Since I can’t say it nearly as well as Scott Malensek (guest-blogging at Flopping Aces), I’ll simply give you a very brief Cliff’s Notes version and send you over there for the well-researched and lengthy read (do note I’ve disabled comments/pings for this post; if I get requests, I’ll consider opening them up here).
He notes that almost nobody on Capitol Hill has read one report or heard one briefing on Iraq; this despite repeated public requests from the Congresscritters for those reports and briefings. One particularily-embarrassing episode:
This week, after having been unanimously appointed by Congress, America’s commander in Iraq, General Petraeus took a break from his duties to make a public statement for the first time since taking command. Prior to his press conference, the general (who submits reports to the President every single day) offered to take time for a teleconference with the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority leader (both Democrats). They declined. Instead, they chose to meet with leaders from anti-war groups like Moveon.org and others (some of which are actually socialist groups like ANSWER). After meeting with the anti-war lobby instead of the General that Congress appointed to lead operations in Iraq, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid held their own press conference and unveiled their latest attempt at ending the war in Iraq by any means other than success. They did not consult with the commanders in Iraq, the experts.
Then, he outlines how the wealthy use essentially-unlimited PACs (the only limit is that a PAC can donate $5,000 to a Congresscritter candidate, twice as much as an individual, and contributions of under $200 to a PAC doesn’t have to be reported at all) to funnel literally millions of dollars into politics.
If you do nothing else this weekend, go read the whole thing.
