So how much does this Senate suck?
A lot.
This has definitely been a year of incredible frustration and stagnation in Washington. Without a doubt, it’s the worst I've seen it in my short time working as an advocate on Capitol Hill. But in the last week, the inaction and incompetence in Congress was taken to a whole new level. This Senate is so backwards, so ineffective, so lacking in leadership, it’s almost hard to put it into words. Unless you use a term that comes from the military: FUBAR.
The Senate has been so FUBAR in the lame duck that they failed to make progress on some of the most important, defining, urgent issues facing our nation – within one action-packed, C-Span-dominated, frenzy of partisanship, selfishness and petty posturing. And in the end, our fearful leaders in Washington have not only failed to produce a result on taxes, but also “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” The Defense Bill, the New GI Bill and even support for heroes who dug through rubble with their bare hands to save lives at Ground Zero after 9/11. (As a first responder myself, I feel obliged to post the names of the 42 Senators who made sure that support didn’t come through this year.)
If Senator Reid and Senator McConnell don’t turn things around and make tremendous progress in the short weeks left before the end of the year, the legacy of the 111th Congress will be defined by one Twitter hashtag: #SenateFail.
Recently, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) has become a media staple. And with good reason. It’s a subject of historic importance, a defining issue of our time. Activists, politicians and pundits have talked every DADT angle, but they oversimplified the political discussion, leading most Americans to believe that last week Congress was voting yes or no on repealing only this controversial policy. But that wasn’t the case. DADT was actually just one component of a larger, comprehensive annual Defense Bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). NDAA has dozens of other, low profile provisions that will impact our troops and veterans in a profound way. Military Sexual Trauma support. Traumatic Brain Injury screening. Military pay raises. Stop loss back pay. Burn pit investigations. They are all in this massive bill – which also contains DADT.
So as the small group of Senators dug in last week to oppose DADT, they also risked stopping critical funding and support for our troops and veterans. In the midst of two wars, they hunkered down over a policy that has received overwhelming bipartisan and expert support from Bill O’Reilly to Senator Scott Brown to Liz Cheney to Senator Levin to Secretary Gates. And nearly 70% of the American public. Everyone now seems to understand that all men and women who have committed their lives to service and sacrifice in our military should be treated equally. That’s why IAVA took a position two weeks ago. After the groundbreaking Pentagon survey results, almost everyone, no matter what side of the aisle, seemed to get it. But all of America could see that some Senators still didn’t. So the stage was set for a fight. And for yet another soul-crushing, Metrodome-like collapse by the Democrats.
Senator Harry Reid, the former boxer, lost resoundingly. His opponents frustrated him. They made him look silly and weak. Watching Reid falter last week was like watching a boxer lose badly to a guy that telegraphed his punches – and still managed to hit him on the chin time and time again, because he was a vastly superior fighter. Everyone in America knew what the Republican strategy was, and Reid acted like he never saw it coming. All of us tuned in to C-Span winced as we watched him take blow after blow on the Senate floor as the “no” votes rolled in one after another. In the end, Reid and the Democrats didn’t look much better than Josh Koshcheck did Saturday night against Georges St-Pierre. Another shellacking.
Make no mistake, Senator Reid is very much to blame. He’s been calling the shots from the start. He charted a faulty course for DADT that he couldn’t deliver on, pinning it to the broader Defense Bill. He couldn’t rally support (he couldn’t even get Democrat Joe Manchin’s vote). And it was his choice to hastily force a vote on Thursday, failing to let the argument about the importance of NDAA fully unfold, and denying Senator Blanche Lincoln enough time to return from the dentist. Reid’s strategy was flawed, his execution was weak, he didn’t have his troops in line, and at the critical point of attack last week he failed to exercise what the military calls “tactical patience.”
But the cavalry didn’t exactly ride in to save him either. I don’t think anyone can honestly say the President was pushing as hard as he could have to reinforce the NDAA fight last week. He may have been making phone calls behind the scenes, but he didn’t use the best weapon at his disposal: the bully pulpit. He didn’t appear in the media to push for NDAA, he didn’t go on the Sunday talk shows to fight for it, and either he didn’t ask or couldn’t convince Gates and Mullen to be out in front (both were absent from the media all last week while overseas and were understandably frustrated with the lack of progress). So as usual, the Democrats failed to frame and control the debate. They were playing defense (which is their usual position on any military or defense issues). And they looked weak, divided and overcommitted.
Reid and the President wanted START, DREAM, NDAA, DADT, 9/11 first responders support, taxes, and a big bipartisan hug – and they wanted it all this year. And when you try to do everything – especially when your opponent is more disciplined and unified – you often get nothing.
Tying DADT to NDAA was a gamble the Democrats took and lost. As a result, everyone might lose. DADT repeal proponents. The Democrats. The President. And especially our troops. They, their families and the vital support they need in wartime contained within NDAA have become the collateral damage of yet another vicious, partisan, political battle.
Here are just a few of the critical non-DADT provisions in NDAA that haven’t grabbed the headlines—and are now in jeopardy:
Mental Health
Military Sexual Trauma
Military Pay
Health Record Sharing
Not to mention stop loss repayment extensions, burn pit investigations and much more. Because of the significance of these provisions, all major veterans groups agree that passing the Defense Bill is something that can’t wait until next year—and why The Military Coalition - a group of 33 military, veterans and uniformed services organizations sent a letter to Senator Reid and Senator McConnell to emphasize the urgency.
