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Caving On Iraq...Again

Here we go again, more concessions ...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 — Congressional leaders are assembling a $500 billion package to try to resolve an impasse by providing President Bush with unfettered money for the Iraq war in exchange for new spending on popular domestic programs.

If acceptable to lawmakers and the White House, the package to be considered in the House as early as Tuesday would avert the threat of a shutdown of federal agencies and end a dispute that has lasted months and pitted Congressional Democrats against Mr. Bush and his Republican allies.

Senior lawmakers and Congressional aides said the broad outlines of the proposal called for the House to consider $30 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, as well as money for military bases and support programs for military families to quiet fears of Pentagon layoffs because of a lack of money.

The Senate would then add up to $40 billion for Iraq combat operations, with the expectation the final war spending total would produce enough Republican support to offset defections by House Democrats.

After the measure returns to the House for a final vote, Democrats opposed to the war are likely to vote against it but may not be able to stop it. The decision to free some money for the war without a deadline or goal for withdrawal would represent a major concession by Democrats. They had earlier said they would not send Mr. Bush any more war money this year unless he accepted a change in Iraq policy.

But Democratic leaders now say they have concluded that a logjam of 11 appropriations bills cannot be broken without acceding to at least some of the president’s demand for more war money.

“One way or another, there, I believe, will be bridge funding provided, and should be,” Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Friday, referring to money to pay for combat into early 2008.

Under the Democratic plan described by senior aides, the Iraq money would be voted on separately, to allow lawmakers opposed to the war to add money for health care, education, home heating programs, border enforcement and other initiatives.

The emerging proposal is similar to the way the White House and Democrats settled their initial showdown this year over Iraq spending, with Democrats’ dropping their demand for a withdrawal timeline in exchange for added spending at home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/

Just as with our mainstream media. The Democrats in Congress have no spine.

Democrats Need To Admit They Have A Problem: They Are Addicted to Backing Down

by Arianna Huffington

"Mostly quiet acquiescence, if not outright support."

That is how, according to the Washington Post, officials present characterized the reaction of lawmakers, including Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi and Jane Harman, when they were briefed in 2002 about waterboarding and other severe interrogation techniques being employed by the CIA.

But it could just as well be the slogan of the Democrats for much of the last six-plus years -- especially on Iraq.

It's no wonder Democrats have already decided to capitulate on the war funding bill coming before Congress next week. As recently as three weeks ago, Speaker Pelosi said there would be no more votes on Iraq funding this year (she said the same thing -- both about no votes this year and no votes in '08 without a withdrawal date -- when I interviewed her in October), and last month Sen. Chuck Schumer thundered, "The days of a free lunch are over."

Memo to Oprah: while you're on the campaign trail, maybe you can facilitate an intervention. How about you and Dr. Phil show up at the next debate and haul the Democratic frontrunners and the Congressional leadership off to spinal rehab?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/democrats-need-to-admit-t_b_76109.html

As disheartening as it is, I still have many friends and acquaintances who either continue to maintain their status as registered Democrats or who succumb to the "lesser of two evils" logic and give them their votes.

The "interesting" thing about this is that the Dems have been quick to demonize Bush for leading the country into war, the attack on civil liberties, the eradication of habeus corpus, and the looting of the US treasury, yet every step of the way the Democrats have assisted the Bush administration on each action that has earned Bush "the Hitler tag".

And it doesn't seem to matter how horrific their failures were or continue to be. The apathetic consumer culture otherwise known as the "American people" continue to settle on what they perceive to be "not as bad".

That my friends is truly, truly sad.
Especially when you consider the facts.

Let's take a look at the record of the Democratic party since the supposedly "worst president in our history" took over.

First the Democrats caved on opposing the blatantly fraudulent election of 2000 and the subsequent unprecedented and illegal supreme court intervention. And while many people expressed their outrage with Al Gore and his lack of a fight or call for an investigation. The majority of voters did not hold the Democratic party accountable for their capitualtion.

John Kerry followed up this unbelievable cooperation with his own refusal to oppose the fraudulent election results of 2004 despite a ton of credible evidence of massive voter fraud, the Democrats stood silent again.

Following 9/11 and the Bush administration's complete stonewalling of any and every attempt to adequately address and investigate the greatest attack on US soil in our countries history and the Democrats failure to (even question) the government's explanation that 19 Arab hijackers with box cutters defeated the INS, the FAA, the CIA, the FBI, Norad, and the world's most sophisticated defense system and best protected airspace in the world and yet not one person was fired, demoted, or even reprimanded or held accountable!
The Democrats stood silent again.

Nor did the Democrats question the destruction of all the most critical evidence at ground zero or the top secret classification of any and all remaining evidence that might have shed light onto how this incredible operation was able to take place despite warnings from every world leader and intelligence agency in the months and weeks leading up to 9/11.

This was followed by a complete lack of outcry by the DLC about the anthrax that was tracked back to US labs and sent to Democratic leaders. Even this didn't get the Dems to demand truth or take action against or hold anyone accountable.

Then when the Bush administration told Americans that Al Quada spanned 60 countries and it was only a matter of time before we would experience another 9/11, the Dems voted almost unanimously to approve the Patriot act with most admitting they hadn't even read it. But yet again the voters did not hold the Democrats accountable.

Then the Dems overwhelmingly approved the Patriot Ac II (despite this time not being able to depend on the explanation that they did not have time to read it or that the country was in shock) and the voters failed to hold them accountable again.

Then when the information about domestic spying came into the light and it was clear that the Bush administration ignored the FISA laws and it had became obvious that we were dealing with a corrupt administration, the Dems failed to hold anyone accountable again.

Then despite claims that the US does not torture and despitewhat we disccovered about Abu Grahib, when the revelations about CIA secret prisons and torture was revealed, the Democrats once again failed to hold anyone accountable or even demand independent investigations with special prosecutors to determine the extent of what was happening.

Now recently the Dems without even batting an eye or raising any kind of opposition (from even the so-called "fringe" elements in the party) they gave carte blanche support to the latest crime against our constitution with the "domestic terrorism act" that makes terrorists of dissenters and creates "thought crimes" .

Then when support for the war hit an all time low after it was clear that the country was hoodwinked into a quagmire that has decimated the countries reputation and destabilized the entire world, the spineless Democrats told the American public to put them in the majority in the house and senate and they would end the war only to fail to stand up to the administration by refusing to fund the war.

Liberals and progressives all swore they had had enough!
I can't count the number of times that I have heard people say "I will never vote for another Democrat again regardless of the circumstances".

But the truth is that they will.
They will because they feel they have too.

People need to ask themselves how bad it needs to get before they will no longer support a party based on their rhetoric instead of their actions.

They also need to acknowledge that if the the Bush administration can be characterized as "Hitler incarnate", then it is only appropriate to label the Dems as the "SS".

Thank You Chris Dodd!

Thank you for standing for the Constitution.

Thank you for standing up to the telecom companies and demanding they be held accountable for helping facilitate illegal spying on American citizens.

Thank you for being a leader.

Dodd starts his filibuster today. Here's how you can help:

http://thankyoudodd.com

It would be nice to watch as the Republicans attempt to back Senator Dodd down.

It will be enraging to watch the Democrats do it for them.