Last March, I travelled to DC to march on the Pentagon in protest of the war. While there, I met Cindy Sheehan, who is a true American patriot if ever there was one.

Cindy has tirelessly opposed the illegal and immoral war in Iraq for three years, ever since her son Casey was killed attempting to rescue some of his fellow soldiers in Sadr City.

Like many of us, when the Democrats took control of Congress in January, Cindy breathed a sigh of relief. The rubber-stamp approvals of reckless spending and abuse of power would stop, the President would be reigned in and the war would finally come to a close.

Last week, however, the Democrats reminded us why the right portrays them as being weak – because they are.

Among the many pieces of legislation put forth by this newly empowered congress, was a bill to make further funding of the war contigent upon troop withdrawal. It was something to be proud of – so long as you didn’t look at it too closely.

To the embarrassment of progressives everywhere, the bill also contained funding for more than $3.7 billion in farm subsidies, $2.9 billion in additional Gulf Coast hurricane relief and $2.4 billion for social programs such as money for rural Northwest school districts, health insurance for poor children, energy assistance for poor families and others.

To the surprise of…, well…, no one, the President pounced on them for it: “They have a responsibility to pass a clean bill that does not use funding for our troops as leverage to get special-interest spending for their districts…”

Then he vetoed it, telling them “They have a responsibility to get this bill to my desk without strings and without delay.”

So, after much blustering about the consequences of elections, Reid and Pelosi did what they have always done: They caved.

I imagine that Cindy, like myself, thought we were going to see some of the strength of will Bill Clinton showed us during the budget crisis of 1995, when he said he’d shut down the federal government before he’d let Congress railroad him into cutting funding for vital programs – and made good on his word.

Instead, we saw scared rabbits, running from a loud noise. Terrified of being called pussies over the Memorial Day weekend recess, they passed yet another carte-blanche funding bill. Ironic, eh?

It reminded me of the scene in Braveheart, when after defeat at Falkirk, William Wallace unmasks King Edward’s bodyguard to discover that it is none other than his hero, Robert the Bruce.

Like Wallace, Cindy will continue to fight the war and help assist those that grieve the loss of over 3,500 brave soldiers and hundereds of thousands of innocent Iraqis; but her public crusade is over.

As she wrote to Reid and Pelosi:

“There is absolutely no sane or defensible reason for you to hand Bloody King George more money to condemn more of our brave, tired, and damaged soldiers and the people of Iraq to more death and carnage. You think giving him more money is politically expedient, but it is a moral abomination and every second the occupation of Iraq endures, you all have more blood on your hands.”

Cindy has illustrated the true failure of this Democratic Congress, which is not its impotence, but rather it’s effectiveness at disheartening its supporters.

I will always regard Cindy Sheehan as a hero, and will miss her terribly.

Best of luck to you, America’s mom. I hope you find the peace and happiness you have so richly earned.