The House passed a bill today demanding that U.S. troops leave Iraq by the end of August 2008. The vote was mostly along partisan lines, with only 2 Republicans voting in favor and 14 Democrats voting against (plus a number who voted “present” or not at all).

The big news seems to be the “vote buying” that aided in passage of the legislation. Indeed, the Washington Post editorialized against it today:

The Democrats claim to have a mandate from voters to reverse the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq. Yet the leadership is ready to piece together the votes necessary to force a fateful turn in the war by using tactics usually dedicated to highway bills or the Army Corps of Engineers budget. The legislation pays more heed to a handful of peanut farmers than to the 24 million Iraqis who are living through a maelstrom initiated by the United States, the outcome of which could shape the future of the Middle East for decades.

This is really nothing new. Vote buying has become a staple in Congress. Political scientist Diana Evans even authored a book arguing that Congress would be paralyzed if not for the complex vote buying schemes through which pork is distributed in return for support for certain bills.

The fact that it’s commonplace doesn’t make it right, of course. It’s a sad fact that Washington has come to this, and it’s even sadder when support for funding and timetables for our troops (whose very lives, both sides argue, are closely linked to said legislation) is swapped for agricultural subsidies.

What is most mystifying about this arrangement is the fact that this legislation will never become law anyway. In the Senate, it will be filibustered, and even if passes there, will be vetoed by President Bush. Thus pork was handed out for what is, at best, only a symbolic resolution.

The culture of corruption is still alive and well in Washington. Reform is needed now more than ever.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has a list of the pork bribes.

UPDATE II: This post is taking part in the Beltway Traffic Jam.