Cheney says House doesn't support troops

greg334

Veteran Expediter
... and I have to agree with him and you should too.

For the first time I think that the democrat party has become the party of confused voter. I know that sounds harsh but look at what really went on;

First the author of the measure, John Murtha surly has no clue that a pull out date is in effect telling the terrorist when they can step up their effort to kill Americans. Also the author has not listened to the soldiers, the very people who seem to be reenlisting to go back. Makes you wonder if his constituents are as he is, as he is supposed to reflect his constitutes.

Second the leader of the group, Pelosi, had a hard time aligning the party to get a passing vote. Ok many dems who are newly elected think that they were sent there because of Iraq, but I and many, many people think that the only reason they got elected was that the republicans failed preventing themselves from becoming like the democrats, spend spend spend.

Third in order for Pelosi to get the votes, she sold our soldiers out or better way to put it; she bought the votes needed to pass the measure. As far as I am concern, while she needed to get this passed by any means, the extra $21.6 Billion dollars in pork, something that they, the new dems, promised not to do if elected. Opps there it is!!

Forth is that the democrats are cheering this accomplishment, I don’t know why, they passed a measure that is full of earmarks or pork, has a specific cut and run date and sent a message to the troops that they do not really support them or the mission but want to make a statement of who is in control, all symbolism. The vote by the way was 218-212, amazing landslide there isn’t it?

On a positive note, the senate has to vote in this and this is where I think it matters. I mean that Bush will veto this if it hits his desk and if he vetos it, they do not have the votes to override the veto AND it may never get to be voted on because of the filibuster. Amazing that the Dems used a filibuster to hold us hostage on confirming nominees, it may come back to bite them because they need 60 votes to over ride that and no way they will get that.

I know that the dems will spin it as it is the president’s fault, which is another propaganda ploy to lay blame for a lack of funds and a lack of concern for the troops in the presidents lap. But really.. come on.. $21.6 billion? why should we allow the dems to buy votes like this when the money is to be used for the troops?

Trying to read HR 1591 last night was frutstrating with all that was added in to the measure. Here is the short list from the bill itself;

$3 billion in standby disaster relief

$25 million for spinach growers to recoup losses suffered when contaminated spinach sickened nearly 200 people and resulted in three deaths last year

$1.5 billion in livestock assistance for producers affected by wildfires or blizzards

$16 million to convert the old Food and Drug Administration building in southwest D.C. into more office space for the Capitol

$252 million for a government milk program beneficial to dairy farmers.

$400 million for rural schools in the Pacific Northwest

$74 million to ensure proper storage for peanuts

$15 million to protect Louisiana rice fields from saltwater.

$120 million for shrimp and menhaden fishermen

$250 million for milk subsidies

$500 million for wildfire suppression

$1.3 billion to build levees in New Orleans (really, more money? they just passed HR 1227 in which this should have been part of that bill)

$200 million for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance

AND a payment to Gloria W. Norwood, widow of Charles W. Norwood, Jr., late a Representative from the State of Georgia, $165,200

Ok after all of that, I have to add this.

Regardless what you may think about my comments and my lack of enthusiasm for the cut and run crowd, the fact is that setting a date to end miltary operations also affects the confidence that other countries have in us.

I mean that since Vietnam, we have been in the habit of abandoning people when we say we will help them. I think that the contempt that we have been faced with by other countries has been caused by our inability to stay in a situation to the end.
 

Bob and Hooligan

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
All that pork you talk about is to assist Americans. When should we get out of Iraq? Don't you think some benchmarks should be identified?

The USSR didn't go out of business due to war. It went broke. How long do you think we can continue to borrow money before China and others want a return on their investment.

The policy with the president is still stay the course. A course which is leading us nowhere

Road Hooligan
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
As much as I want to say I don't agree with you, I can't

But with that said,

"All that pork you talk about is to assist Americans."

Yes there is some to assist Americans, but there is a lot of stuff in there not helping anyone and most was put in because of the type of bill it is, here is an example most people don't understand what it is all about, the bill and it's attachments is an emergency funding bill and it bypasses the normal procedures and lacks real debate. I don't begrudge assistance when needed but this is the same thing that many of the dems, maybe even you, complained about the republicans - pork added onto a bill that rewarded people. Remember the bridge to no where? What is good for one is good for another, or should there be a double standard?

"When should we get out of Iraq? Don't you think some benchmarks should be identified?"

Yes I also agree with your position and your comments, my post is not about setting standards or identifying milestones to meet and did not touch on the readyness clause in the bill but rather pointed out that a specific date for any pull out puts us in a bad position in the region.

"The USSR didn't go out of business due to war. It went broke."

Yep it went broke trying to compete with us, a competition that we out did them in military spending but there were other factors. The one thing that did not happen was Gorby baby did not make the change to save the soviet union, he knew the continue failures of the political system that governed the Soviet Union was its actual undoing. Was he the hero that the left makes him out as? Nope he is equal to the evil that we had with Stalin and Brezhnev.

"How long do you think we can continue to borrow money before China and others want a return on their investment."

Never!

They look at the US as an investment and can not by treaty and the World Bank just call in a loan or investment - they have to sell it. For those who think it is something that can happen, the loss that china will have will devastate their economy and they will have to use the yen or Euro to exchange for the dollar, both currencies they seem to want to stay away from.

