The Senate is teeming with courageous souls these days, most of them Republicans who have taken that brave step of following the opinion polls and abandoning their president in a time of war. Meanwhile, one of the few senators showing some backbone in the Iraq debate is being shunned as the skunk at the war critics’ party.
Sen. Russ Feingold held a hearing this week on Congress’s constitutional power to shut off funds for the Iraq war, and followed it up a day later with legislation that would do just that. The Wisconsin pacifist might not understand the importance of winning in Iraq–or the cost of losing–but at least there’s an element of principle to his actions. He’s opposed the war from the start and his proposal to cut off money after six months would certainly end it. It also happens to be Congress’s one legitimate means of stopping a war.
Mr. Feingold’s reward for honesty was to preside over what might have been the least-attended hearing so far in the Iraq debate. And those of his Senate colleagues who did bother to show up looked like they couldn’t wait to hit an exit door. “If Congress doesn’t stop this war, it’s not because it doesn’t have the power. It’s because it doesn’t have the will,” declared Mr. Feingold. Ted Kennedy–one of two Democrats who put in an appearance–could be seen shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
That’s because Sen. Feingold is coming uncomfortably close to unmasking the political charade playing on the Senate stage. Critics of President Bush want an unhappy public to see them taking action on the war.