I just read David Sirota's diary on his op ed in the Baltimore Sun.
He makes good arguments to support his point that the senators and congresspersons who voted for the supplemental funding for Iraq bill incorporating a timeline for withdrawal were not engaging in protest but were instead legislating.
In doing this, he reminds us all that Congress, when it sends the final bill to the president, will have done its job of making policy. And if, and when George W. Bush vetos this bill, he too will be doing his job. And what we then will have will be constitutional checkmate.
Unfortunately, this checkmate will have consequences for our troops. So it should be avoided at all costs.
It's time for us all to stop surfing for a few minutes and do something. Come with me to find out what. . . .
Hear is a letter that I am sending to the Whitehouse:
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC
March 30, 2007
Dear President Bush,
As I understand it, you view yourself as the "CEO President." So I will try to make my point from that perspective, and keep it short to preserve your valuable time.
Corporations exist because shareholders have invested their hard earned money in them. The shareholders expect to have their investment grow and generate profits. So they expect strong leadership from their CEO and other corporate officers in creating and executing the policies of the business. However, they also expect prudence. So they vest the power to adopt those policies in a Board of Directors. Sometimes, the Board of Directors will adopt a policy proposed by the officers of the corporatations. And sometimes, after adopting a policy and seeing it executed, the Board of Directors will change its mind and discard this policy. And when the officers and the Board end up at loggerheads, then the shareholders will often bring a lawsuit to make sure that the policy favored by the majority of the shareholders ends up being followed.
As president, it is your job to execute the laws of the United States. It's Congress' job to make the laws. Congress is now making a law to provide supplemental funding for our troops in Iraq, but in that same law, it is expressly limiting authority that it previous granted you concerning the use of military force in Iraq. Unless Congress passes this law with a 2/3 majority in both houses, you will be able to veto it. Yet, as you know, if you veto it, our troops may suffer.
You and Congress have your differences. I think that it is now time for the both of you to look to the rest of us Americans for direction. We do not have time for a judicial resolution - and a political resolution between you and Congress will take time and distract the nation from all of the other important business that needs to be done.
As I see it, the real question is whether the majority of Americans want to stay in Iraq and follow your strategy, or whether they want to reject your strategy and have Congress come up with an exit strategy.
I sir, reject your strategy and want Congress to come up with an exit strategy. I have called for other Americans to let you know where they stand.
Sir, I hope that you will get a lot of messages from Americans telling you where they stand. I don't really know which side the majority will come down for. But if you end up getting a flood of messages from America I strongly urge you sir, compile the messages, find out what we want, and listen to us.
Urgently yours,
My Real Name
I think that the time has come for us Americans to practice real democracy when monumental events arise. We face just such an event today. Poll after poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans want our country to set a timeline for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. But our President does not seem to know this. Please join me in letting him know.
If you had to time to read this, you have the time to act. Please let George W. Bush hear from you. More importantly, please get others you know to send him a message telling them how they feel. Regardless of what side they are on. It's time to bring reality to the nation's capitol. Please join me in trying to do this.
Update I really did not expect some of the reactions in the comments. I really did not mean to offend anyone, and I truly believe that communicating with our elected officials is an important tool in democracy. Perhaps a story will show my perspective. Many years ago, I was a member of a committee committed to the re-unification of families. We had many families torn apart. One family was a husband and wife from China, in the U.S. pursuing PhDs. While here, they had a new child. Their first child however, was left behind in China. The local political official kept blocking the issuance of a passport to the child, probably to hold the child as ransom and assure that the parents would return. Needless to say, having the second child here in the U.S. put them in violation of the "one-child" policy. So they could not get the second child to join them. It occured to me, that I needed some heavy political help in getting the Chinese political officer to allow a passport to be issued. So, one night, I called ex-President Nixon at his home in New Jersey. Surprisingly, he answered his phone and listened to me. I explained the situation to him and asked him if there was anyway he could help. He did not make any promises. But 2 days later, the child was issued a passport. Call me naive, but I really think that people listen to what you say.