The day after the Bush surge speech we learn that the public has NO CONFIDENCE in our commander in chief. The majority of Americans do NOT support a surge.
And Bush's speech was SO crazy. Not only did he say that he would surge more troops into Iraq, but he continued the claim that al Q was fomenting things. And, worse, that Iran and Syria are the culprits for our losses... and, connecting the dots (why else the patriot missiles?), an attack on Iran and Syria might be in the works.
So WHY are Dems being such wimps? Why aren't they aggressively biting back? In fact, even on Daily Kos, the Iraq surge is barely registering... we have stories about Denver, and Groundhog day, and dissecting various lies from the Administration. But, even here, where's the voices of loud opposition?
Sure, we have Ted Kennedy and MoveOn.org and a few other brave (albeit typical) souls proclaiming their attempts to stop the surge.
But where're the sustained chorus of Dem voices denying Bush his crazy attempts?
Here's a pretty compelling reason:
This phenomenon is at its most pitiable when it comes to Congress' powers over national security, terrorism, and war. Last Sunday, Sen. Joe Biden, the Democrats' dean of foreign policy, was asked on Meet the Press what he intended to do when President Bush announced his intention to send additional American troops to Iraq. "There's not much I can do about it," Biden shot back. "Not much anybody can do about it. He's commander in chief. ... [I]t'll be a tragic mistake, in my view, but as a practical matter, there's no way to say, 'Mr. President, stop.' "
In fact, congressional Democrats have the power to stop the war any day they want. Rejecting additional funding for the war, which 12 senators (including John Kerry) voted to do in 2003, is merely the most dramatic and least politically attractive of their options. Congress can pass a law that says the president cannot send more than a set number of troops to Iraq. It can limit the length of military tours of duty. Or it can enforce a specific deadline for partial or complete withdrawal. A few anti-war types are, in fact, proposing such drastic measures. Sen. Ted Kennedy wants to require the president to ask Congress for the authority to send more troops. Rep. Jack Murtha wants to insist that more "ready" troops be stationed at home. But such voices remain a small, if vocal, minority. Most would rather kvetch.
Someone help me with this... where's the outrage? Where are the Dems loudly, publicly, repeatedly, and jointly denouncing this? For that matter, where are the Daily Kosers!?