Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Best I can tell, one needs a super-majority to get something done when the minority blocks most legislation and the President threatens vetoes of anything that might possibly squeak through by a vote or two. But, a majority party, with just 50 votes in the Senate and 233 in the House, could bring our troops home by simply doing nothing. The Senate majority leader and House Speaker can refuse to bring anything to the floor, holding up all legislation and therefore all funding on all things, until the recalcitrant minority and President agree to the majority's terms.

While President Bush asserts that the executive branch is all powerful and that he's the decider, there's nothing he and the minority can do if the Democrats simply refuse to vote for any spending measures until the White House agrees to a new way forward in, or more appropriately out of, Iraq.

If members of the House and Senate truly believe, as most Americans do, that the Iraq debacle must be brought to a close, they need to put some teeth into their beliefs. Instead of moaning about how difficult it is to get anything done while the Republicans and President use parliamentary tricks to get their way, the Democrats can show some real spine not by setting up cots for sleepovers and ordering pizza, but by letting the President and the other side of the aisle know that their usual Summer break is about to be extended, for as long as it takes, to get a troop withdrawal plan out of the White House.

How many Democrats does it take to change course in Iraq, 283? What do they have to do to change that course? Nothing.