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A hostage situation
International Herald Tribune ^ | April 23, 2007 | Paul Krugman

Posted on 04/24/2007 4:16:34 PM PDT by Thebaddog

PRINCETON, New Jersey: There are two ways to describe the confrontation between the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration over funding for the Iraq surge. You can pretend that it's a normal political dispute. Or you can see it for what it really is: a hostage situation, in which a beleaguered President George W. Bush, barricaded in the White House, is threatening dire consequences for innocent bystanders - the troops - if his demands aren't met.

If this were a normal political dispute, Democrats in Congress would clearly hold the upper hand: By a huge margin, Americans say they want a timetable for withdrawal, and by a large margin they also say they trust Congress, not Bush, to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq.

But this isn't a normal political dispute. Bush isn't really trying to win the argument on the merits. He's just betting that the people outside the barricade care more than he does about the fate of those innocent bystanders.

What's at stake right now is the latest Iraq "supplemental." Since the beginning, the administration has refused to put funding for the war in its regular budgets. Instead, it keeps saying, in effect: "Whoops! Whaddya know, we're running out of money. Give us another $87 billion."

At one level, this is like the behavior of an irresponsible adolescent who repeatedly runs through his allowance, each time calling his parents to tell them he's broke and needs extra cash.

(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: antiamerican; dhimmicrats; ho; iraq; krugman; moonbat; paulkrugman; payback; treason; waronrepublicans
Do you believe this guy? He's a Mo Dowd wannabe with the condescending acidic prose.
1 posted on 04/24/2007 4:16:35 PM PDT by Thebaddog
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To: Thebaddog

It is a hostage situation.

The Democrats are holding the troops hostage to peanut farmers, spinach growers, and people still using Katrina as an excuse not get off the coach and get a job.


2 posted on 04/24/2007 4:20:23 PM PDT by A Balrog of Morgoth (QMC(SW) USN........ CG21 DD988 FFG34 PC6 ARS53)
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To: Thebaddog

“Confronting Bush on Iraq has become a patriotic duty.” ~ Krugman

No words.


3 posted on 04/24/2007 4:20:53 PM PDT by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
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To: Thebaddog
It is a hostage situation — wrong perp though.
4 posted on 04/24/2007 4:21:31 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: Thebaddog

The Dhimmicrats have tried to orchestrate defeat in Iraq. They’ve been working diligently toward that end for 3+ years...and why? Payback for Clinton impeachment and Gore’s loss. They would sell America to gain access to the White House.


5 posted on 04/24/2007 4:23:16 PM PDT by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
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To: Thebaddog; Admin Moderator

No Barf Alert?


6 posted on 04/24/2007 4:24:10 PM PDT by Ouderkirk (Don't you think it's interesting how death and destruction seems to happen wherever Muslims gather.)
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To: Thebaddog

is it just me or are the Clintons totally in control of the media message now?
All the news is about enemies of theirs...Cheney, Barak, Thompson, Gonzales, McCain....
Hillary is having a full on panic attack, she’s got the watch dogs slathering and drooling.
BOR will be next, he went after Soros last night.


7 posted on 04/24/2007 4:26:47 PM PDT by acapesket (never had a vote count in all my years here)
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To: Thebaddog

“By a huge margin, Americans say they want a timetable for withdrawal, and by a large margin they also say they trust Congress, not Bush, to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq.”

Somebody got into the mushrooms again. Uh, dude? Americans have said no such thing, and Congress has lower approval ratings than Bush.

Pull your head out of your posterior and stop reading Huff Po, DU and Kos.


8 posted on 04/24/2007 4:27:11 PM PDT by Right Cal Gal (Remember Billy Dale!!!)
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To: Thebaddog

This stupid bastid has the whole thing Bass ackwards.


9 posted on 04/24/2007 4:27:16 PM PDT by sgtbono2002 (I will forgive Jane Fonda, when the Jews forgive Hitler.)
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To: Thebaddog; Admin Moderator
Mr. Krugman:

does the phrase SLOW BLEED mean anything to you?

mods: give this thing a BARF ALERT. Seriously.

I didn't realize Rosie could be out Rosied.
10 posted on 04/24/2007 4:27:40 PM PDT by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad!)
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To: verum ago; Thebaddog

Probably most here are familiar with Krugman and his place in the left, so IMO no alert of that kind is needed.


11 posted on 04/24/2007 4:34:40 PM PDT by Admin Moderator
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To: Admin Moderator

fair ‘nuff; caught me off guard though


12 posted on 04/24/2007 4:36:52 PM PDT by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad!)
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To: sageb1
They would sell America to gain access to the White House.

Worse yet, there isn't a democrat hack that wouldn't pimp out her/his own mother for a vote.

13 posted on 04/24/2007 4:47:57 PM PDT by bikerMD (Beware, the light at the end of the tunnel may be a muzzle flash.)
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To: Thebaddog

What vomitous spin. Bush wants the troops funded no strings attached and its his fault the Dems. refuse to fund them without playing political games. So the way in which the president has sought out funding is the issue, not a hyper-partisan Democratic party out to use national security as a wedge issue. The fool who wrote this is right out of Orwell.


14 posted on 04/24/2007 4:48:25 PM PDT by MikeA (The US news media are the Democratic Party's organ grinder monkeys.)
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To: Thebaddog
Paul Krugman.

It figures.

15 posted on 04/24/2007 5:20:17 PM PDT by Gritty (If we adopt the Pelosi policy, then we will validate the strategy of al-Qaida - Dick Cheney)
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To: Thebaddog

Where’s the “barf alert”?


16 posted on 04/24/2007 5:25:34 PM PDT by narby
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To: bikerMD
Worse yet, there isn’t a democrat hack that wouldn’t pimp out her/his own mother for a vote.

You are recklessly assuming that they have mothers.

;-)

17 posted on 04/24/2007 5:27:43 PM PDT by dighton
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To: Thebaddog

It is amazing how the author can be so perfectly wrong.


18 posted on 04/24/2007 5:56:00 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: dighton
Of course they have mothers!


19 posted on 04/24/2007 5:56:39 PM PDT by Clock King ("How will it end?" - Emperor; "In Fire." - Kosh)
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To: Thebaddog

Krugman assumes that Bush has zero support from the military and citizens.

Kool-aid psychosis is tough to deal with.


20 posted on 04/24/2007 5:58:49 PM PDT by listenhillary (Islamofacists are playing our media like a master virtuoso)
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