Garling Gauge

White House Whines: Stop Investigating Us!

Leave me alone

Klaus Marre of the Hill reports that President Bush disapproves of congressional investigations into his administration.

Boo hoo.

“The House of Representatives has wasted valuable time on a constant stream of investigations, and the Senate has wasted valuable time on an endless series of failed votes to pull our troops out of Iraq,” the president said Tuesday.

The Speaker of the House responded in kind:

“The president calls congressional oversight that has uncovered tens of billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq a ‘waste of time,’ ” Pelosi said. “We call billions spent in no-bid contracts to Halliburton a waste of money.”

Pelosi continued:

“Instead of criticizing Congress, the president’s time would be better spent working in a bipartisan way to end this disastrous war in Iraq, keep our promises to our veterans by providing the largest veterans’ healthcare investment in history, and providing healthcare for 10 million children.”

To make matters even more ridiculous, the president actually said “proposed spending is skyrocketing under their [Democratic Congress] leadership.”

Um, how much is that war of yours costing?

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Iraq War Cost

Appropriations for U.S. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the billions according to the Congressional Budget Office

Ah, that much.

And who is going to pay for it? Your children. My children. How selfish and irresponsible can you possibly be to place all that debt on the next generation? One Democrat brought up passing the buck in their Devil’s Night debate.

“Lastly, the president, referencing reports that Democrats could attempt to tie an Iraq supplemental spending bill and the Veterans Affairs funding legislation to the Labor/HHS appropriations bill, said it is ‘hard to imagine a more cynical political strategy than trying to hold hostage funding for our troops in combat and our wounded warriors in order to extract $11 billion in additional social spending.’ “

The Democratic Congress is riding a bumpy road. With a minute majority in the Senate and a fearful nation at war leaning on the words of a bombastic president, Pelosi’s job hasn’t been easy.

While the president focuses on reshaping the Middle East with a blank military check, Congress still has to act responsibly, prioritizing and allocating government funds wisely. Bolstering Labor and Health and Human Services funding must also be a priority, even now. And with the ‘war on terror’ currently having no determined and definable end, America has found itself in a perpetual state of war. Congress must navigate and ultimately end this dilemma.

Congress must also provide much needed oversight, especially now. The Bush administration has grasped power far beyond Nixonian desires, and if any White House required a chaperone, it’s this one.

Whining like a disrespectful teenager upset for not being trusted, Bush has squandered his allowance, is way out past his bedtime, and it’s about time for Congress to call the police. Some American passion might side with the rhetoric of a rebellious youth, but people are dying and our nation is in trouble. It’s time for the adults to take over.

So boo hoo White House, boo hoo Bush. And until this administration is over, it’s a serious and sad boo hoo for America.