Bush doesn't care how many people protest but those running for office do. I wish Feigold would run for President. If he ran with Conyers or Webb he'd be a shoo in.

Defunding the war has to be coupled with new funding earmarked for troop redeployment and veteran's benefits. This will counter the 'support our troops' argument.

Viva Presidente Ezequiel - Aquí no hay quien viva!

I think, as a known supporter for his Presidential bid, you should contact Senator Brownback's office and see where he stands on it.

Seriously...if he's going to be running as the Republican anti-war choice, I think it would be interesting to see if he is willing to support a bill like this.

Feingold sent out this email today asking for signatures on a petition at the Progressive Patriots Fund

"Today I am chairing a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Congress's constitutional power to end a war.  It's far past time for the war in Iraq - one of the greatest foreign policy mistakes in our nation's history - to end and for our troops to be safely redeployed.  Because the President has abdicated his responsibility for far too long, it is now up to Congress to get our country back on track.

But I can't do it alone.  I need your help to demonstrate the public support for using the "power of the purse" to force this administration to begin to redeploy our troops from Iraq.  I hope you'll join me by co-sponsoring my resolution to redeploy our troops.

While I will vote for the non binding resolution being offered against the so-called "troop surge" - as I already did in Committee - we all know that much more needs to be done.  Congress holds the purse strings and if the President continues to move forward with his failed Iraq policy, we have the responsibility to use that power to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq.

Today's hearing will help inform my colleagues, and the public about Congress's power to end a war and how that power has been used in the past.  I will soon be introducing legislation to use the "power of the purse" to end what is clearly one of the greatest mistakes in the history of our nation's foreign policy.  

Our open-ended presence in Iraq encourages the insurgency, and adding more troops with no end date in sight only adds more fuel to the fire.  There is no higher foreign policy priority than making America safer and getting our nation back on track by redeploying our troops out of Iraq.  Once again, I hope you'll consider co-sponsoring my resolution.  As always, thank you for your support."

Click here to become a citizen co-sponsor.

I cannot stand the man, and it is because of his brain-dead comments and actions like expressing his "sympathy" to this poor woman.  

SYMPATHY? How colossal an idiot is he, anyway? Everything is all about Junior. Ya basta, ya bastard! The man is facing his third tour, and all Orrin can do is blather on and on about not supporting the troops? You don't support the troops by lying about a war, knowing it can't be won, and SENDING THEM ANYWAY.

So did he go scurrying behind staff or what? Punk.

She doesn't need his "sympathy." She needs him to stop being a sycophant.

Oh...and Sen. Feingold chaired the cmte today? Nice.

Can't hear ya, Peach!

I'd always follow Feingold on his white horse, but 60 Senators won't--now.

If I were writing the bill, I'd defund permanent bases immediately, coupled with a provision that no new or re-assigned troops may be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan without full body armor and other equipment. That simple pairing makes the bill imperative and impossible to vote against. Short, sweet, simple...and because the lives of troops depend on it, an emergency measure that could circumvent a bunch of the procedural stuff in the Senate.

The bill would have a hook, however; that no further request for funding could be approved for more than two months at a time, with examination of benchmarks.

Michaela

Glenn Greenwald current posting on all the Republican speeches in 1993 re:  Somalia should be shared with everyone we know and with our representatives.  

Signed Feingold's petition, along with Senator Byrd's and the DCCC's. Whatever support Feingold needs, however I can help: Just ask?

Also, what can I do to help prevent war with Iran?

Maybe we could stage another protest? Write up our own petition? Send letters and emails?

P.S. Don't believe the White House spin that Bush ignored the march on DC last weekend. They hope to make protesters feel powerless in order to silence people. But an overwhelming majority of Americans don't support Bush's policies.
Leslie

... 'some Republicans, including Vice President Dick Cheney, have all but dared the war's opponents to try cutting off financing, a move they believe would be seen as undermining the nation's troops.'

i wish i knew how to make italics, because the key phrase here is 'a move they believe would be seen' -- 'believe' my [expletive deleted].  more of the same coddling by the media -- the republicans, and cheney, don't believe it would be seen as undermining anything but their illegal war.  they want YOU to believe it would undermine the troops.  who wrote this story in a box and used a bush admin/republican talking point?  (not to criticize mr. booman if it was he, of course --new to your site, greatly appreciate all i have seen and read -- but just asking so that if it is mr. booman he might correct the language and if it's not, who it is so i can send them a corrective letter.

I have a question and hope that people will respond in the spirit in which it is offered:

If congress were to vote to cut off funding of the escalation - then what? As long as we have Bush/Cheney in charge NOTHING less that total chaos is going to happen in Iraq. Maybe I need to understand how a reduction in funding for the war might reduce that chaos.

I ask this because no matter where I go in my mind on this issue of the war, I find myself back to the point that nothing productive can happen until we get them out of office. I always wind of thinking that working on anything short of that is at best a waste of time and at worst has the risk of making the situation even worse.

Doesn't information itself have a liberal bias? Steven Colbert

Militarytracy is not afraid of you cutting funding for the Iraq War.  As the Senator already said the bullets and guns are already made, so are the MRE's and if they don't have enough money to pay Halliburton to over charge us for feeding our soldiers I'm sure the Jordanian company would do it for us for the same very cheap price that Halliburton pays them to do it.  Don't worry about the GPS that I have to buy my husband if he goes back, the Republicans weren't going to buy it for him anyhow and I already budgeted for it because I'm a Democrat and I know how to budget for big expenditures.  He has that dorky outfit he wears everyday too with his name on it and can you believe it....it's the same one they wear in Iraq.  So fearlessly tighten those purse strings....everything is just fine here!

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Didn't anyone else get the message from True Majority? They want us to call our senators throughout the day on Thursday. We're signinging up for time slots so that the calls are spread out over the day.

It would seem we need the same organization for a call-in campaign.

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