Comments on: Rahm’s Whipping on the Afghanistan War Supplemental — Will You?

By: Kassandra

Kassandra — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:59:01 +0000

I had to leave messages for mine. One is a progressive , the other, not so sure anymore.
I just mentioned the Leibermannnnn amendment and the billions to IMF while we struggle without healthcare? WTF?

By: kgb999

kgb999 — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:55:38 +0000

OK, clearly I’m a total noob. Just had an interesting conversation with someone at Woolsey’s office (started at the bottom of the list). In a nutshell, if you aren’t powerful or offering donations they won’t even listen to non-constituents. Is this a game you are only supposed to play if you live in these districts? You pretty much get one sentence out and they demand your address.

By: mothra

mothra — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:22:34 +0000

Unfortunately, my loser Reps are all for it. And they’re DEMOCRATS!!! But they’re both newbies and probably scared to death of Rahm “the Enforcer” Emmanuael.

By: sporkovat

sporkovat — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:48:36 +0000

If Cindy Sheehan was in Congress, do you think you would have to beg and plead and wheedle and fax her staffers, beseeching her to do the right thing?

No, of course not. But ‘Accountability Now’ for example cannot bring itself to support someone who would be a vote you could count on in close roll calls like this one.

too bad.

good luck getting 39 (D)’s to do the right thing when the chips are down. you’re gonna need it.

By: dosido

dosido — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:27:07 +0000

I also live in Speier’s district. here is what I read on her website:

AFGHANISTAN

The Al Qaeda terrorists who unleashed the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor were based in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The previous administration took its eye off the ball when they redeployed American troops from Afghanistan to Iraq. I believe that tragic mistake eroded the U.S. military’s key mission to - find and capture Osama Bin Laden and other senior members of Al Qaeda - and compromised the security of America and the entire world. We are now faced with a dramatically worsened situation in Afghanistan, and the ramping up of a war that is not winnable and is likely to drag on for years, requiring an ever increasing commitment of U.S. personnel and resources.

PENTAGON SPENDING

For years we have watched as Department of Defense spending has skyrocketed. Currently, it accounts for more than 60 percent of discretionary spending. Much of this growth is due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but exorbitant spending on programs of questionable value has further bloated military spending.

One example is the V-22 Osprey, an aircraft no closer to being battle-ready after nearly three decades of development. This, despite that it has cost more than $20 billion and has taken the lives of 30 crewmembers. Missile defense is another money pit that has yielded little benefit and has angered numerous foreign governments.

With a mounting fiscal crisis, we need to rein in defense spending and vastly expand diplomatic efforts to repair our badly damaged image abroad.

She’s a newbie, but I think she wants to hold the line v. vote for funding the status quo.

By: dosido

dosido — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:16:48 +0000

OK, thank you much! :] I am the Napoleon’s idiot of the Lake and happy to serve! I see Ms. Speier is on the list…

By: alank

alank — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:49:04 +0000

The Lieberman amendment cobbled on to this makes it a bill of attainder in light of ongoing litigation. That’s prohibited by the Constitution.

Not that the undeclared wars this would fund are constitutional.

By: EJ12

EJ12 — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:27:16 +0000

Oops! Thanks, bystander!

By: EJ12

EJ12 — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:26:39 +0000

To anyone calling members of Congress and who only to object to the Graham-Lieberman amendment:

The supplemental appropriations bill (HR 2346) contains 2 FOIA amendments. One of them is the “Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009.”

The other is the “Open FOIA Act of 2009, which was introduced by Leahy and Cornyn. That amendment is pro-transparency. See: http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200903/031709c.html and http://www.aclu.org/natsec/foi.....90318.html

Don’t let the two FOIA amendments be confused.

By: bystander

bystander — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:21:52 +0000

I’m getting funky responses… What bill? Which bill? What amendment? It’s helpful to be very specific.

As per Glenn and knowledgeable commenter EJ:

H.R. 2346
Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009

Maybe we can’t stop the whole bill from passing. I honestly don’t know. The responses I’m getting are largely non-committal (Even from Donna Edwards’ staffers! WTF?) But, maybe we can get the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 rider out of there.

Jane, it’d be really helpful if the bill number and amendment name could be included on the phone widgets page. (hint, hint)