AP: Dems won't block Bush war budget

[DemKR]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

WASHINGTON - Just hours after floating the idea of cutting $20 billion from
President Bush's $142 billion request for military operations in
Iraq and
Afghanistan next year, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record) was overruled by fellow Democrats Thursday.
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"It's nothing that any of us are considering," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., told reporters.

[villager]

1. "Moral principles aren't anything any of us are considering"

n/t

[DemKR]

2. Such wimps...

I guess we elected them to sit back and do nothing about Bush's policies. We haven't sent a single bill to his desk yet, we still haven't raised the minimum wage. What were we elected for? To have the House pass a few bills and have the Senate not act on them?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rodeodance]

8. I hate it when the Bushies get a good laugh on us!

[ShortnFiery]

18. It's not US for our Democratic Representatives are serving their own political

best interests before serving their constituents.

Let's vote out all the *gutless wonders* ... we need to clean BOTH Houses of the "go along to get along" CENTRIST losers and replace them with People First Populist Democratic Representatives.

VOTE OUT INCUMBENTS DEMOCRACY ---> http://voidnow.org/

[KansDem]

6. As Bush himself might say, "Money trumps moral principles."

But he would say it in that ol' down-home, country-boy way that would make us want to have a beer with him while he gives us nicknames...

[ShortnFiery]

20. Moral Principles my ass! Why is Reid's wife still Lobbying ...

other than the simplistic slight of hand that made her role Grandfathered? How is Majority LEADER Reid setting the example for all this seemingly nonexistent MORALITY?!?

Also, why can't Speaker Pelosi stand up to Representative Jefferson by denying him a seat on the Homeland Security Committee. This would be MORAL ... to error on the side of caution until this bribery investigation is concluded.

Our Democratic Representative LEADERS need a figurative kick in the ass. If they don't stand up to the Republicans, let's replace them? :grr:

[AzDar]

3. Meet the new Boss, same as the old Boss....

:puke:

[dkofos]

4. This FUCKING MONEY IS FOR NEXT YEAR

[va4wilderness]

7. Then please, please

Impeach them, revoke their holy-unilateral-preemptive-war-powers...

Arghh. Forget about that.

We heard this bunch was going to be weak, weak, weak, and that's what they are.

No happy endings here till everyone in the frikkin country gets into the streets!

[rodeodance]

9. .Conrad's trial balloon to cut war funding would have affected the budget year beginning Oct. 1

.....Conrad's trial balloon to cut war funding would have affected the budget year beginning Oct. 1 and was separate from the ongoing debate over Bush's $100 billion request for immediate supplemental funding for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even the Pentagon acknowledges that its $142 billion 2008 war funding request is simply a best guess of Iraq and Afghanistan costs, and Conrad's proposal didn't earn rebukes from Budget Committee Republicans.

But the speed with which it was rejected by his colleagues seemed to reflect Democrats' sensitivity to any accusations of giving shortshrift treatment to funding for troops in battle.

"Our caucus feels strongly that we should go with the president's numbers" on 2008 war costs, Conrad said. He spoke just hours after floating the idea of curbing Bush's request for next year's war budget.

[rodeodance]

10. But the speed with which it was rejected by his colleagues.....

But the speed with which it was rejected by his colleagues seemed to reflect Democrats' sensitivity to any accusations of giving shortshrift treatment to funding for troops in battle.

[rodeodance]

11. and Boehner comments:

....Democrats are deeply divided over their Iraq strategy, but leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., want the war funding bill to require that any troops deployed in Iraq be properly trained, equipped and rested.

The conditions could be waived, under their most recent plan, but President Bush would have to do so himself, and report to Congress each time.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Republicans would vote against the war funding measure if it contained restrictions that inhibited Bush, but he said Republicans would have to see a detailed proposal before reaching any such decision.

"We will fight every effort that the Democrats attempt to put handcuffs on the president to stymie his ability to wage this war in Iraq and to win it," Boehner said.

The comments marked something of a role revision for Republicans, who have savaged Democrats for proposing conditions on the Iraq spending measure, saying they were trying to cut off funding for the troops.

[HereSince1628]

12. It should be clear at this point. Politicians are looking for someone else to take action

It's time to do some things to get noticed.

Maybe we should organize to keep their phones so busy they'll have to put most of their staff onto dealing with it? Grumpy office staff undoubtedly are gonna have more of an impact on most Congress critters than we can.

I hereby pledge a call each day to the local and DC offices of my senators, Feingold and Kohl and my congress creep Jimmy Sensenbrenner. It's just 6 calls and I've got unlimited long-distance. And I don't care that Feingold is on our side. He's in a place to do something, we aren't. Until we are done in Iraq, he still has work to do.

If just a hundred others can join me here in Wisconsin's 5th we can make a difference. We can be pleasant, just state our interest in their support getting the US out of Iraq ASAP, and use up about half a minute a call. I think we can add an hour of work to each office. If that means other constituents need to wait longer for responses, good. P.O.ed constituents is just the leverage we need.

[madrchsod]

13. so much for the democrats doing jack shit about any thing

we are so fucking screwed

[OneBlueSky]

14. business as usual . . . don't make waves . . . protect and defend the status quo . . .

not exactly "Profiles in Courage" . . .

[qwlauren35]

15. More Depressing News...

Now, if Obama is going along with this, he just lost any chance with me.

[Purveyor]

16. Unusual Coalition Could Bring Defeat In War Funds Vote

(03-02) 04:00 PST Washington -- The House minority leader threatened Thursday to get his members to vote against a $96.3 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan if Democrats persist in plans to attach conditions to the money that would tell President Bush how to conduct the wars.

The statement by Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, raises the intriguing possibility that unless Speaker Nancy Pelosi can devise a consensus plan that can unite her Democratic Party members, the Iraq spending bill could be scuttled by an unlikely coalition of pro-Bush Republicans and the most anti-war Democrats.

---

The Associated Press reported late Thursday night that House Democratic leaders have decided to back Murtha's idea and require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if that country's leaders fail to meet promises to help reduce violence there.

"We're going to report out" a war spending bill "that's responsive to the will of the voters last November and brings our troops home as soon and safely as possible," Rep. James Moran, D-Va., told the Associated Press.

Pelosi has said the legislation, whatever its shape, would go before the House Appropriations Committee next week.

---END OF EXCERPT---

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/02/MNGR0OE3131.DTL

[sampsonblk]

17. When is a majority not a majority?

When the majority leaders are afraid to do what they are elected to do, and the minority leaders will stop at nothing.

Don't you just wish we had a Newt Gingrich type or Tom Delay type on our side to get this stuff done and over with? We need some courage and some steadfastness.


Edit: Didn't want to sound like I was endorsing the corrupt former GOPers. That ain't cool.

[ShortnFiery]

22. By our Democratic Leadership "waffling" they are proving themselves CORRUPT

through their inaction. Oh, I'm going to have to go to the gym, I need to work off some stress. :grr:

[The Stranger]

19. Why are the American people still hostage to the Neocon-Hijacked government?

[ShortnFiery]

21. I say "Make the chicken-shit Democratic Leadership pay? Don't re-elect them."

I'll give money to both Pelosi's and Reid's Democratic Opponents. The way it's going now, they are BOTH less than WORTHLESS. :grr:

[ecstatic]

23. Thanks for nothing nt