Joe Biden: 2014 Afghanistan Pullout Is 'Drop Dead Date'
Friday, November 19, 2010
The other thing that's significant is how this also plays into ending DADT. Obama and Democrats are not doing everything in their power to end it. Not now, that the House has fallen to Republican control, and certainly not before the midterms or when Obama came into power on 1/20/09 and Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress.
Right before the midterms I asked commenters here if they thought Democrats would be as effective at obstructing Republicans as the Republicans as the minority party have been these past 4 years at obstructing Democrats.
Obama's been giving silent assent and aid to Republicans by not taking to the bully pulpit over this and all issues. Obama could certainly sign a stop-loss order (read my previous comments here and here before you give me the standard knee-j3rk response about a new president overturning it).
As AxelDC said:
This was an obvious case for reconciliation. The bill is the DoD budget, and reconcilliation is to avoid filibusters on budget issues. The House overwhelmingly passed it, the Senate had 57 votes, and Reid and Obama refused to push it through.
What about a stop-loss order on Day 1? Obama has that authority and Congress would have to override him.
Instead, he thought he would be too clever by half and predictibly fail in the Senate and hope the public would punish Republicans for it. Didn't quite work out that way did it? Either pass it in reconciliation in December or the courts will have to do what Obama refuses to do.
The audacity of campaigning, the timidity of governing.
Yesterday, Joe Lieberman leaked that 3 Republicans might sign onto repealing DADT if the process was "fair", i.e., if Republicans could add amendments onto the defense budget bill, among other things. I think this is the deal, agreeing to the Bush-Cheney 'Long War', continuing to kick the can down the road for ending these wars, is what Obama agreed to to get 3 Republicans to consider voting to repeal DADT. I think Obama's looking for cover, to hide behind Republicans, for his deceit about not fulfilling his promise to end these wars.
Obama and Democrats don't need 60 -- They can put the repeal of DADT in the defense budget bill and pass it through reconciliation. 50 + Biden.
About Joe Biden
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