Here are the eloquent words of Russ Feingold this morning as he opened the Judiciary Committee:
As reported by The New York Times
1/30/07
There is little doubt that decisive action from the Congress is needed. Despite the results of the election, and two months of study and supposed consultation — during which experts and members of Congress from across the political spectrum argued for a new policy — the president has decided to escalate the war. When asked whether he would persist in this policy despite congressional opposition, he replied: ‘Frankly, that’s not their responsibility.’
“Last week Vice President Cheney was asked whether the non-binding resolution passed by the Foreign Relations Committee that will soon be considered by the full Senate would deter the President from escalating the war. He replied: ‘It’s not going to stop us.’
“In the United States of America, the people are sovereign, not the president. It is Congress’s responsibility to challenge an administration that persists in a war that is misguided and that the country opposes. We cannot simply wring our hands and complain about the Administration’s policy. We cannot just pass resolutions saying “your policy is mistaken.”
And we can’t stand idly by and tell ourselves that it’s the president’s job to fix the mess he made. It’s our job to fix the mess, and if we don’t do so we are abdicating our responsibilities.
“Tomorrow, I will introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of funds to continue the deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq six months after enactment. By prohibiting funds after a specific deadline, Congress can force the President to bring our forces out of Iraq and out of harm’s way.
“This legislation will allow the President adequate time to redeploy our troops safely from Iraq, and it will make specific exceptions for a limited number of U.S. troops who must remain in Iraq to conduct targeted counter-terrorism and training missions and protect U.S. personnel.
“It will not hurt our troops in any way – they will continue receiving their equipment, training and salaries. It will simply prevent the President from continuing to deploy them to Iraq. By passing this bill, we can finally focus on repairing our military and countering the full range of threats that we face around the world.”http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/feingold-tugs-on-iraq-purse-strings/* * * * * * * *
Ok elected Democratic Leaders, this is where the rubber meets the road. IMHO, Russ deserves unequivocal support for this legislation. With all the misgivings so many on The Hill have from voting yes on the IWR resolution back in October of 2002; this is a chance to show enthusiastic and definitive support to begin the end of the American involvement in the Iraq quagmire.
Either in vote or in spirit - I expect every Democratic candidate for President to fully endorse Russ's plan. I believe doing any less should disqualify them from seeking the support of DEMS to run as our candidate for President. No in betweens, no qualifiers, no excuses - this time we seek a YES vote! This time, the truth on Iraq is visible for all to see. This time,
YES tells us you hear and honor the will of We The People.
:kick:
RiverStone
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