Recently-announced Presidential candidate Joseph Biden (D-DE), however, seems to disagree with the newly minted Speaker of the House.
"As a practical matter there is no way to this is going to be stopped."
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Biden added that it would probably be an unconcstitutional violation of separation of powers if Democrats were to block Bush's efforts as commander-in-chief after Congress had voted to authorize going to war.
There is so much wrong with that little snippet - not just Biden's direct quote, but the "smmuary" provided - that I hesitate to find a place to begin.
First, as a "practical matter", Congress has every right, indeed a constitutional obligation, to ensure that our tax dollars, espcially in matters of war, are spent efficiently and wisely. Feeding more bodies into the bloody mill that is Iraq does not sound like the best use of our treasure, our young men and women, or our money, and so to pre-emptively give Bush a free ride on this is not only irresponsible, to claim such irresponsibility is outside the purvue of Congress is simple ignorance.
Second, Congress did not ever authorize the President to go to war. Congress gave the President permission to act against Saddam Hussein if it was shown that he had violated any of the United Nations Resolutions under which Iraq was then quarantined and being searched and contained. The President made the unilateral declaration that Iraq was so in violation and moved troops in. This thinnest of reeds is hardly a Congressional declaration of war, and I wonder if it even has the force of law, as it does not even meet the criteria of the War Powers Act, let alone the Constitutional provision that it is Congress alone that declares war.
Third, Congress can back out of a war - through witholding funding - anytime it so chooses. That is exactly a check on the abuse of power by the Commander-in-chief envisioned by the founders in separating war powers between the executive and legislative branches. To somehow say that once Congress gives the go ahead, it has to step back and let the President act in whatever manner he or she sees fit ignores the reason for separating powers in the first place.
Fourth, to frame the discussion in such a way that it becomes a partisan issue - it would be "Democrats" who would be acting against the President, rather than Congress as an institution and co-equal branch of government - ignores the fact that the American people don't want escalation. It is not some Democratic Party cabal that is creating the false impressions of American weak-kneed cowardice in the face of Iraq. It is the wise and honest understanding that we need to leave Iraq now before our military is exhausted, our treasury is bankrupt, and we are bereft of resources to face all the challenges we currently face - terrorism among the rest.
I seriously hope Biden is reminded of these, and a few other, home truths before his campaign gets too far along. I have no idea whol I will be supporting next year, if anyone - I have said it before and I will say it again before the week is out, I am quite sure - but Biden certainly has not made my Top 5 list, or perhaps even my Top 10 list, with these comments. We need real Democratic leadership, leadership that understands what the American people want, and how to go about doing it. From just this little blurb, Biden ain't it.
