I won't beat around the bush: we lost a big fight this week. We wanted something very badly, but we weren't able to get it: an end to our involvement in Iraq's civil war. George W. Bush won a victory this week, a small victory, a victory he and the Republican Party will pay a terrible price for. I believe history will show this to have been a Pyrrhic victory, a victory that is ruinous for the victor.
So what did Bush gain from his "victory," and what did he lose?
Follow me over the jump.
What Bush gained:
--Funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30, 2007. That's it; that's all he gained. Contrary to a lot of the posts I've seen, Bush doesn't have a "blank check" for the rest of his term. In less than four months we will start the debate over. This supplemental funding should run dry right around September 30, 2007, which is precisely when a number of Republican lawmakers have said they would be reassessing the president's plans. The war in Iraq is more unpopular than ever, and Bush shoving it down the throats of the Democrats and the rest of the nation won't make it any more popular. Bush is in exactly the same situation he was in four months ago, except even fewer people support him now.
What Bush was forced to abandon his opposition to:
--An additional $2.4 billion in improved armor, MRAPs, and IED defenses for our troops. Our troops need these supplies, especially if they are going to have to stay in Iraq until the end of Bush's presidency. The Republican Party neglected our troops for four years. They gave body armor contracts to corrupt vendors who delivered defective armor. They refused to provide our troops with the armored vehicles they needed. When the troops asked for something better than unarmored humvees, Donald Rumsfeld dismissed them lightly, saying "you go to war with the army you have." The Republicans didn't support the troops with the equipment they needed: we did and we will.
--An additional $6.4 billion in Katrina aid. If the Bush administration had their way, victims of Katrina wouldn't receive any aid. When pushed to provide aid by an angry nation, the Bushies allowed "contractors" to steal much of the aid intended for Katrina's victims. Bush also steered much of the aid to Mississippi, to help his cronies there. Now we're delivering the aid New Orleans needs and with Waxman in charge of oversight maybe some of it will make it past Bush's "contractors."
--Another $3 billion for drought relief and other natural disasters. The Bush administration thinks that people who are struck by natural disasters should be abandoned to their fate. We are looking out for our fellow citizens. We'll try to make certain the right people get it.
--Port security funds of $1 billion to begin closing the security gap at our nation's ports. This isn't nearly enough, but it's a lot more than the Republicans have ever set aside for this important security need. The Republican Party wanted to sell our ports to a nation that has supported terrorism in the past. We're moving to do what is necessary to secure our nation from the threat of WMDs being smuggled into our ports.
--An additional $650 million in child health care. Just another example of how the Republican Party leaves children behind while the Democratic Party fights for them. Remember, according to the Republican Party life begins at conception and ends at birth. I guess we're going to have to take care of the rest.
--An increase in the minimum wage to $7.25, phased in over two years. We promised we would do this and we have delivered. What's more, we've dealt a deathblow to the Republican sweatshops in the Northern Marianas: the supplemental funding bill requires an immediate increase in the minimum wage in American Samoa and the Northern Marianas Islands to $3.55, and to $7.25 phased in over eight years. For years the Northern Marianas Islands have been an embarrassment to our nation. Not only did the Republican Party do nothing to stop the human rights abuses in the Marianas, Tom DeLay aided and abetted them. The Democratic Party has taken an important first step to putting an end to this injustice.
In addition to the things I've listed above, we also won a bunch of smaller stuff we promised in November 2006. Then there are those parts of the deal that aren't public, the parts that aren't in the written version. The night of the vote, Rove and Fielding were on the Hill conferring with Republican congressional leaders. We can't know for sure what Bush had to promise his own party, but we can make some educated guesses. For one thing, I believe Bush had to promise not to celebrate. The last thing the Republicans in Congress want is another "Mission Accomplished," another miserable photo op on a pile of rubble.
Second, Bush had to announce his "Plan B," and he did so. When asked about Plan B after the supplemental funding bill was approved, Bush replied that it was really "Plan B-H." In other words if (when) the surge fails, Bush has made some kind of commitment to the Republican Party to adopt Baker-Hamilton and the Iraq Study Group's recommendations. Of course, these recommendations will be a year out of date by the time he does.
We reserved the right to continue opposing the President's policy. Our leadership has made it abundantly clear that this supplemental was not the policy we preferred. This bill is a compromise passed in the wake of the President's veto of the Democratic Party's proposed policy. The next four months are the responsibility of George W. Bush and the Republican Party.
Finally, I close by reiterating that we did suffer a defeat this week. This is not the policy the Democratic Party wanted and we are going to keep fighting. Hundreds of Americans are going to die because of the policies of George W. Bush and the Republican Party. The only solution to the problem is for us to regain the presidency in 2008, increase the number of Democratic Senators to 60, and maintain a solid majority in the House.
I hope you will join me in working for these goals.
For part one of this post click here: "Bush's Pyrrhic victory on Iraq funding: Part I - The meltdown"