the people - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents have no party.

Yesterday, the United States Senate approved an additional $165 billion to continue the Iraq war opposed by about 70% of the people, at a time when over 80% think we're on the "wrong track." The people opposed the war before it started. Specifically, a majority of Republicans and Democrats stated a strong preference for weapons inspections and cooperation with other members of the United Nations before any invasion.

In addition, there was enough information well before the 2002 Iraq War Resolution for each and every politician who voted in favor of folly to know that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Politicians speaking directly into a camera telling us what a "hard decision" it was were lying without compunction. They knew much of what we weren't allowed to know and they supported the war anyway.

But over five years later, these Senators continue the death and carnage, the drain on our much needed resources, and the defamation of the citizens of the United States in the eyes of the world.

Stop the funding, include language for a six month withdrawal, and end it now. That's how you support the troops, serve the people, and end the destruction of Iraq. Anything less is collaboration. Jumping when Bush commands is positively bizarre.

Stop the war and divert funds to health, rebuilding the economy, and staving off the eco-catastrophes that await us. Impeach Bush and Cheney and hold others accountable for their reckless greed, deliberate and calibrated at each step to maximize profits and salve warped egos.

There is a great deal of political optimism about "change." How can that happen when the "opposition" party has 21 Senators who won't change the most damaging policy in memory? In essence, the Senate has a War Party majority of 70. It includes the 21 Democrats listed above plus the 49 Republican Senators.

They don't care because they don't have to. They can commit any form of public malfeasance or private outrage, yet they remain. They're like "the man who came to dinner" and burned the house down. The consequences of the real world don't apply. They are the ultimate "protected class." Their tenure is indefinite.

Congress replicates the rigged economy of socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the rest of us. The privatize elections that they funded after Florida 2000 are the perfect vehicle to perpetuate their reign. They serve The Money Party because they're a part of The Money Party.

It will never stop until the people send an overwhelming message - we do not trust you, not at all. Stop it right now. No more tortured logic. No more Senate multi millionaires club. No more indifference by the pampered who think they're a huge success because they make the rules for a game they always win.

Real people are suffering every day around the world due to the indifference of those who claim to represent us. They squander opportunity after opportunity, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory every time.

It's time to stop listening to promises for the future from any politician and demand solutions in the present. What's their function absent the results to justify their presence in our capitol?

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