The Democrats are about to force a vote on non-binding resolutions opposing the President’s plan to increase troop levels in Iraq. The good news is that this is actually pulling back from Teddy Kennedy’s anti-Constitutional legislation to require the President to gain Congressional approval before sending more troops to Iraq. Unlike the the Democrat leadership, Senator Kennedy at least has the courage of his affliction.
From the Democrat leadership we get a symbolic vote that will please Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Dennis Kuchinich. It will not discomfit Iran, Syria, Al-Quaeda, Hamas or Hizballah much either.
No matter the result, what does even holding this vote say? The common perception of the entities listed above will be that it reveals the weakness of the Great Satan. My view is that it reveals the Satan in the great weakness.
Have the Democrats offered a plan? Not so much. They do have a theme in line with Senator Kennedy’s stalking points proposed legislation.
For example, Barack Obama’s plan is to “constrain” the President:
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Emphasis mine. This is, of course, a power and a duty the Constitution assigns to the Commander in Chief. Despite having crashed the marble ceiling, that’s not Nancy Pelosi, but she is in dudgeon similar to Obama’s:
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The President has sole control over troop deployment. The answer to Senator Obama’s question about “how binding” the Senate can make its resolution is obvious even to Ted Kennedy. The only thing Congress can do to “exercise oversight” is to cut funding. So, rather than making these mewly noises, and wasting the time of the Senate and House with a “vote of no consequence”, let us have that vote rather than this petty encouragement of our foes, foreign and domestic.