So if the obstructionists get their way, and Reid and the President fail to galvanize a clear path around them to passage, personal politics and Congressional incompetence will prevent troops from getting the lifesaving support they need from Washington for the first time in 48 years. And that would be an embarrassing precedent to set.
At a time when we have nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, 50,000 in Iraq and over 2 million vets back home, passing this legislation should be a no-brainer for Washington – especially if you see the full picture.
And yes, they’re all to blame – both parties did their part to ensure legislative mutual annihilation. And that is why there is such growing anger at all things Washington and a hunger for independent leaders like Mayor Bloomberg. The American people should not let the politicians get away with pointing fingers all around this time. Everyone did not screw this up equally. Leaders get the credit; leaders deserve the blame. And the American people should not let either party spin us into thinking otherwise.
The President, Senator Majority Leader Reid and Senator McConnell should all be held accountable. If NDAA and all this other critical legislation is not passed before the end of 2010, it won’t be by accident. It’s takes significant effort (or enormous incompetence) to get this little done for this long. And it will indeed be a failure of epic proportions.
So if you’ve never called your Senator before in your life, this would be a good time to start. Tell them to step up and get something – anything – done for the American people. And don’t let them spin you or bury you with finger pointing and excuses. Tell them you don’t care if they want a holiday break. They don’t deserve one.
They should stay until the work is done. Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are waiting for this support. Lives literally depend on it. And if our troops can work over the holidays, so can our Senators. If they don’t, their legacy is simple: #SenateFail.
Follow Paul Rieckhoff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PaulRieckhoff
But I watched the Military Chiefs of Staff answering the question of whether they could implement the repeal of DADT and most of them said they could except for one Marine General, but I couldn't figure out what DADT meant. To me, I thought it meant not to bring up the subject of sexual orientation or to require it to be specified when enlisting. What's missing?
I've been claiming for years, and it's never seemed more true, it's really a single party perpetually working behind closed doors to pre-engineer every pseudo-conflict, every fake battle and every close fought vote to the benefit of those providing the MOST campaign contributions (BRIBES).
Does any explanation make more sense for these weak results in; health care reform; Hole in the Wall Street Gang reform; and GWB tax-cut reform, all which implemented proposals originally made by CONServatives - that somehow NO CONS would then vote for, even the originators?
Then, when some critical needs legislation needs completing like; funding health payments for the first responders; passing unquestionable equal civil Rights for all; passing the most CONservative of immigration efforts; funding OUR government and Department of Defense for the year; paying a decades old lawsuit lost to black farmers, heels are dug in until the largest of contributors are paid off - FIRST!
Beyond all this, each election cycle sees some of the dumbest of campaign mistakes, seemingly 'designed' to lose just so many seats and no more, so neither side of the 'invisible isle' completes the harder choices required for 'The People' without the excuse of 'not enough votes'.
The longer every issue takes, the longer lobbyist's checks of 'bundled' campaign contributions - keep getting delivered. Is campaign finance reform EVER mentioned anymore? It's a 'pat hand'.
America, For Sale to the highest bidder...
(here's the link where I posted, since it was too long for here)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/12/AR2010121203747_Comments.html?at=u%3Dflashrob%26t%3D1292286444%26e%3Dflashrob%40dimestop.com%26h%3D8xngvdt4eeGdRuZbUVNchg%3D%3D
flashrob
We're way over our heads especially in the cost of new equipment and young peoples lives.
If you can figure out a dignified way to withdraw, please don't keep it a mystery. I'm afraid that we'ere stuck, like I said. We should have withdrawn everybody when Sadam Hussein was captured. I kept asking why we were still there and couldn't receive any logical answer.
THANK YOU for saying that. Also true on tax bill, weak health care and financial reform bills. Congress makes law not the President. Dems control the Senate, didn't produce. True, the Repubs obstructed them, but that's Dems in Congress problem, certainly not Obama's. He's a separate branch of government, check the Constitution.
This one reason why the military has been retaining and redeploying sodliers on multiple deployments even some who are suffering from PTSD and amputees who have been "rehabilitated."
There may be greater concern for economics than supoorting the troops.
It is time that the military dsicontinue to place a stigma on gay soldiers who are sserving faithfully and honorably.
Consider the case of USAF Sgt. Leonard Metlovich, a highly decorated Viet Nam veteran (Purple Heart, Bronze Star)
"They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."
The epitaph on his tombstone.
Having gone to many a funeral of fallen comrades I would like to know that when the folded flag is presented to a family member "on behalf of a grateful nation," that this words are not just hot air.
Contact your senator or congressman and ask: What have you done for the troops today?
Thank you for your service Mr. Rieckhoff and for serving those who served.
A brother at arms.
The public seems too tuned out to mobilize on this. We need some theater.
Second--I've enjoyed your posts in the past, and enjoyed your segments on TV shows--mostly MSNBC.
I have to question your posting on the repeal of DADT. I've been on the IAVA (no mention of DADT) and once, on these threads, questioned the organization's position on DADT. Even though you were posting responses to other questions and statement, you did not respond to mine.
I'm sorry, but I feel that you are using the public support of the DADT repeal to push the larger issue of the military authorization. While I agree with everything you are saying, the fact that you haven't been saying it before now seems opportunistic.
I think friends should be honest with each other. If I am wrong I will be happily schooled. If you can cite past personal or organizational commitment to the repeal of DADT I would be happy to read them.
Once again, thank you for your service both in the military and after.