Day Two, take three

Waiting for the wife to get back from her conference sessions…

I visited the Tower of the Americas and The University of Texas San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures this afternoon. While at the tower, I finished Sam Harris’s book The End of Faith.

Politics
At least some at the Daily Kos understand that politics aren’t always a neat, easy package. FleetAdmiral has written some good diaries to this effect; his latest one is about the Iraq funding bill.

I’ve seen several arguments as to why Democrats should have clung fighting Bush on the supplemental until the end of the world, damn the torpedoes.

One of the most common themes is that Democrats hold the upper hand in the polls on the issue. This is a yes and no.

While the American people do oppose the war, and support things like timetables and benchmarks, they are also against defunding.

The most recent poll to ask this question was a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll from May 4-6.

39% favored, and 60% opposed Congress refusing to fund the troops (the actual question was “One proposal would not provide additional funds for U.S. troops in Iraq and would require the U.S. to withdraw all its troops by March 2008. Would you favor or oppose that bill?” – and I doubt there is 60% disapproval because of the March withdrawal date)

Of course, there is this question, which I think gets to the heart of the matter that if Democrats waited much longer, they were going to make themselves excessively vulnerable:

“Who do you think is MORE responsible for the fact that the U.S. troops currently in Iraq have not yet received additional funds

Bush – 34%
Congress – 44%
Both – 14%

so 48% say Bush is entirely or partially responsible, but 58% say that for Congress

Here is a CBS/New York Times poll from April 20-24:

If George W. Bush does veto [The Iraq Accountability bill], what should the Democrats in Congress do next: should they try to withhold funding for the war until George W. Bush accepts a timetable for troop withdrawal, or should they allow funding for the war, even if there is no timetable?”

Withhold funding – 36%
Allow funding – 56%

Democrats say to withhold funds, 51% to 41% while independents say to allow funding 52% to 38%

Then there is a CBS poll from April 9-12 (note that the funding question is asked a little differently)

“Which of these comes closest to your opinion? (1) Congress should block all funding for the war in Iraq no matter what. OR, (2) Congress should allow funding only for a limited period of time. OR, (3) Congress should allow all funding for the war in Iraq without a time limit.”

Block all funding – 9%
Time Limit – 61%
No Limit – 30%

I say this question is different from the two above, because the previous polls largely deal with withholding funding until Bush signs the law or funding for a few months then quitting, while this question is basically asking about cutting off funds right now and not approving any more (something which some people here actually support).

I should also note that they asked this question again to a different group where the options were listed in reverse. Not much different there either – 12% supported blocking all funding, 55% said have a time limit, and 28% said no limit. [...]

Go to the article to see the links to the references.

Fred Thompson
Interestingly enough, the Republican candidates appear to be something of lady’s men. Fred Thompson, though he is old, fat and balding, has picked up a trophy wife:

which came after his previous girlfiend Lorrie Morgan:

There are those who say this will hurt him, especially in the Republican primary.

Nonsense. Most any Republican “guy” would envy the old s.o.b. Heck, even I envy that ass-pect of his life.

True, he is a shallow-minded dolt who is lost without a script, but that is another matter.

Day two, take two

Workout notes 4 miles of walking on the treadmill (53 minutes); some oh-so-slight sorness in the left IT band (near the hip). Part of it was from lots of slow walking in sandals yesterday.

Politics
The Democrats caved in to President Bush (no surprise); we just are not a united party. Senator Feingold is upset:

This situation is a collapse for Democrats. We had a strong start, pushed back against the President’s failed policy and held our ground that the supplemental should include binding language to end the war. But now, as Congress gets ready to send the President a bill that does nothing to get our troops out of Iraq, we are just folding our cards. As one person commented under Greg Sargent’s great post at TPM cafe, “Send the Congressional Dems over to my place for some poker – I could use a windfall right now.”

This is no time to back down. This fight to end the war isn’t something that we can just put off or kick down the road. As mcjoan pointed out, it doesn’t make any sense to wait until this “mythical September” when Republicans will suddenly decide that we need to get out of Iraq. Why should this wait until September? First Americans had to put up with a Republican Congress that did nothing, and now we are faced with a Democratic Congress that is giving the President exactly what he wants – continuing his failed policy and leaving our troops stuck in the middle of a civil war. Some strategy. We can’t back down when the stakes are so high. I know you’ll keep ratcheting up the pressure, and that’s exactly what we need right now. Now is the time to be pulling out all the stops to end the war.

Many Kossacks see this as the “same old, same old” and are ready to quit backing Democrats. Others are more sympathetic to the realities of politics:

Meteor Blades has a take on the ….new…compromised spending bill…

Unlike many Kossacks, I sympathize with the Democratic leadership when it comes to Iraq. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have difficult situations. You can twist arms, make threats, pressure, cajole and otherwise try to cobble together a majority from Blue Dogs and conservatives like the Nelsons, Pryor, Landrieu and others, but, ultimately, you can’t shout your way to victory

Jane talks about the importance of the vote. The media will report it as a failure of the Democratic Party and there are many that need to be held accountable. TIME is reporting that Nancy Pelosi is not voting for the second amendment of the bill…

The second amendment will, of course, be trickier. It will split the Democratic caucus in half, with as many as 120 Democrats voting no. Among the nays, I’m told, will be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will have negotiated a bill that she thinks is the best option for House Democrats but which she personally can’t support. Most other Democratic leaders are expected to vote in favor. Still, if only 100 Democrats vote yes, the amendment will require at least 118 Republicans in order to pass…

Obey is giving a presser now. I’ll have video soon of it…I knew the Dems didn’t have all the votes needed at this time and that’s sad. We’ll find out who voted where later on. Your thoughts? Michael Tomsky writes: “Cave-in, or smart politics?”

If the celebrated surge hasn’t shown results by September, public opinion will harden even more; people will start demanding timelines and Bush will be in a corner.

As indefensible and tragic as the war is, this is the best Democrats can do right now. De-funding would have handed the Republicans a great argument going into next year’s election – which is, of course, one in which Democrats have their best shot at winning the White House in a long time. Iraq is Bush’s war, and Democrats need to make certain that it stays that way…read on

Go to the Crooks and Liars link to see the other links. Personally, I don’t know enough of the “behind the scenes” stuff to really understand what is going on; I know that I am not going to vote for anyone who wants to continue this idiotic war.

San Antonio day 2

Politics
Why I have so much confidence in our current administration:

By: John Amato on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 at 11:30 AM – PDT

The Blotter:

Al Hurra television, the U.S. government’s $63 million-a-year effort at public diplomacy broadcasting in the Middle East, is run by executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic, according to a senior official who oversees the program.

That might explain why critics say the service has recently been caught broadcasting terrorist messages, including an hour-long tirade on the importance of anti-Jewish violence, among other questionable pieces.

Facing tough questions before a congressional panel last week, Broadcasting Board of Governors member Joaquin Blaya admitted none of the senior news managers at the network spoke Arabic when the terrorist messages made it onto the air courtesy of U.S. taxpayer funds. Nor did Blaya himself or any of the other officials at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the network.

Such an idea was very funny in the film “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” (where the Griswolds ate in a Paris cafe and were repeatedly insulted in French) but, well, comical but in the greater scheme of things, not so funny in this case?

Slept late; will workout while Barbara is at her conference.

I’ll probably walk outside and take in the sights; keep in mind that it is white shorts/white pants season around here.