I sent this letter through Senator Reid's online comment form. I will send a similar one to my two senators, Boxer and Feinstein, but if you have anything else I should add, let me know. Perhaps it can turn into something for our whole Senate family to ponder over during their final few days of August recess.
Hello Majority Leader Reid. Thank you for your wonderful leadership in the Senate and I hope you are able to continue it as Majority Leader for decades to come.
It has come to my attention that Democrats in Congress are deciding whether or not to appropriate additional funds to Iraq for continued operations there. I would like to voice my apprehension about not only the impending September non-progress report from the White House and continued war funding by our Democratic Congress.
When more than 60% of the country wants to leave Iraq, with the military missions complete, as per the original appropriations in 2002/2003, I am very confused why Congress cannot use its Constitutional power to fund the extrication of our troops from this civil war.
It has been very collegial for the Democrats to await Republican support before beginning a troop pullout, however you must know by now that this support will never materialize, no matter what this Iraq progress report will show.
President Bush, from the first night after the November 2006 elections were decided, has seen fit to place our military between the Executive and Legislative Branches. He does not have the courage to do this himself, but he is wagering that our Democratic Congress will not have that courage either. But it is now time.
There will be misunderstandings about why Congress is cutting funding to the troops and Republicans will make those misunderstanding abundantly clear, but you have my support when you and your colleagues in Congress decide that there is only one way to get our troops home before the next president is elected... and that is by disregarding Republicans who continue to stand with the President and paying more attention to the American people, to whom our party best represents when it comes to every other issue -- every other single issue -- except Iraq where neither party has the resolve to confront this reckless president. Thank you.