Reid Needs to Review the Constitution

Via Instapundit, I see CNN’s report on Majority Leader Reid’s ‘frustration’ at finding himself powerless to end the war in Iraq. Professor Reynolds seems to suggest that Senator Reid is not speaking in earnest:

HARRY REID: “Frustrated Dems will keep pushing for end to Iraq war.” But not hard enough to actually succeed in ending it, because then they might be held responsible.

It’s not fair to impute bad faith to the Majority Leader, however, without at least considering the possibility that Senator Reid has forgotten that Congress has it in its power to end the conflict. Shockingly, that power is spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. Article I, Section 9 of that document specifies:

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.

It’s clear that Senator Reid has the power to end the war, but he brought legislation to fund it to the floor of the Senate last May. When the Senate passed HR 2206 on May 17, it funded a military venture that Senator Reid now asserts he intended to stop–or at least frustrate.

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