If Congress and the Senate are so certain that the American people are behind them on troop withdrawal then?

Question

why don't they send a "stand alone" bill for troop funding to the hill and then hagle over a bill calling for withdrawal of the troops?

Answer 1

Democrats don't want to leave Iraq. The proof is they had to be bribed with "pork barrel spending" just to sign the bill.

Democrats don't want to leave Iraq. They just say they do just to get votes and to keep anti-war people happy.

Powerful liberal Senator Feinstein's company got a $600 million military contract. Do you think she wants to leave?
"In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years. "http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/22/MN310531.DTL

Answer 2

Because the Dems are trying to use a war funding bill as a means to get through a lot of extra special interest pork. No bill can be just for funding because that's not the way politicians think. They think: "Hmmmm, how much pork can I slather onto this so I can get more votes from the voters back home?" So the pork becomes the main part of the bill and the war funding part is a small afterthought tacked on so they can justify the title.

The real name for the bill should be more like:

"The Spinach Growers and Peanut Farmers and Bridges to Nowhere Act, oh and also almost forgot the Emergency War Funding Act"

There is no such thing as a "clean" bill. They are all jam-packed full of pork.

Answer 3

It's simple, they want to play both sides, they think that if they send the bill calling for withdrawl first, they can convince the hard core left wing (moveon.org) types that they tried, and were overruled by a "tyrannical" President Bush. On the other side, they can still fund the troops in the end and hope to be seen by moderates as conciliatory and willing to "work" with the President.

I expect though that this will backfire. I think that the leftists will be irate with anything less than their agenda. And I believe most moderates will see this as simply playing politics with the military. Many swing voters will be very unwilling to accept this.

Answer 4

Its just not done that way, a clean bill wasn't presented to the President the last two times that I know of for sure when the funds for the war were put into a bill. The only difference was who put the pork in, and the President is himself playing politics when he pretends otherwise.
Congress only has a say on the money for funding, it can't direct the troops to go here or there, to withdraw or stay. That is the Commander in Chiefs role.
Republican face a difficult problem with 70% of Americans not supporting a continuing presence in Iraq, stay with a President whose competency is questions by a majority or leave the highly disciplined confines of their party and risk a lack of funding and support when they make their election runs.

Answer 5

Because congress does not have the authority to withdrawal the troops. That responsibility falls to the president. Congress can withhold funding, but that is quite a bit different. They would not withhold funding while they were engaged in combat.

So, it will fall to the president and the president alone to withdrawal the troops.

Answer 6

because of the fact Bush won't pay attention to them - or to the yank human beings. He needs what he needs in basic terms like a spoiled brat - that's what he's. And the yank human beings DO choose the troops withdrawn....the election final November despatched this Congress to Washington to do in basic terms that. they'll, one way or the different. Bushie boy's days are over.

Answer 7

Over 50% of the congress and Senate do not want them to come back. Even if there was a bill like that Bush would just veto like all the other times.

Answer 8

It's politics.

Yanno, politics....like outting a CIA agent is politics.

Firing all the justices to non-verbally say that the other justices better jump in Bush's front pocket is politics.

There's 0 chance that the funding will be cut off. That's not the point of them passing this bill.

It's to distance themselves from the blackhole we call Bush. And to make it very clear that they want to end this war. It helps them greatly in the long run, politically speaking.

Answer 9

Dems know that leaving Iraq will erupt in more chaos, and a potential attack at home. They are just telling the American people what they think they want to hear. Who knows, maybe their decision will change tomorrow since they can't stick to their convictions. Flip flop, flip flop....

Answer 10

The Democrats can't pass it with Lieberman deciding against them. Hagel will not support that. It will be 50-50 with Cheney as the "Decider."