From Democrats.com (not the political party):
On Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will force the House to approve $163 billion more of our tax dollars for the occupation of Iraq - nearly $100 billion for 2008 plus nearly $70 billion more for 2009.
We are outraged. This Democratic Congress was elected to end the occupation, not fund it forever.
On Monday, a new Democrats.com poll found an overwhelming 68% of Americans want to bring our troops safely home within 6 months - a significant increase from 54% last September. Support among Democrats increased 14% to 85%, while support among Independents increased 20% to 78%. Why is the Democratic Congress defying the will of the overwhelming majority of Democrats and Independents?
Each day's news underscores how disastrous the occupation is. April was the deadliest month for U.S. soldiers since last September. One in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans - roughly 300,000 - report symptoms of PTSD or major depression. The V.A. covered up the fact that 12,000 veterans attempt suicide each year while under V.A. treatment. As Cindy Sheehan asked, "for what noble cause" are our sons and daughters suffering and dying?
To make matters worse, Bush continues to use our occupation of Iraq as a reason to wage a covert war against Iran that could quickly turn to a wider and even more disastrous war. We know the Iraq War "marketing" was timed for the 2002 election - if John McCain is behind in the polls, will Bush "bomb bomb Iran" as an "October Surprise" to keep Republicans in power?
On top of it all, as our economy tanks, we simply cannot afford to waste $163 billion more of our tax dollars for Iraq on top of the $562 billion we've already wasted and the $3 trillion overall cost, including the tripling of the price of gasoline.
It's urgent for everyone to call our Representatives today with a simple message: Not One More Penny for Iraq.
This battle is not impossible. On January 16, 42 progressive Democrats voted against the last $70 billion blank check. Most Republicans oppose Pelosi's bill because it includes some domestic spending, so a large bloc of progressive Democrats can defeat it.
Call the switchboard at 202-224-3121 or find your Representative's name and direct dial by entering your address on usalone.com.
Please report the results of your call here: http://www.democrats.com/iraq-sellout-alert-call-congress-today
I just called my representative, Jane Harman.
I told the guy that answered the phone that I am a constituent, and that if Jane Harman votes for this tomorrow, I'll never vote for Jane Harman again.
He seemed non-plussed.
UPDATE:
I decided to call Rep. Harman's office back and ask some questions.
There will be two votes tomorrow; one for the money, and one for a timeline.
I am pleased that Rep. Harman--with close ties to aerospace and the defense industry--plans to vote against the funding. She does plan to vote "yes" on the establishment of a timeline for withdrawal.
Pick up your phone. Call your representative. Ask him or her what they plan to do with their votes.
They work for you, and this is your country.
2 comments:
...and people wonder why I support Nader.
TBLMISBT
Too bad the Dems can't see that Nader's platform is the type of talk the Dems once espoused. Nader has never had to cast a single vote, so his hands are clean. He also has about half the support for his bid as Ron Paul does for the Libertarian side of things. And either would still have to govern. With Dems and Repubs. Not in a vacuum. And the chances of George W. Bush admitting he has been an unmitigated disaster as president are far greater that either Nader or Paul ever getting that chance.
Reality bites.
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