Pelosi puts pressure on Dems to OK war funding

[laststeamtrain]

Pelosi puts pressure on Dems to OK war funding

Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

(06-16) 04:00 PDT Washington -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House will try to muscle through a $106 billion war funding bill today, hoping to quell a rebellion among liberal Democrats against further support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fight has two Bay Area Democrats from across the Golden Gate locked in a seesaw struggle to corral votes: Pelosi, of San Francisco, against Petaluma's Lynn Woolsey, co-chairwoman of the House Progressive Caucus and a fierce opponent of the war.

"I see no reason to be keeping our troops in Iraq that much longer and to start into Afghanistan when there's no end in sight," Woolsey said Monday. "If we were voting on funds to bring our troops home from Iraq, I'd vote for it in a minute. ... I just hope we're not repeating the mistake we made in Iraq."

<snip>

The wars remain very unpopular among most Democrats, many of whom battled the Bush administration for years trying to withdraw funding for Iraq.

There is also widespread dismay over Obama's "surge" of troops into Afghanistan without a clear exit strategy. Modeled on the Bush administration's Iraq surge, which quelled violence there, the Afghanistan effort will double the number of U.S. troops in the country, to 68,000 by the end of the year.

Today's vote is expected to be close. Democratic leaders need as many as 18 of the 51 Democrats who opposed the war funding in May to reverse themselves. The legislation has twice been pulled from consideration for lack of votes.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/15/MNQD187GAH.DTL

[Skittles]

1. come on all you big strong men, Uncle Sam needs your help again

[ejpoeta]

2. why is it no one ever asks how we are going to pay for the war.

I think we could almost pay for healthcare with the money they have LOST in Iraq. geesh. but not a damn peep about that. NOO!! when they keep talking about the deficit... where did most of that come from??? i mean, come on!! bush takes a budget surplus and instead of using it for something like, oh, say... fixing HEALTHCARE.... he gets tax cuts rammed through congress and then oddly enough, we end up with budget deficits. But NOW!! now we care about the deficits. like someone who goes out and buys a crapload of clothes and shoes on their credit cards without giving it a second thought, and then complains about spending $100 on groceries. we can't afford to spend that much on groceries!!

[Kolesar]

3. It is the ballistic missile submarines that we cannot afford

and a fleet of aircraft carriers that are the ultimate answer to Tojo.

[lefthandedlefty]

4. I guess she is just Bush and Cheney in drag

Why can`t she be fired?

[hayu_lol]

5. The answer is simple...

Pelosi's husband, like Feinstein's husband, make their money from defense contracts. It's just a simple conflict of interests kinda thing.