The Sunshine Empire

The House of Representatives today voted to withdraw American troops from the Iraqi Civil war by April of next year. Some will say hooray and others will predict 9/11 the sequel. But it does not matter now. No matter what, our President in his infinite wisdom, has decided that he will keep this nation committed to the modern equivalent of the 100 Years War. The Orwellian doublespeak is amazing. The war is a long struggle for the generations, but with turning points every two months. It will last forever, but the end is just around the corner. As long as republicans are reticent to say enough is enough, Bush will continue to bang this nation’s head against the wall that is Iraq. Democrats and liberals fumed with anger when House Democrats sent Bush a bill that did not have a time line for withdrawal. Yet until the Constitution is changed Bush can continue to hold the power of veto, and we all know only Bush has the power to change the Constitution at will. He was granted this power, along with the power of flight, by the statute passed giving him the authorization to hunt the perpetrators of 9/11.

Yet many point to the slow trickle of Republicans that have started to come out in favor of some kind of change in course away from “winning”, whatever that is. I thought we won in March of 2003, but I’m more of a conventional war fan. The Republicans, like Olympia Snow of Maine, are only thinking of their coming reelection campaigns in 2008. Candidates like Ron Paul are on the fringe of the Republican establishment that is growing smaller and smaller as the days go on. This war has singlehandedly destroyed the Republican party as a national governing party and reduced it to a band of rabid evangelical southern states. Yet Republicans only tepidly urge a new direction, and Democrats lacking the White House only have politically dangerous alternatives. It all comes down to George Walker Bush. As Chuck Hagel said this sunday, things are going to change on the ground, or the Congress is going to move us without him. Bush lacks any capital now, and could be close to impeachment by then.