Liberal College Kid

What a great day. Chuck Hagel, R - Nebraska, came out today on the side of the Democrats on the Senate’s Iraq vote. Hagel said of his decision,

“But you know what, the American people have got this sorted out. They always have. They’re not conflicted with the nuances of life. They understand what’s going on.”

Hagel has actually figured out that because the majority of the American people are against this war, their representatives should act accordingly. This means drafting a bill that forces the President’s hand to act on the people’s wishes. It’s amazing that this is how representative democracy is supposed to work and yet it seems so rare that it actually does. It turns out all those politicians work for US!

Of course the President (the Decider) has promised to veto this bill as soon as it reaches his desk. Apparently funding the troops is not his chief priority. Instead, his chief priority is not admitting he has ever been wrong. The American people asked for a new Iraq strategy at the voting booth in 2006. Congress responded in March of 2007 and the President refuses to listen. I mean, sure, he does have a lot of other things going on right now (read: scandals), but that is hardly an excuse for blind ignorance on the topic of the war.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this vote, though, is the fact that the Republicans could have filibustered and stopped the discussion and passing of the spending bill. Officially, their reasoning for this is to speed up the process by allowing the President to veto it. But if the goal of Senate Republicans really is to stop this bill, why not stop it in the Senate? Perhaps it’s a sign that the Republicans in Congress are finally coming to the realization that this President has led us blindly into a conflict with no victory in sight and that writing a blank check for him to wage war howsoever he deems fit is no longer justifiable.

Thank you Mr. Hagel, now if only you can persuade a few more of your Republican comrades we can see the President’s veto overturned.