How tough must it be to have roused your membership 41 different times, only to have sand kicked in your face? That is where 'poor' Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) finds himself as the week begins in his world as U.S. Senate Majority Leader.
Sen. Reid has played to the far left side of his party and has sought, 41 times now, to end the Iraq conflict by snuffing out funding and/or imposing requirements that troop withdrawls be completed by a time-certain. In return, he has failed to gain sufficient bipartisan votes to override the veto either made or threatened by the President. It has been said that the definition of a person who is crazy is when that person continues to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome.
Adding insult to injury, he now pouts and says that he'll not permit any more money to be voted for and sent to our troops until after the first of next year. Never mind the needs of the troops. I'm reminded of the child's comeback: "Who died and made you King (or Queen)?
Reid must really believe that us Americans want to lose in Iraq, whether or not we were in favor of the entry into that conflict. Why else, unless he is as clueless as he appears at times, would he persist in this charade.
What charade you ask? The charade in which he claims he supports the troops while he denies them the funding necessary to continue to bring the fight. The charade in which he has taken center stage with a handful of like-minded elected officials (mostly Democrats but also some Republicans that have earned the classic branding of RINO...Republican In Name Only) to force the Commander-In-Chief to pull our troops when they're finally on top of the problem in Iraq.
Reid professes to think he can force a time-certain by which all troops will be out of Iraq, and that this could happen without the rest of the world seeing it as America's surrender...much as they saw Viet Nam. Isn't it ironic, and very sad, that it is always the politicians that cause us to lose wars, and never the fighting troops we deploy? Isn't it strange that virtually everyone of the people in the U.S. Senate voted in favor of the move into Iraq, and now many seemingly have developed institutional amnesia? If a person can take such a decision so lightly, they should not be making such decisions on our behalf.
Isn't it sad that when even the New York Times is forced to admit our troops are making good progress in Iraq, Sen. Reid continues to tell us that all is lost. There will, he says, never be an end to the fighting, the people themselves don't want it, it is a civil war and blah, blah, blah, blah. Even Iran has markedly reduced its illegal movement of the new and improved "improvised explosive devices" (IEDs), but Sen. Reid is impervious to good news. Even the warring factions have chosen to become supporters of the troops since the option was to be removed from the earth forever. And, the citizens of Iraq (you remember all those people running through the streets with purple fingers after they risked their lives to vote?) are squarely behind the troops. They love the fact they can shop in the local marketplace, send their children (boys AND girls) to school, watch non-imposed television, and use computers and the Internet.
And, if we need anymore proof...even the French are true believers!
It is simply impossible for me to comprehend how one sees only bad news. I just don't think that is possible. Then, there must be those people who see good news but who insist on portraying it as bad news for some ulterior purpose. Among the many descriptive terms for such people and actions that come to mind is this...disingenuous.
Too many of our elected representatives turn out to be disingenuous. And they need be remembered so that we can turn them back to pasture at the next election and put some fresh faces and capable minds there in their places. I think the vast majority of us wants a positive government. There is already too much disaster and bad news in the world to desire that more be manufactured. Voters are the only group that can make this happen.
That is your job and my job. If we fail to get the job done, we'll know exactly where to place the blame...just look in the mirror.
