WILL OUR DEMOCRATIC LEADERS JUST TALK THE TALK OR WILL THEY WALK THE WALK TOO? I'M NOT ALL THAT OPTIMISTIC

First let me get this out of the way: there are no proposals on any tables-- NOT ONE-- that will in any way hurt, harm or otherwise endanger any U.S. soldiers. That's what you call a straw man and it is being pushed by Bush Regime flacks such as Hannity, O'Reilly, Limbaugh... all the usual suspects. And when I hear Democrats mindlessly parroting this line, usually reflexive reactionaries like Louisiana Senator Mary Landreiu-- "We have to be very careful about blocking funding for any troops because we don't want to leave our troops short-changed"-- it makes me want to hurl.

When Jack Murtha talks about segregating funds for escalation and rejecting them, he is aggressively sincere and he means to fight. Jack Murtha doesn't only represent Pennsylvania's 12th CD; he also represents, probably more than anyone else in either house of Congress, America's active duty servicemen and women. And now he's fighting for them. When Teddy Kennedy lays out the case for not sending more troops into the Iraqi Civil War, he means it with his whole heart and soul. There are dozens of senators and congressmen who mean it to, who, like the American people, want to this war wound down, not ratcheted up.

And there's no doubt in my mind that some-- a few-- of the Republicans complaining about the Bush/McCain Escalation doctrine mean it. When Chuck Hagel says Bush's plans are "folly" and straight out of "Alice In Wonderland," he isn't kidding. Other Republicans, so habitualized by the ritual of rubber stampism, cannot be counted on. It doesn't matter that spineless creatures like Norm Coleman (MN) and Gordon Smith (OR) and Susan Collins (ME) are posturing for the folks back home. In the end these worthless shills will do whatever they are told by Rove and Cheney.

But it's the Democrats I'm concerned about. We already heard from a Hoyer-inspired Nancy Boyda last week. She says she's "happy to vote for more troops" if Bush-- who has broken every single promise he has ever made-- just makes some more promises. The ex-Republican/newly elected Democrat from Kansas told a TV audience "I think we're going to vote to support what the commander in chief and head of military asks to do. At least, I am certainly going to vote to support it." And it gets worse, much worse. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), the imbecile, clown and reactionary with a junior high school level understanding of the Middle East who was idiotically appointed Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee told Newsweek's Mike Isikoff that "he wants to see an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops as part of a stepped up effort to 'dismantle the militias.'" Reyes' simplistic understanding of Iraq reflects the analytic capacity of someone who watches Fox News for an hour or two a day, while drinking a couple of cold ones and waiting for the pizza to be delivered.

And the person who appointed him is reported to be helping to plan, along with harry Reid, a "symbolic vote" against Bush's escalation. We don't want a symbolic vote. We want this war ended, not escalated. That's how Nancy Pelosi became Speaker and how Harry Reid became Majority Leader and that's why there are Democratic committee chairmen in both houses. They better do something-- and not something symbolic.


Meanwhile, MoveOn is planning rallies all over the country tomorrow. The American people are overwhelmingly opposed to this escalation and endless occupation of Iraq. They understand what's at stake far better than a venal character like Joe Lieberman, a bloodthirsty and senile egomaniac like John McCain or a clueless fool like Silvestre Reyes. It's crucial that voters keep up the pressure on their senators and congressmen and let them know that we want more than symbolism. It's crucial that people who want this war ended tell the people who incongruously call themselves Democrats, like the DLC and like Steny Hoyer that this isn't something we will let pass by easily and that they will be held accountable. Nancy Pelosi said all the right things on a conference call with progressive bloggers yesterday, now let's see how Speaker Pelosi follows through on them.