Following a pattern set when Congress passed supplemental funding for the Iraq War last May, major media outlets continued to "explain" the politics of the war in incomplete and misleading ways.
The point made by these media outlets again and again is that the Democrats have little power to affect policy in Iraq because it would be difficult to pass legislation over a potential Republican filibuster, and even harder to pass a bill over a presidential veto. This sentiment is also voiced by many Democratic politicians, many of whom consider themselves opponents of the war. But passing a filibuster- or veto-proof bill is not their only option.…The problem with all these accounts is that Congress does not have to pass legislation to bring an end to the war in Iraq – it simply has to block passage of any bill that would continue to fund the war. This requires not 67 or 60 Senate votes, or even 51, but just 41 – the number of senators needed to maintain a filibuster and prevent a bill from coming up for a vote. In other words, the Democrats have more than enough votes to end the Iraq War–if they choose to do so.
Let’s do it…
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