The American Pundit

There’s not much to this story, actually. Democrats don’t want to look weak on terror, and there’s no plausible facility to relocate murdering terrorists to while awaiting military trials. Also, most don’t look forward to explaining to their constituents why terrorists picked off the field in Afghanistan are being moved to their backyards.

With debate looming on Obama’s spending request to cover military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the official says Democrats will deny the Pentagon and Justice Department $80 million to relocate Guantanamo’s 240 detainees…

It appears to be a tactical retreat. Once the administration develops a plan to close the facility, congressional Democrats are likely to revisit the topic, provided they are satisfied there are adequate safeguards.

The developments on Capitol Hill came as the Pentagon said it still expects the prison at Guantanamo Bay to be closed by January 2010 as Obama has ordered.

What happened to all the rhetoric about closing Gitmo, trying terrorists in the domestic court system, returning honor to our interrogation methods, and bringing about a new era of transparency? The left-wing rhetoric had a little run-in with harsh reality. Campaigning is one thing, governing is something entirely different. It’s easier to send out Kumbaya-ish talking points than actually be responsible for protecting the country.

By the way, House Democrats folded on this last week. So good luck finding funds for the closure of Gitmo there. The new Democratic line is, “We’d like to close down the facility…eventually.” Which puts them in the same position as the Bush Administration. I can hear the nutroot heads exploding from here.

Via Hot Air.