Another $46 Billion? Not So Fast.

It's been a while since I blogged. One will forgive me for focusing on business, and feeding the family when really we are so close to the Armageddon. It really is that you know. No more or less. The President made a mistake in talking about World War III the other day, but really it's what they want. Massive fear. Gear up the old military industrial complex. How about we see if those nukes we got actually work?

I find myself lately thinking of the World War II Germans a lot. They had to know they were being led by a madman. Didn't they? Yet I've never read anything about how they must have felt helpless. Helpless to make a difference. Helpless to do anything to stop the insanity. Does anyone know of a book that looks at WWII from that standpoint?

The President has thrown another $46 billion war bill at Congress, and my suspicion is that they've already got their checkbooks out, but they shouldn't have. They should know that this is where the rubber meets the proverbial road. We're smart enough to know they can stop the war in Iraq by not approving the money. We know that they can refuse to approve the additional money without a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Some say they're afraid to take that step, but I say they should be afraid not to, because this is why we elected them. We're not stupid. We know where their power lies. It's in the purse strings, and it's their turn to step up and be counted by history; to be statesmen instead of politicians; to stop governing by how it will affect the next election and start governing by doing what is right. It's time.

Because that's the big lie now , isn't it? The lie that the poor beleaguered Democrats can't stop the Iraq debacle because the big bad Republicans won't let them. The truth is that they can stop it anytime they want. They have the votes to prevent a spending bill from passing. They have the votes to filibuster the President's 46 billion if necessary. What they don't have is the courage. It's not that they can't stop the war. It's that they won't. It's a choice, and they choose not to.

There are consequences to cowardice. That nice safe cushy seat may seem not so comfy when you're facing a primary challenge. Your name on the list of those who voted to fund the war may not seem so insignificant when the next election rolls around and that tight race you're in becomes even tighter because your base stays home rather than choke down another vote for you. Most important, there's the consequence of having to answer to your children and grandchildren when they get old enough to realize that you could have stopped it, but you didn't, and they ask the question on all of our lips. "Why not?"