Republicans use “Nuclear Option” to avoid supporting U.S. Troops
Remember when everyone in the GOP would run around hysterically shouting about how Democrats were going to use the “nuclear option” to keep them from rubber stamping everything President Bush demanded?
Well, it seems they’ve gotten over their fear of the bomb. Because in a time when all the Republican party is good for is to stall legislation and kill it using any trick they can, they’ve gone nuclear and refused to allow Congress to vote on a bill designed to better prepare, protect and help U.S. Troops.
Here is what the Bill’s author, Jim Webb had to say about the Republicans playing politics as U.S. Troops die overseas:
“Today the Republicans decided to filibuster an amendment that goes straight to the well-being of our troops. I deeply regret this move, which makes it necessary for the amendment to be passed with a minimum of 60 votes instead of 51.
“I would remind my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle that the American people are watching us closely today. They expect us to finally take the sort of positive action that might stabilize the operational environment in which our troops are being sent again and again.
“Americans are tired of the posturing that is giving Congress such a bad reputation. They are tired of the procedural strategies designed to protect politicians from accountability, and to protect this Administration from judgment. They are looking for concrete actions that will protect the well-being of our men and women in uniform.
“The question on this amendment is not whether you support this war or whether you do not. It is not whether you want to wait until July or September to see where one particular set of benchmarks or summaries might be taking us. The question is this: more than four years into ground operations in Iraq, we owe stability, and a reasonable cycle of deployment, to the men and women who are carrying our nation’s burden. That is the question. And that is the purpose of this amendment.”
–WKW
July 13th, 2007 at 4:34 am
You can hardly find folks to support the troops anymore. I have heard that most of the troops no longer support themselves and would like to come home to their families. But as long as Bush is supporting the troops, I’m afraid they’ll have to stay put.