An overwhelming abundance of thoughts and emotions about the despicable actions of our Congress today swirl in my head, and I cannot find the beginning or end that will enable me to start to express them. But here is what a man--Rep. Sam Johnson--who was held in the Hanoi Hilton (and still suffers the physical damages of his confinement) said today on the floor of the House:
And my fellow POWs and I clung to the hope of when - not if - we returned home. [snip]
We pledged to quit griping about the way the government was running the war in Vietnam and do something about it... We decided that we would run for office and try to make America a better place for all. [snip]
Debating non-binding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success, and emboldens the enemy.
The grim reality is that this House measure is the first step to cutting funding of the troops…Just ask John Murtha about his ’slow-bleed’ plan that hamstrings our troops in harm’s way.
Now it’s time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home, and those who fought and died in Iraq, so I can keep my promise that when we got home we would quit griping about the war and do something positive about it…and we must not allow this Congress to leave these troops like the Congress left us.
Today, let my body serve as a brutal reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past…instead learn from them.
We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them. We must support them all the way…To our troops we must remain…always faithful.
Read the whole speech (or view it here), then read what a warrior nearing deployment wrote today:
The damage is incalculable, and now officially done.
He closes with a quote from Joe Lieberman:
Cynics may say this kind of thing happens all of the time in Congress. In this case, however, they are wrong. If it passed, this resolution would be unique in American legislative history. I contacted the Library of Congress on this question last week and was told that, never before, when American soldiers have been in harm’s way, fighting and dying in a conflict that Congress had voted to authorize, has Congress turned around and passed a resolution like this, disapproving of a particular battlefield strategy.
And worst (or best) of all... the "surge" (which is more about tactics than numbers, btw) that they are refusing to support is... working.
The tears are close as I write this. We are letting down the very people who lay their lives on the line for us. I am ashamed of this country's electorate, ashamed of our "leaders," and very afraid for the future.
And I am furious.
I have never donated to a political campaign in my life. I will now. For whom, you ask? For anyone running against the @&$#s who voted for the resolution--Democrat, Republican, or anything else.
