Why don't the Democrats just fund the Iraqi War for duration of bu$h* term?

[spanone]

this charade of refusing to fund it then caving is PURE BULLSHIT.

this is why bu$h* laughs at threats from congress...

~snip~House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that President Bush has refused to accept, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120702550.html?hpid=topnews

[hobbit709]

1. That's EXACTLY what they are doing!

But they're too spineless to admit it.

[MADem]

2. What they're doing is making him beg, and trading little gobs of dough for

his signing social programs for the homefront, ones that he wouldn't ordinarily approve--like a winter heating oil program so the poor/elderly in our northern states don't freeze to death this winter.

[spanone]

5. what they're doing is funding a war they were elected to end

i haven't heard him beg, not once.

[MADem]

6. I'm not going to fight about this, I'm just telling you where their heads are at.

They also don't want to see government workers laid off -- and Bush WILL do it, and blame Congress (think back to Clinton - Newt) -- over Christmas.

[spanone]

7. i'm not going to fight about this either, they were elected to end it. period

[MADem]

8. Clearly, as evidenced by their actions, their timetable differs from yours. NT

[spanone]

9. fucking a it is...they knew this timetable when the bill came up months ago

christmas comes just about this time every year.

[MADem]

10. They may not have anticipated that Bush would divert funds from personnel to operations.

It's a pretty shitty thing to do.

[spanone]

11. I'm not alone

December 7, 2007
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232
U.S. Capitol

Dear Madame Speaker, Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Democratic Caucus Chairman, and Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman:

As leaders of the Progressive Caucus and Out of Iraq Caucus, we write to urge you not to include funding for the continued military occupation of Iraq in any Fiscal Year 2008 omnibus spending bill unless it requires these funds to be used solely for fully-funding the safe and timely redeployment of our troops and military contractors from Iraq within a specified timeline. Should legislation come to the House floor that does not strictly limit funding to protecting our troops and a timeline for commencing and completing their complete redeployment out of Iraq, we will not be able to support such a bill. (See attached official position of the Progressive Caucus on Iraq plus related letter to President Bush co-signed by 92 House Members.)

After almost five years, nearly 4000 lives of our brave service men and women, and approximately half-a-trillion dollars spent, it is past time for the US occupation of Iraq to end.

The basic reality is that the only way to end the violence against US forces and bring stability to Iraq and the region is to declare that forces will be redeployed from Iraq as soon and safely as is possible and that we have no designs to have an indefinite military presence there. In fact, over the last year, the President has signed provisions into law four times that state the US will not have a long-term military presence in Iraq.

Additionally, the American public is ahead of Congress on this point. More than half of those polled in recent weeks want US troops home as soon as possible (USA Today/Gallup) with nearly 60 percent wanting the engagement to end on a specified timeline (Pew).

Instead of providing the President a blank check --or worse, lowering the bar on conditions--, we urge you to build on the $50 billion down payment on redeployment (H.R. 4156) that the House passed on November 14 and adhere to the assurances we were given by House Democratic leaders at that time that no more votes would be taken this session to provide additional funding for U.S. military operation in Iraq. It is critical that we keep faith with the clear majority of Americans who voted us into the majority last year to end the disastrous U.S. military intervention in Iraq, use the momentum we have gained to end our occupation of Iraq and bring our troops and military contractors home, and strictly fence any additional appropriated funds accordingly.

Sincerely,

________________ ________________ ________________
Lynn Woolsey Barbara Lee Maxine Waters
Co-Chair Co-Chair Chair
Progressive Caucus Progressive Caucus Out of Iraq Caucus

[MADem]

12. No, you aren't. But those two caucuses aren't the majority in that legislative body. NT

[spanone]

14. correct, but the democrats are the majority in both legislative bodies

and it means nothing when it comes to ending this war.

[MADem]

15. Democrats, like this truth or not, do not march in lockstep on this issue.

Pelosi or Reid or anyone else cannot force those Blue Dogs, especially those who have major defense industries in their states or districts, to suddenly get all "Give Peace a Chance" and vote to throw their own constituents out of work--at some of these plants, it would mean hundreds and hundreds of people, with attendant devastation to local economies.

Tip O'Neill wasn't talking out his ass when he said 'All Politics is Local.'

These are FACTS I am shopping, here. That doesn't mean I "agree" with these realities, I am simply aware of them. And even though we have the majority, it's razor thin, and in the Senate, it's on paper only. Lieberman sits with us, but he votes with them. All he did was give us the power to set the agenda, he doesn't give us his vote reliably.

[thepurpose]

3. Same BS that's been going on all year. Bush is playing pimp to the Demos

Shut up bitches and get me my money.

[H2O Man]

4. Oh, they are.

Every penny that Bush & Cheney request is being provided.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. They will

and when "Hil" gets in, we'll triple our pleasure with a war on a THIRD front -- one that we can't pay for any better than the other two we're currently fighting.

[Mike03]

16. Funny, the first word that came to mind when I read your post title

was "Charade," exactly. I was assuming you were going to make exactly this point.

It is idiotic, isn't it?

Our leadership probably ought to just throw in the towel on pretending they have any intention of ending this godforsaken war. It's high farce and nothing more than that. It's also disgraceful, IMO.