No Mo Money for War
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/19657By David Swanson
The Democrats in Congress are doing less to oppose the war now that they have the majority than they did in the minority. While in the minority, Democrats in a sizable and growing number voted against funding more war. While in the minority, Democrats pushed hard for Resolutions of Inquiry into the lies that launched the war. While in the minority, Democrats in significant numbers signed onto a bill to create a preliminary investigation into grounds for impeachment. While in the minority, Democrats raised hell about the Republicans' failures to investigate or to stop the war, and Democrats campaigned for reelection and election of a majority, claiming they would have the powers to subpoena, to place under oath, and to end the war.
After two and a half months in the majority, we've seen no investigation of the lies that launched the war, virtually no subpoenas, and no serious effort to bring the war to an end or even prevent a new war from being launched. Democrats are politely requesting Bush Administration officials to appear to discuss tangential issues. Democrats are "calling for" resignations. And we may be about to see considerably fewer Democrats vote against funding the war than did so when they were in the minority. The Democrats are about to buy this war, and once they've bought it, it will be their war. They won't get another chance to end it, and they'll be even less inclined (if that's possible) to investigate it.
No More Money: It's a simple concept. The American public wants the war ended. The President wants the war to continue. The 110th Congress was elected to end the war. The Constitution gives Congress the power to cut off the money. Where's the problem?
For the past week, tens of thousands of Americans have been phoning Congress (at 202-224-3121) to say: We want no more money spent on the war. Congress has not been listening.
We've even made it possible for them to pass a bill to spend buckets of unnecessary money and avoid spending it on continuing the war. We've done this by encouraging Congress to allow a vote on Rep. Barbara Lee's amendment to limit all of the spending to paying for a withdrawal. But we've made clear that if Lee's amendment does not get a vote or does not pass, we want every member of Congress to vote NO on giving more money to Bush and Cheney for this war. Still, Congress has not been listening.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears focused on two goals: continuing the war while pretending to oppose it, and passing a bill. She could probably pass a bill like Lee's amendment, a bill that actually ended the war. But she refuses to try. So, her focus is on persuading every last progressive Democrat to vote for more war for the sake of passing a bill – a bill, by the way, that is full of meaningless rhetoric and which Bush has already promised to veto. Whether this bill dies on the floor of the House or by veto, either way it will come back and Pelosi will face the same choice she refuses to face now, the choice laid out for her by an LA Times editorial this week: support the war or end it.
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