politics v. government

This is how some of us get ourselves into trouble. Republicans like John Warner and our very own George V. are lining up behind Dick Lugar's call for an immediate commencement of a gradual troop withdrawal in Iraq.

Why is Dick doing this now? Well...

Lugar urged haste, before the political climate heats up heading into the 2008 elections. “The purpose of giving this speech now is that we are in a quiet period when we are not forced to extreme debates and there can be consensus building,” Lugar said today.


Republicans have been wrong on Iraq. Republican legislators have enabled this administration to carry out a sickeningly wrong Iraq policy for going on five years. For this moral failing, they should be hammered repeatedly, and voted out of office.

But there's the rub. If it takes allowing Republican senators a chance to pick the most politically advantageous circumstances along with a clenched mouth "attaboy" to get us out of Iraq, I suppose it's morally questionable not to.

I've always been of the opinion that giving a pass to our representatives based on pragmatics was wrong-headed. When someone you support makes a move that you don't like because it advances some other purpose, they should have factored your anger into their calculation. If you give a pass, that's what they'll factor in next time. Sometimes, though, I guess the peanut gallery has to play pragmatist as well.