"The policy with the president is still stay the course. A course which is leading us nowhere"

Yep I agree, there needs to be a change, but what could be done until something pushed it. The increase in troops actually has helped but we don't see and hear the full story. The issues surrounding the increase in troop has been highly politicized to the point that it polarizes the entire Iraqi issue and many want to make it look like 1968 all over again. I honestly think that a few want to see us in that situation again.
 

tallcal101

Veteran Expediter
It's about the will of the American,and that all it's about.We live in a democracy,excpet when it's the other guys running the show.Tough twinkies boys,change will come,and this stinkling conflict will come to a screeching halt.BECAUSE THATS WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT BY A VERY WIDE MARGIN.
It's not about 911 either.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Well Tallcal, don't you think that the platform that your favs ran on, no pork (aka the bridge to no where issue) should be an issue we all talk about to hold them to their promise?
 

tallcal101

Veteran Expediter
Greg,it seems it is a choice between pork or body count.Once again,pork to reduce body count is what the American people voted for.They are not stupid,they simply don't see the jutification for this conflict and the death and destruction it has spawned.We have vitually created 100 times more terrorists(people defending their turf are now terrorists)in a civil war that cannot be won.
And 911 has nothing to do with it.If this conflict(since the Iraqi's never posed a threat to us,I refuse to call it a war)has to go on until a new administration takes over,it will confirm and reflect the true level of this failed nightmare of a Presidency.Our great,great grand children will read in shock and ahhh of the darkest of dark years of our Republic.Pork for fat cats sake is unspeakable,but pork to end this insanity is a 100% justified,it's the American way.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
“Greg, it seems it is a choice between pork or body count. Once again,pork to reduce body count is what the American people voted for.â€

Tallcal, what the point that I am trying to make is this;

• The principles behind the measure are admirable but misguided

• A lack of party unity within the democrat party is the undoing of the party itself, simply put there is no need to tack on an additional $21 billion to buy votes for a measure that should just sail through if the party was united. We are not talking about buying republican votes here but votes of the same party and is shows a lack of unity.

• The pork, as talked about so much by the dems to get elected, has no direct relationship to the amount of effort the troops are going through, the successes that we have had or the need to further reduce a death rate, a death rate that has never been so low in any conflict of this size. I think if the American people actually had a say in this, they would not vote for the bill with the stuff added on to it, they would vote for the money to support the troops only, but again the dems don’t listen to the people, they listen to their bank.

“They are not stupid, they simply don't see the jutification for this conflict and the death and destruction it has spawned.â€

I do agree the American people are not stupid but the democrat party is. I know that this sounds like bashing but they have had another opportunity to move forward and they seem to have problems with the simplest things. I think that they are going to explode soon with the constant fights between the moderates and the far left, which is too bad because people’s lives are in the balance here. If they would just stick to one promise they made that matters and not think that they were elected to something that they were not elected to do, it would be better. They could have pushed though more funding for the troops in other areas but failed to do so by the way. Anyway my point is the fact is that most people fired the republicans but did not hire the democrats.

“We have vitually created 100 times more terrorists(people defending their turf are now terrorists)in a civil war that cannot be won.â€

I think that we were never the sole cause of the recruiting increases in the Middle East in anything we have done, I think that Hamas and Hezbollah are through support of Iran and Syria are the only reason for the escalation. And If you need me to write a few pages on that subject, I can. I also thinking that we would never ever have a problem if we had a real president in the late 1970s to level Iran, carter never cared and was/still is a weak man.

But also just to throw this in, if you think in any way that we are the devil in the middle east, you need to learn the history of the region, the religious hatred that has been going on for the past few centuries and the groups that vowed to turn back time through death and destruction. If you think it is alright to live under primitive conditions in a totalitarian world, fine then we know what you want.

“And 911 has nothing to do with it.If this conflict(since the Iraqi's never posed a threat to us,I refuse to call it a war)has to go on until a new administration takes over,it will confirm and reflect the true level of this failed nightmare of a Presidency.â€

Well you can say that, 9/11 had nothing to do with it but you, as many others fail to see a bigger picture with the entire problem. 9.11 is one part of a continuing problem with terrorism that stretched back to the carter administration. Of course a new administration will have to deal with it, just as Truman had to deal with WW2 and Eisenhower had to deal with Korea, I can not refute your statement but I think root of the statement goes to a social problem in which we expect instant results for large problems and all solutions involve money. For that matter this bill, HR1591 is a good example in thinking that money will fix everything and the money is needed to gain the bills passage, hence the troops will come home because money is being spent. Since Vietnam we have had to live with this short term war platform without understanding that many things that result in war take time to finish.

“Our great,great grand children will read in shock and ahhh of the darkest of dark years of our Republic.Pork for fat cats sake is unspeakable,but pork to end this insanity is a 100% justified,it's the American wayâ€

I do agree with the issue of pork going from generation to generation but come on TallCal, the same old line is used since Nixon, “Republic Pork for fat cats†is even a quote from Life or Time in the 70’s and a little old.

Will the pork in this bill end the insanity? No it will not.

A divide country both in the congress and within the press will not do anything but lengthen the war by showing our enemy that we can easily be distracted and ignore them. it allows them to be empowered to fight harder and recruit due to our apparent weakness. At this time, we are exactly at the same place we were in 1968/69.
 

arkjarhead

Veteran Expediter
i'm interested to see what these liberals say when we pull out of iraq and all hell breaks loose over their. then these terrorists who are more worried about us being over there will come here to get us. we can fight them in bagdad or baton rouge. my vote is for bagdad.
 

tallcal101

Veteran Expediter
Hey Ark,guess what?All hell alredy has broken out!!!Check out the daily body count.
I need a description of a liberal from somebody who really knows one when he see's one.You da man Ark,have at it!I'll grade you on a 1 to 10.Sock it to me baby!Don't hold back either or I'll kick your a**.
Love ya man.
 
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