Dems Should Hold the Lilne on Iraq Funding

President Bush never has been one to play nice with others. Oh, he puts up a bold and vocal front but the fact is, he's the worst kind of demagogue, not only unwilling to admit he's wrong but unwilling even to compromise regardless of the cost.

His latest shenanigans in dealing with Congress' co-equal responsibility for overseeing his War on Iraq are vintage Bush and hardly surprising. He'd rather cut off the funds to spite his face than to compromise on his imbecilic hard line that only he among politicians is entitled to any influence on the conduct of a war he and his cronies have mismanaged from the start.

Democrats in Congress must not allow this man to force them to send him what he demands: yet another blank check to fund more violence in an unwinnable war. They should keep sending him funding bills with timelines and milestones until he is forced by his commanders in the field to compromise. He and his supporters screeching about Democrats wanting to cut off funds for the troops in harm's way are only proving the depth of their willingness to deceive in the interest of maintaining what little remains of their power. As Rep. Dennis Kucinich points out repeatedly -- and not one responsible official has argued with him -- there is enough money already approved and in the pipeline to fund an orderly and safe withdrawal of troops right now. The only "funding emergency" arises from the Bush Regime's blind desire to continue to pursue this war into the next Administration.

In the face of such recalcitrance and obstructionism, Democrats must be leaders. They must narrow the scope within which this madman can continue his folly in the Middle East and do all they can to bring that misadventure to a prompt end. Anything less would be a betrayal of the party's integrity.