The Democrat Congress promised to end the war, not escalate it, says alexander cockburn |
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Led by Democrats since the start of this year, the US Congress now has a "confidence" rating of 14 per cent, the lowest since Gallup started asking the question in 1973 and five points lower than what the Republican-controlled Congress scored last year.
The voters put the Democrats in to end the war and instead it's escalating. The Democrats voted money for the surge in Iraq and the money for the next $459.6bn military budget. Their latest achievement has been to provide enough votes in support of Bush to legalise warrantless wire-tapping for "foreign suspects whose communications pass through the United States." Enough Democrats joined Republicans to make this a 227-183 victory for Bush.
The Democrats control the House of Representatives. Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have stopped the bill in its tracks if she'd
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| The Democrats voted money for the surge in Iraq. Congress Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have stopped the bill |
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really wanted to. But she didn't. The Democrats' game is to go along with the White House agenda while stirring up dust storms to blind the base about their failure to bring the troops home or restore constitutional government.
The steam has gone out of the organised anti-war movement. There have been only a couple of big demonstrations this year. For sure, there are actions around the country: Quakers and Unitarians picketing outside shopping centers, campus vigils, resolutions by city councils and so forth. But it's all pretty quiet.
The left is currently distracted by the fantasy of successfully pressuring Congress to impeach Bush and Cheney. Why the clamour to launch a proceeding surely destined to fail, aimed at a duo who will be out of the White House in 16 months anyway? It would be more sensible to pursue them for war crimes after they've stepped down. Mount an international campaign of the sort that has Henry Kissinger worrying at airports that there might be a lawyer  |
