The president wants the country to believe that he is the soldier's protector and Congress is the villain. This is a cynical, revisionist narrative.

The storyline that must be maintained casts Congress as the helper of heroic troops, the president as the false-hero or villain who sent them into harm's way inadequately armed and unprotected on a mission based upon lies. It is Bush who, with his veto, stood in the way of providing the troops with the funding they need. Progressives have missed this framing opportunity.

The continued abdication of the proper Constitutional role for Congress comes from the fear of blame for military casualties. Opponents of the Iraq occupation are concerned, and rightly so, that the Bush administration will frame killed or wounded soldiers as victims of Democratic mismanagement or partisan politicking. It is a fair guess that Democratic consultants are fretting that, if the Democratic Congress takes control of setting the mission in Iraq, Bush will lift the blackout on news coverage of returning injured and dead U.S. soldiers, using them as props in allegations that the casualties are the fault of "politicians."

Progressives must publicly confront the president about this as they reclaim their Constitutional power, derailing any attempt to shift responsibility.

Those are the pitfalls to be avoided. Now it is time to plan a course of unified grassroots action.

    Talking Points

    1.The Constitution provides Congress with the power to define the military agenda, including troop re-deployment and the establishment of timetables.

    2. The role of the president is to carry out the agenda defined by Congress.

    3.Congress must continuously assert its Constitutional power and responsibility.

    4.Congress must not give in to the betrayal myth. The president was offered funding with timetables but he turned it down - he is the betrayer.

    5.Congress must frame the matter as an issue of Constitutional authority.

    6.Congress must place the safety of the troops directly in the hands of the commander-in-chief, whose job is to carry out the agenda given by Congress, which includes protecting the safety of our troops.