Rumblings up on Capitol Hill: Democratic leadership is worried they might not have the votes to pass the war supplemental. The House is due to vote on the emergency $96.7 billion dollar supplemental, which would fund the war in Afghanistan and Iraq through the next year, later this week. But opposition is possible from an unlikely place, House Republicans:
Republicans might attempt to provoke a partisan fight during floor debate over the future of the 241 detainees held at the military’s detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, Democratic leaders could thwart GOP efforts to thrust Guantanamo into the spotlight by opting for a closed rule.
The bill does not contain the $80 million needed to close Guantanamo Bay, but Republicans are disconcerted because they tried several times without success to insert language into the bill which would keep detainees from being transferred to US soil.
It could, however, just be more GOP bluster to appease the base. Obama and Gates wanted to cut the Boeing C-17 from the budget, but Barbara Boxer and Dana Rohrabacher leaped to action, and now the supplemental contains eight planes that the Defense Department didn’t order. Likewise, Gates said he didn’t need any Lockheed C-130 cargo jets, but the House added. All in all, $9 billion more in defense spending than the White House wanted.
Democratic lobbyists working on behalf of Boeing: Gephardt Group ($110,000 in 1Q 2009), Linda Daschle ($50,000), McBee Strategies ($60,000), the Podesta Group ($50,000).
Democratic lobbyists working on behalf of Lockheed: Linda Daschle ($40,000), Podesta Group ($60,000), Cassidy & Associates/Sandra Stuart ($20,000).
The chance that Republicans won’t vote for it? Almost zero.
Update: Inouye says he’ll add the $80 million to close Guantanamo in the Senate version of the bill, contingent upon the Obama administration spelling out its plans. I guess Senate Republicans have less need to grandstand for the GOP base.
Related posts:
- Rahm Cutting Deals To “Go Easy” On Republicans in 2010 Who Vote For Supplemental?
- WaPo: Supplemental Bill in Chaos (Your Calls are Working)
- Rahm’s Whipping on the Afghanistan War Supplemental — Will You?
- Obama Now Whipping Supplemental: Rahm FAIL
- Interview With Barney Frank: Why He’s Switching His Vote on the Supplemental
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Typo perhaps?
The bill does not contain the $80 billion needed to close Guantanamo Bay
How is it possible 241 men rotting in one of our dungeons could pose such a horrifying threat to America (home of the brave, supposedly) that having them on our mainland could destroy our way of life? We can incarcerate serial killers, spree killers, pirates and even terrorists from before Bush (Omar Abdel-Rahman, the first WTC attack in 1993) but a bunch of lost souls with no real ties to anything are going to bring about the end of America if they somehow land on our shores. That’s not rational.
Republicans are such scared little children.
Timothy Mc Veigh and Terry Nichols were incarcerated in COs supermax. Terry Nichols remains there.
One thing Liberal Dems and Conservative Repukes (No-No party) agree on is the Defense of Defense Contractors (or Defense Contractor Welfare Rights League). Well military hardware is a labor intensive product, so layoff would effect 1,000’s of Californians and elsewhere.
Would the “Support the Troops” cowards really vote for NOT funding their wars? HA!
Thanks for keeping those lobbyist names and numbers coming, Jane. It is really, really starting;
To. Piss. Me. Off.
Jane,this past month you and Marcy have been on fire,keep em coming ……..im expecting a small bonus,and will show my utmost appreciation…………wow this place is rockin
Tim McVeigh?
oopsie owe ya a beverage
Great news! Guess we’ll have to close shop in Iraq. Use whatever money has been passed to get our people and goodies out, and get gitmo closed down. Leftover money can go into healthcare.
Seems to me our troops are kinda stressed.
$80 billion to close Gitmo??? WTF? That’s impossible.
My job here is done.
;)
Or, maybe just beginning….
As always, thanks so much. We really appreciate the support.
McVeigh was executed so he couldn’t talk. So he’s not really a threat. I don’t expect we’d execute the Guantanamo dungeon victims, since it’s likely almost all of them are completely innocent.
So they have added an additional 10% to what was asked for – wish Obama would veto until this unnecessary spending is stripped from the bill. Obama is going down the same road that GWB went down. He could mute a lot of the GOP spin if he vetoes.
why do republicans hate America?
Superman and Lois Lane can bring em to the North pole
http://www.chrisreevehomepage……plois2.jpg
President Obama ought to have the governors report to him the names of the wardens in each state unable to hold dangerous prisoners in thieir maximum security prisons. Or the Senators could do that too I guess.
oh fuk
I think just beginning… and sadlyyes is right. Ya’ll have been on fire lately. Thank you.
OT: check out d r i f t g l a s s ‘ PhotoShop handiwork
That’s a very good idea. Time for new wardens. Who wants to lose a good government job?
2 pint size wimen folk keeping the scumsukkerz on notice
help me out,i only recognize glenn beck,…g
John Walker Lindh! The “American Taliban”. He was picked up as an enemy combatant in Afghanistan just like the Guantanamo prisoners, but he’s been serving his time in the US (currently at FCC Terre Haute, Indiana). Don’t we risk him destroying America? How could Bush make us so unsafe?
They are anti-American. They like serfdom and feudalism better. They’re gilded age wimps and whiners.
Federal prisons are under the Bureau of Prisons a division of DOJ.
Which way did you come in?
OMG!!!!
G
If the Congress decides not to fund the war what a perfect reason for Obama to pull the troops out end the war.
And blame the GOP for playing politics?
Just trying to be hopeful here.
If we end the war we could afford the Boeing pork.
We give Boeing the dust only if they build train engines and cars with it.
Linda Daschle banks $90,000 while we get stuck with a $9,000,000,000 tab. Nice ratio. What a couple of (cheap!) whores the Daschles are.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfe…..9cdam2.htm
I want this fight I want the GOP to play politics this will discredit them with their own base if Obama uses not passing this bill as an excuse to come home.
The anti war Democrats will have won a victory and they will get Major MSM Cred for being smart and sneaky if they throw in with the GOP after the GOP votes against the bill first if thats possibile.
Assuming that Obama uses the lack of funds as a reason to end the war.
I like that idea so much better than pork!
Jane
What do you mean when you say someone like Linda Daschle gets $90,000.? Is that what she spread around Congress or is that her fee for being persuasive?
It’s all kabuki. Everybody gets what they want.
Obama pretends he wants to close Gitmo but in the end does what he actually wants to do and keeps it open. Then gets his supplemental to keep up
the bombing of innocent peoplethe peace in the NW territories and the resource rich area of Balochistan. The Republicans get to look like they forced him into it, Obama gets to look like he compromised in the spirit of post-partisanship. And the defense contractors go on their merry way making billions off of warThat’s what she she was paid for the first quarter (jan-march). So if she gets $90,000, that’s $30,000/month.
RE donations — no, I didn’t find any from her in 1Q.
Psssst… we’re broke and never had that kind of money to begin with.
bush and cheney wanted to bankrupt the country to line their pockets and they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
So, if they didn’t order them, can they use the $$$$$$ to close Gitmo instead, or is it earmarked? I’m shocked at Boxer’s recent behavior
Is there no one who’s going to stop the war funding in this country? It seems self-perpetuating. It’s as if the bureaucracy were running things, rather than the politicians. Oh! They are!
Thanks Jane.