Despite Rhetoric, Dems Poised To Give Bush A Blank Check For Iraq

From Roll Call:

Despite their rhetoric about not wanting to hand President Bush another "blank check" for the Iraq War, Democrats appear poised to give him exactly that -- enough cash to keep the war going full steam for as long as six months, no strings attached.

Democratic leaders continue to fear GOP attacks that cutting off or slowing funds would hurt the troops, despite anger among the Democratic base over the party's failure to use Congress' power of the purse to end the war.

And while House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have said they have no intention of bringing up Bush's almost $200 billion supplemental war funding proposal this year without a timeline for withdrawal, Democrats are quietly preparing to give the president enough spending flexibility to keep the war going anyway.

After Republicans repeatedly rebuffed Democratic attempts to adopt war restrictions in September following Army Gen. David Petraeus' testimony to Congress, Democrats began approving billions in extra funding, starting with the first stopgap spending resolution. Next up will be the regular Defense spending bill, expected to go to conference committee Tuesday. Although the bill is not expected to include funding specifically targeted to Iraq, Democrats plan to allow much of the funding to be diverted from regular Defense accounts to the war. Democratic Defense appropriators also are separately eyeing adding tens of billions in war funds, either in a small separate supplemental or attached to the next must-pass stopgap continuing resolution. They had sought to include $50 billion or more in such supplemental funding in the Defense bill itself, but leadership overrode that idea after the party's most ardent war foes complained.

Read the full article.

Comments

[sammy333]

Every single decent Republican or Democrat, is being squeezed out of the Parties, one by one. They are being isolated, humiliated, ridiculed and, eventually, they give up. The remaining politicians just do what they are told by a few behind-the-scenes ideologs. Media is totally onboard: CNN : "Is waterboarding really torture?", funny happy-ending scenes with pretense waterboarding, perpetual war, just keep giving more and more money to it, new wars etc.

The heartless mass-murderers have quietly taken over.

[Nonamnesiac]

The Dems, including the 2013 triplets, have always supported, and continue to support, the war despite what they say. The Dems are not intimidated by a 24% popularity President. The Dems are not cowards. The Dems DO have a spine. They are murdering warmongerers equal to the Repubs pure and simple. Any progressive supporting any of the 2013 triplets (Obama, Edwards and Clinton) is drenched in the blood of dead and wounded young American and Iraqis. They are more despicable than the murderer candidates whom they support.

If you don't vote Kucinich or Richardson, and/or try to Nader-bait those of us who won't vote or who vote third Party, you are, in addition to an enabler of murder, a self-deluding, barbaric hypocrite with blood on your hands.

If you vote for a murderer, you are a murderer.

[VOTER]

EMAIL AND/ OR TELEPHONE YOUR POLS.

Takes less time than sorting through the Troll crap around here. : D

[OtayPanky]

Spineless wimps...or aiders and abetters?

Considering dems are a majority in both houses, the answer is probably "some of each".

At some point, the reasons for dem betrayal cease to matter. What matters is only their collective sins of omission and commission, when it comes to the will of the people.

In the midst of sharing everyone's dismay and disgust at this latest piece of news (which is, unfortunately, as one poster said, becoming a "dog bites man" story) - I am heartened to see how many are coming to recognize the obvious: the development of a permanent third party that is not corporatist, and will provide a permanent check and balance on the other two, is a viable option.

Another option is to desert the dem party in such massive numbers that it simply collapses - and a new dem party emerges that is an honest broker of basic progressive ideals and agendas.

The one course that is a guaranteed failure is to keep doing what we've been doing: thinking that the dems are worth voting for because they are the lesser of two evils, and at least give lip service to our causes while they're running for office.

That's a good definition of insanity: keep doing the same thing, thinking you'll get different results.

Lot's of liberals and lefties are going to be terrified by the spectre of letting the Repubs have another 4 years...or even 8 years.

It's not a pretty idea to contemplate, and yes there will be collateral damage: another SCOTUS seat or two, more dipshit fascist legislation to deal with, etc.

But absent our collective willingness to sacrifice short term gains for long term systemic shift, NOTHING will really change.

Since the dems have no steel in THEIR spines, it's time - and past time - for us groundlings to put some steel in OURS, otay?

[geobushono]

The Dem leadership isn't going to do anything to disturb a man who just might call out the tanks if threatened­.......who­'s going to stop him?.....t­he Generals? I don't think so.
Can you protect your family? Really protect them?

[Lisette]

Nancy Pelosi, I am soooooo disappointed in you

[BarryChamplain]

I'll say it again: the single most terrifying thing that ever happened to Congressional Democrats, is when they won majorities in both houses.

There goes their cover.

"Cover?", you ask. "For what?"

For the fact that, in the end, both parties have the same overarching agenda, and serve the same masters. The military-industrial complex, The Lobby That Dare Not Speak Its Name, and the oil companies are not going to be too happy, if a bunch of Democrats in Congress take away their gravy train. And there WILL be retribution.

Think I'm full of it? Look at "the presumed front-runner". Hillary Clinton. Flushed with the most campaign cash. Has she ever promised to remove all troops from Iraq? Or, to give the oil back to the Iraqis? Or, to stop building the permanent Fortress Of Solitude in Baghdad, euphemistically reffered to as "the Embassy"?

All that makes the party we expected to be the "opposition party" different from the one currently occupying the White House, is that that one is simply a pack of thieves, overtly instituting fascism (and they have their next figurehead all picked out: Rudy).

The Democrats serve the same interests, only they believe in throwing the occasional sop to the proles... affordable health insurance for a few more Americans (as opposed to "universal health care"); a little more employment, etc.

The Republicans just tell you bluntly to go Cheney yourself.

Other than that, plus la difference, baby. How much longer before we optimistic Democrats see the light, here, about the charlatans who are "representing" us, as "Democrats"??

[Ginzaman]

They have no integrity at all. Everything they've said is a lie. Which means throw everybody out and start over.

[amamomofsons]

Dems....ST­OP THE INSANITY!!! You are the enablers in this treasonous administration. What the heck is the matter with you!!! What do they have to do to get your attention and make you stop them?? Why are you squandering the power you have and giving these guys a pass?? STOP THE INSANITY!!!!

[Swordfish]

We elected DEMOCRATIC majorities to Congress in 2006, not warmer-and-fuzzier republicans.

We elected DEMOCRATS to stand up to W and his minions.

Iraq? NO!
Torture? NO!
Warrantless wiretapping? NO!

If current Congressional Dems don't get this, we need to replace 'em with some who will!

Write letters, send emails, make phone calls - let your Dem Congresspeople know! ... and notes to Dem Congressional leadership (?!) wouldn't hurt.

[MidSection]

it seems that a lot of bloggers on this site want the US to lose this war in Iraq. simply mind-boggling, that the Democratic party would want defeat to help them with the electorate.

[MidSection]

It's good to see Democrats being realistic and not listening to the extremists of the moveon.org people and the useless Code Pink fools. They are finally growing up.

[phoenix1964]

Umm HP using Obama's stump speech phrase.

[vfippinger]

This war (our deficit)has been funded with loans from China.
Every man, woman and child is now in debt for 8k to pay this thing off.

[sturgis54]

The performance of the current crop of Democratic "leaders" in Congress is just unconscionably awful. Since the last election when the public finally got motivated enough to "throw the [Republican] rascals out," there has been a clear mandate to clean up the mess that George Bush and his cronies have made of our government and our world reputation. But, in what can only be assumed to be a very calculated decision that the best way to win back the White House is to actually "let Bush be Bush" for the rest of his term, the Democrats we have entrusted with the House and Senate have almost completely capitulated to the disasterous GOP agenda. Indisputably, this will lead to a nation in near ruin by the time next November's elections roll around and that will almost certainly lead to a Democratic takeover in the White House. But, at what cost? Who wants to inherit the reins of power in a country that is so messed up that it almost can't be governed? Shame on Pelosi and Reid; shame on Shumer and Feinstein for caving in on the AG nominee who can't say, under oath, that torture is torture; shame on anyone involved in giving this administration a "blank check" in Iraq when what they ought to be receiving are impeachment papers.