Veto in the Mist

The much talked about Iraq spending bill, which was recently approved by Congress, is now on its way to the White House where it will be greeted by the Veto stamp of President Bush. Mr. Bush rarely exercises his veto power the last time being in September of 2006 when he shot down the embryonic stem-cell bill.

The bill in question allocates 124 billion dollars to war spending however, the killer caveat which is the basis of Mr. Bush's veto is the October 1st pull-out date.

Muddy Water

The business of politics is a messy one. And if one ever feels the compulsion to take a closer look at the way in which our country is run on a daily basis, I guarantee you they will almost automatically assume we are breaking the law. However, this messy business sometimes is perfectly legal, although, that does not necessarily mean it does not dance the line between ethical and not so ethical. This kind of foggy distinction is the basis of the call to arms by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Robert Casey (D-PN). This happy trio of ultra-liberal Senators is calling for a review of the recess appointment of Sam Fox to the post of Ambassador to Belgium. Sam Fox, is known to have donated money to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group which attacked Kerry's military record and some would attribute as one of the agents of his downfall. With this record, one can be certain that Mr. Fox would never have survived a Congressional Approval Hearing with a Democratic majority. As such, President Bush got Mr. Fox in via a recess appointment effectively taking Congress out of the equation. Although that may seem...seedy, which it more or less is, it is not illegal. However, we will probably see the public siding with the Democratic Senators, for the composure of this appointment does indeed come across as, well, just as they say it is. In the end though, one has to remember that Washington is a giant sausage factory, and no one really wants to know how it is all made.

Nancy Pelosi: Get Back to Work!

Members of the Republican Party in both the House and the Senate are formally requesting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-NY) "get back to work" after her controversial diplomatic excursion to the Middle East. The interesting thing about this request, aside from its overall hilarity in the grand scheme of things, is the use of the phase "Global War on Terror" which the Democrats have been phasing out. However, regardless of semantics, you have to realize the partisan nature of this development. Republicans want the American People to remember that while Nancy Pelosi was out playing Secretary of State, she was ignoring her post where a critical bill to fund the troops sat idle.

For more developing coverage, visit the fine folks at the Drudge Report.

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

We are writing to urge you to call the House back into session immediately so that Congress can finish its work on the emergency legislation to fund the Global War on Terrorism. This funding request has been pending since February 5, but your leadership team chose to leave town for more than two weeks rather than completing this bill. As a result, our troops have been put at risk.

We are especially troubled by the House's failure to appoint conferees. The Senate appointed conferees on March 29, moments after passing its bill, but the House never did so despite passing the bill a week earlier. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the Senate that he hoped the House-Senate conference would begin on March 30. That hoped-for progress has been thwarted by your failure to act.

It should go without saying that our military leaders are in the best position to know the needs of our troops, and they have left no doubt that this funding is needed urgently. General Peter Schoomaker, United States Army Chief of Staff, has written that, "without approval of the supplemental funds in April, we will be forced to take increasingly draconian measures which will impact Army readiness and impose hardships on our Soldiers and their families." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also emphasized the dangers of delay: "This kind of disruption to key programs will have a genuinely adverse effect on the readiness of the Army and the quality of life for soldiers and their families."

Our troops need this funding, and they need it soon. The Senate is in session and ready to work. We respectfully request that you cancel the remainder of your break, call the House back into session, appoint conferees promptly, and work in good faith to pass a clean supplemental funding bill that the President can sign as soon as possible. Every day we don't fund our troops is a day their ability to fight this war is weakened.

Credit for this story goes to the Drudge Report.

Dodd is Running

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced Thursday on the MSNBC morning show "Imus in the Morning" that he would be running for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd announced Thursday he will run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, saying problems at home and abroad meant it was time for him to "get out of the bleachers and onto the arena floor."

Dodd, a 26-year Senate veteran, told the "Imus in the Morning" radio show he will file paperwork to establish a campaign committee later in the day.

"I know how to do this. I know what has to be done. I'm going to get out and make my case," Dodd said. He described himself as a dark horse in a Democratic field dominated by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois — neither of whom have yet entered the race.

"There's a heightened sense of urgency about the condition of the country. But it isn't just Iraq — there are problems here at home that are huge," Dodd said. He said he planned to focus on issues like education, energy policy and health care in his campaign.

Stroke of Luck for GOP

I didn't mean to come off as well, an asshole by the title of this post, but Sen. Johnson (D-SD) recently suffered a stroke and is still in critical condition after his surgery. The senate as of now is back to 50-50.
Link.

In Iowa, no one can hear you scream

Senator Clinton has a fever, and that fever cannot be cured with cow bell, although that would complete her look nicely. No, she has election fever and so it begins.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun calling political operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire to discuss her prospects in the 2008 presidential field, her first outreach to operatives in key states with early contests. The New York Democrat began making calls to New Hampshire activists over the weekend and Iowa Democrats on Monday.