Dogging the Bluedogs and holding them accountable is as important now as challenging in an election. When they promise something in a campaign and then fail to follow through, we need to be there reminding them!
Vigils at their offices
Eighteen months ago, in my campaign for Congress, I called for a responsible, phased withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. I believed then, as I still do, that continued occupation of Iraq by US troops only served to inflame the civil war and would not result in political solutions in Iraq.
Events since then have only confirmed those convictions. Now, we must do more than police the civil war or keep a pressure lid on the conflicts there. We must begin the process of only funding a safe, responsible redeployment of forces out of Iraq, and bring the reserves and the National Guard forces home.
Instead of redeploying troops out of Iraq, President Bush chose to escalate the war and send more troops in the middle of the civil war, ultimately with the support of some members of Congress, including Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN-02) who, in the end, voted to fully fund the surge escalation of the war with no mandate or timeline for redeployment.
Along with the last supplemental funding, the Iraqi Government, the Bush Administration and Congress laid out 18 benchmarks to measure the progress of the surge policy. Only 3 of the 18 benchmarks have been achieved. By any measure, the surge has failed. It is time for our Representative Joe Donnelly, and Senators Bayh and Lugar, to acknowledge the failure of the surge and vote to begin the process of redeploying US forces. They are not supporting the troops by continuing to support their presence in the middle of a civil war. Supporting the troops is achieved by funding a policy of safe redeployment with a firm timetable and binding requirements on military disengagement, accompanied by renewed diplomatic efforts. Only this action, I believe, will result in success in Iraq.
The citizens of the 2nd District deserve more than rhetoric by Rep. Donnelly that he supports the troops and will ask tough questions of the President. We all support the brave, heroic efforts of US troops who have been placed in an impossible situation. Rep. Donnelly said that he would hold President Bush accountable to the benchmarks. The time has come to do that. If he does not hold Bush accountable, then it is time to elect a Representative who will.
Starting Saturday, Sept. 15 at noon, and continuing throughout the week every day from 4-5:00 p.m., I will join with others outside Rep. Donnelly's office at 207 W. Colfax in South Bend, Indiana to demand that he fulfill his campaign pledge and hold President Bush accountable for the failure of the surge to produce verifiable results. To Rep. Donnelly, I say what he said to his opponent last year: Stop being a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration.