On War Funding, Of Course, the Democrats Had An Option!

The latest national poll indicates that public opposition to the Iraq war is at an all time high. Yet, it was reported in The New York Times that "On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Concede Ground to Bush." (May 24) The political winds have been at the back of Congress. WHY concede the field to a very unpopular president, and throw away the momentum?

There most certainly was an option on the eve of another Congressional recess. The political and personal comfort of Members of Congress could have been sacrificed in a knockdown with President Bush that putatively, and temporarily, would have denied the president the funds to support the troops in the field.

WHY not stay in Washington over Memorial Day weekend and into the next week when so much is at stake, and Representatives and Senators have a firm hold on the purse strings? Then it would be self-evident that members are not abandoning the troops, but instead risking standing up for them in trying to bring them home.

William E. Jackson, Jr.