i really hope that harry reid sticks to his guns this time, but i'll believe it when i see it.
whenever congress debates any proposal one of the key factors is who has (for lack of a better term) the burden of legislation. in other words, if nothing passes who wins? the side that wouldn't win is the one with the burden of legislation. and the other side, the side without the burden, is the one with a major advantage in the debate.
so, for example, if congress were debating a universal health care bill, the burden of legislation would be on the members of congress advocating the bill. if the bill doesn't make it through congress, opponents have won. the opponents don't have to cobble together any coalition in support of their anti-reform agenda, they just need to make sure that the other side's cobbling fails. stalling, procedural delays and other technicalities all work to the benefit to the side that doesn't have the burden of legislation.
what's weird about the periodic iraq funding debate is that it is the president who has the burden of legislation, not the opponents of the war. if war funding doesn't pass, the funding for the war cuts off. it doesn't require any additional legislation. it just requires that opponents block legislation from happening. and yet, neither the president nor democrats in congress have acted like that's where the burden lies. instead they act as if the default is to continue with the iraq war. when really it is opposite. bush needs the funding bills to pass every few months or else the funding will stop.
the fact that the president is the one with the burden when it comes to war financing has been the anti-war democrats' trump card ever since they gained a majority in congress. all year they've had the option of blocking any iraq funding bill that doesn't require the withdrawal of u.s. troops. if the republicans refuse to go along with that condition or if the president vetoes every funding bill that includes a withdrawal requirement, eventually the funding will run out and the troops will have to come home anyway.
no action on an iraq bill means war opponents win. all the allegedly anti-war democrats have to do is not cave in and they will get what they say they want. hopefully, reid has finally noticed this trump card in his pocket.
we shall see. i'll still bet he's gonna cave.
