Congressional Democrats Playing With National Security

So, Congressional Democrats believe that they've laid down the gauntlet with President Bush over the appropriation for the Iraqi mission. They've larded the House and Senate bills with so much pork that it's closer to being a farm bill than a bill for military expenditures. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer money going to stuff completely unrelated to the mission in Iraq all to secure just enough votes to get these venomous bills passed.

So, what is the President to do. Congress is about to go on a three week vacation with the President threatening a veto. He hasn't exactly wielded a veto pen during his administration, but if there's bills deserving of this treatment, these are the ones. If that happens, the mission could potentially run out of money and the troops and their equipment, reinforcements, supply lines, and logistics could be thrown out of whack. How does this improve national security? It does not.

What if the President signed this monstrosity, and then proceeded to completely ignore the part about the timetable for withdrawal/defeat in Iraq via a signing statement claiming it was illegal for Congress to set timetables on a military mission because it was up to the Commander in Chief pursuant to the US Constitution to carry out the mission, and to bring about victory.

I know it would probably lead to a constitutional crisis - and Democrats in Congress have been itching for a constitutional crisis since they regained power in November - but with Congress looking to go on its spring break (not like there aren't pressing issues to attend to) before they could pass a clean bill without the pork or timetables - and given that the DoD needs the appropriations before then, this might be the only option as a veto would put everything back to square one.

This might be the least bad option available to the President while ensuring that the troops are properly supplied and the mission can proceed. It also gives the President yet another opportunity to show that he's putting the mission above partisan domestic political games.

President Bush should veto the bill on the general principle of slamming Congress for larding up a military appropriation bill with so much pork that it would be mistaken for a state fair agenda, let alone because it includes the timetable for defeat. The Democrats in Congress have overstepped rational thought with their inclusion of these provisions, and the President must stand up against this.

Don Surber also takes Congress to task for going on vacation without getting its job done.