Senator Reed – Misguided Response
I listened to Senator Reed’s rebuttal to the presidential address tonight. I was disappointed. Full disclosure: I feel that our presence in Iraq right now is necessary for a variety of reasons. Don’t comment here about the war. Comment about the next paragraph.
The following goes for all politicians, though with Senator Reed’s speech I’ll focus on some routine ‘Left’ issues. The senator made a point about us not having the money for children’s health care, etc, because of our presence in Iraq. I would submit to you that it’s not true that we don’t ‘have enough money’ for child health care. For most people who cry about this issue, the only way to have ‘enough money’ is to spend all the money we have on it. I also submit to you, that if we aren’t spending enough money on child health care, that it’s the greedy bastards in congress causing it. It’s called pork spending, and if you don’t know what it is, then don’t vote; I only want informed people choosing leaders.
Reed suggested that it was time to redefine our mission in Iraq, but didn’t offer much in the way of evidence as to why it would work. I can point to present policy and show incremental gains. I can point to a lack of troop numbers decreasing the ability of Iraqi leaders to meet benchmarks (yes, they HAVE met some). I can’t wrap my mind around how less troops will make things better in a strategic way. Tactically, the American people at home would feel better (short term). Strategically, I believe it would be a horrible mistake. But that’s for later.
In short, let’s have a real debate between political leaders. Lay the plans out on the table. Don’t yell about how the other person’s plan sucks, talk about why your plan is better in both the short and long term. “Quit talking, and just whip them out and measure them,” as my father said once to me and my brother. Congress, just whip them out.
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