April 24, 2007 03:00 AM UTC

Another man's son will fight his war

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• by: Zappatero

The House/Senate conference committee approved the Iraq Supplemental spending bill today. Here are a few things it contained that you won’t see in most reports:

• $1.7 Billion for military health care.
• $450 Million for PTSD care.
• $62 Million for amputee care at Walter Reed.
• $20 Million to fix Walter Reed. And…
• $1.4 Billion for new armored vehicles. (The ones about which Rumsfeld said “you go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want.”

I wonder if Doug Lamborn would rather pass another tax cut for the rich than pay for that “pork”. Like the good Republican he is, Doug was chosen to recite the tired, phony rhetoric from the White House playbook. He read his script on mark.

Here’s what Lamborn said when the House passed Bush’s it’s-another-emergency-in-Iraq, boys request for the 5^th year of his war:

Lamborn speaks out in opposition of H.R. 1591

Washington, DC – Mar 23 Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) today issued the following statement regarding his opposition to H.R. 1591, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations:

“Providing the necessary resources for our troops during a time of war is critically important. However, this legislation contains harmful provisions that mandate benchmarks which tie the hands of the President and Generals on the ground by micromanaging the war. Additionally, this bill contains billions of tax dollars that are clearly not emergency spending items and should be voted on with normal budget procedures.

“The concept of implementing an inflexible timeline that culminates with a date certain for withdrawal not only micromanages our commanders in the field, but also undermines the efforts of our troops on the ground. This timetable simply provides a date for the terrorists to wait us out.

“The Democratic Leadership has also included billions of pork spending in this bill to secure the support of their Members. An emergency troop funding bill is not the appropriate vehicle for unrelated domestic spending. As USA Today pointed out, `It’s hard to say which is worse: leaders offering peanuts for a vote of this magnitude, or members allowing their votes to be bought for peanuts. These provisions demean a bill that, if enacted, would affect the lives of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the balance of power in the Middle East and America’s long-term security.’

God, at least he didn’t say “The Democrat Leadership”. The slogans continue….

“I cannot support any legislation that ensures defeat in Iraq, puts our national security at risk, and enables uncontrolled spending. President Bush has promised to veto this harmful legislation and I am deeply disappointed that my colleagues across the aisle would jeopardize our Armed Forces to force our support of this dangerous and fiscally irresponsible supplemental appropriations bill.”

Besides the fact that the war is already lost, Doug misses a major reason why we should end it quick: our armed forces don’t have enough men to support the mission.

I knew Doug would never be anything more that a mouthpiece for the President. I do hope Doug’s military-aged, male kids expect to be all they can be in the future. Many of our friends and neighbors won’t.