Levin Folding Like an Lawn Chair

[ray of light]

Hi Everyone,



I wanted you to know that a good friend of mine just saw Jim McGovern and she had some important intell for us.



Her news via Rep. McGovern was that Russ Feingold called him personally to thank him for his efforts that placed the bill to end the Iraq Occupation in the House last week. This bill did so much better than anyone expected with 171 votes in favor of Peace. Furthermore, Russ Feingold told him that it helped the cause quite a bit! But he also told Rep. McGovern that "Carl Levin is close to folding" on ending the occupation.



My friend and I think that Carl Levin needs our input before he makes the wrong decision to stick with Bush and the wrong policies in Iraq. So we need to make lots of calls and send thousands of faxes to Levin's office. Heck... if you want to camp out on his doorstep and really bring it home to him, or camp out in front of the media, then do this too. We can not allow Levin to fold!



According to McGovern, "The tide is turning."



Let's make sure that we are pushing the tide the direction we want it to continue to go. Thank you for helping and please feel free to forward this information on.



Contact info:

202-224-3121

202-224- 6221

Fax [phone]



Here are his offices where you can call, fax, or camp out!



DETROIT
Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building
477 Michigan Avenue
Suite 1860
Detroit, MI 48226-2576
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
TTY [phone]
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location map > TRAVERSE CITY
107 Cass Street
Suite E
Traverse City, MI 49684-2602
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location map >
ESCANABA
524 Ludington Street
Suite LL-103
Escanaba, MI 49829-3949
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location map > SAGINAW
515 N. Washington Avenue
Suite 402
Saginaw, MI 48607-1370
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location map >
GRAND RAPIDS
Gerald R. Ford Federal Building
110 Michigan Street, NW
Suite 720
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2313
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location map > WARREN
30500 Van Dyke Avenue
Suite 206
Warren, MI 48093-2109
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location map >
LANSING
124 W. Allegan Street
Suite 1810
Lansing, MI 48933-1716
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]

[Demeter]

1. Sen. Levin Is Overdue for Retirement

He is so out-of-touch that it's frightening. Ditto on Dingell, by the way.

[PassingFair]

2. WTF!!

I have called and faxed and e-mailed.

I am DISGUSTED.

Even Stabenow did the right thing.

He has NOT e-mailed me with what will be
a LAME excuse.

The dems need to vote together on this.
There is no excuse for him not to vote
together with HRC and REID for CRYING
OUT LOUD!

[SharonRB]

3. I heard Carl speak yesterday at the 9th District breakfast

I don't know if I can recap his explanation very well, but I'll try.

He said there are basically two things that need to be done, and it's very difficult to do them both: protect and fund the troops while they are there, while bringing them home ASAP -- beginning within 120 days. The Levin-Reid bill that he sponsored and voted for (the one Bush already vetoed) did that -- it had timelines and funded the existing troops. From what I understand, the Feingold-Reid bill that he voted against did not do both of these things. He is going to keep fighting for a bill that accomplishes both goals. Bush was going to veto even the bill that didn't pass this week. On Friday they started working on yet another bill that will start to bring the troops home within 120 days, but that has a waiver clause in it for Bush (I don't know what the trigger is for him to be able to use the waiver), but Bush has said he will veto that, too.

I may not have explained this correctly, but I know there were people at the meeting who came in very mad at him who accepted his explanation and understood the reason for it. I trust Carl enough that I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I know where his head is on this and that he wants the troops to come home ASAP. Unfortunately, we have a stubbon idiot in the WH who will veto anything that comes his way.

[PassingFair]

4. Bush is going to veto anything that is even REMOTELY humane.

I don't understand the lack of COHESION among our ranks.

His vote makes no sense to me.

I ALMOST donated to MoveOn's radio spot
fund, but I, too, am grateful for the
leadership he has shown in the past and
assume he has his reasons on this.

But they better be good.

This is the kind of crap that keeps reasonable
people out of politics.

:hi:

[SharonRB]

5. I hear ya

Dave is really pissed. He seems to not give a hoot about all of the good things Carl has done because of this one vote. I agree that our guys should be more cohesive, but I really do trust Carl and will wait to see how it all plays out. * will veto whatever we send his way, so it should be an interesting ride in any case. I see a constitutional crisis approaching.

It also bugs me that MoveOn says 3.2 million members have paid for the ad. That's not even close to true.

:hi:

[Strawman]

6. I feel the same way

But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wish the Levins would occasionally be a little bolder when it is warranted. I think sometimes they are overly cautious, too bound to insider thinking and behind the curve.

I remember Sandy Levin speaking at the 2004 Convention of the 10th and 12th district. He was spouting all the insider nonsense that was in vogue at the time about "bringing in our allies" and a lone dissenter shouted out to bring the troops home now. He responded like that was just silly left-wing nuttiness. It was unthinkable. Now that we were there we had to succeed, blah, blah, blah. It was the way to be critical of Bush's handling of the war without criticizing the larger war effort now that we were there.

Well, three years later, it's a foregone conclusion that we need to get out ASAP. That dissenter was right. And I think today those calling for bold opposition are also right. The kind of persuasion and political pressure that may have worked on other Republican administrations has not worked here. The Bushies really don't give a shit about public opinion against the war and they have enough core support in Congress to delay and obstruct. I suspect the gamble is that we can get some benchmarks and once those are not met Republican support in Congress will erode, and then we can make the bold move from a strengthened position. However, I'm not convinced that our hand will be any stronger than it is now and at some point, for the sake of those troops who deserve to have been brought home a long time ago (and really never sent there to begin with), we need to play our cards and compel compromise by forcing a stalemate on appropriations. I think delay plays into their hands.

But I don't think for a moment that this is a political move by Carl designed merely to capture the talking point of "supporting the troops." I think he genuinely cares about the troops and our veterans and wants to do what is right by them. Carl is one of the good guys. I might disagree with him, but I respect him.

[SharonRB]

7. I absolutely agree with your last paragraph

That's why I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on this. I think MoveOn is barking up the wrong tree on this one. They shouldn't be going after one of the good guys -- there are too many bad guys they could be going after.

[maddogesq]

8. The fact that he is respected by you nad me is not the issue.

The strategy here is wrong...dead wrong. Yeah, they got a min. wage thing through, but that is easily forgotten if this Iraq mess gets worse. And that Sept. deadline is moot since that is the Feds fiscal year.

I am disgusted by this. I have tried to play into the game, but this war is turning into Nam Jr., if not worse, and Levin has the power and the clout to continue the standoff...if that is what it takes.

Ed Schultz was dead on today. He said the Dems that went along were afraid of being pinned with not supporting the troops, so they went along with this. Let me add to Ed's words by saying that it doesn't matter what the Dems do as long as major media ownership issues are not corrected. In other words, the MSM will say whatever thay want no matter what the Dems do, so I say go for the gusto and look at the damn polls; you know, listen to the American people.

This American Dawg is angry, depressed, and feels all his efforts for the Dems mean nothing as long as they keep being fucking wimps.

End of rant.

[TahitiNut]

9. "Yeah, they got a min. wage thing through"??? No, they haven't.

It's buried. Nothing has happened on it since the first week in February, as far as I can tell. Nothing.

[maddogesq]

10. OK, need to look that one up.

I just thought I read that in as part of the settlement. Min. Wage or no Min. wage, if it walks like a duck, it's a duck. This is a cave deluxe.

And what really scares me is when we start working in the next campaign, people are going to say to us "Hey, why should we vote for your people? They didn't do squat about the war when they had the chance."