Wars and Congress: Now What?
By David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/node/54280

On Tuesday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill already passed by the Senate that funds a $33 billion, 30,000-troop escalation in Afghanistan. The vote was 308 to 114. What could the good news possibly be?

The first good news is that, while we had no more than 35 congress members who would vote against war funding a year ago, or perhaps 55 when it was an easy vote with no pressure, we've now got 114. That's serious progress. That's a far more dramatic increase than we've seen in the number of congress members willing to vote for a non-binding unspecified timetable for a withdrawal. That number rose from 138 last year to 162 on July 1st (although the legislation was somewhat stronger this year). In other words, willingness to express mild interest in ending the war has reached a plateau. Willingness to take serious action to end the war is rapidly catching up. Of course, both have to top 218 before we win.

The really good news is that we finally have an essential ingredient in any recipe for legislative change: a record of which legislators are with us, and which against us. Almost any effective campaign to pass, or -- as in this case -- defeat, legislation requires at least three stages. First you run a trial to identify who stands where. Then you reward and punish at the polling booth in the next election. Then you try again and possibly succeed. Until now, we've been unable to reach step one. The "leadership" in Congress has packaged war bills in unrelated measures, or -- as was done four weeks ago -- passed bills without holding a vote at all. Now we finally know, unambiguously, who stands where. The question is whether we're willing to act on it.

Additional good news is that over 40 percent of the Democrats voted No. This compares with 7 percent of Republicans. While the Republicans are in the minority in the House, more Republicans than Democrats voted for this bill. The war now belongs first to the Democratic leadership, second to the Republican caucus, and only third to the Democratic caucus. Last year we were unable to identify where Republicans stood, because they all voted No in response to an unrelated measure packaged into the bill.

Here are the names of who voted yes, who voted no, and who did not vote.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll474.xml

While not voting is often a dodge, I'm assuming it's an accident or a typo in the case of Congressman Alan Grayson who lobbied for No votes.

The bad news is that the 308 congress members who defied public opinion and voted for war funding are not afraid of us. The Republicans think their supporters are happy to put their grandchildren into debt to China as long as it funds wars, even if it makes us all less safe and wrecks our economy. And they're right. The Democrats think their supporters are outraged and offended by such behavior but will meekly turn around and vote for them anyway, out of fear that a Republican would be worse. And they're right.

We need a new approach that not only seeks to keep anti-war representatives in power, and to replace Republicans with anti-war Democrats, and to replace pro-war Democrats in primaries with anti-war Democrats, and to replace pro-war Republicans in primaries with anti-war Republicans, but also to defeat pro-war incumbents even if their opponent is pro-war too and even if it means replacing a Democrat with a Republican. I don't see any other way of making these people listen to us in the coming months and years. And you can't get much worse than anyone who keeps funding wars.

Congress members are coming home for August. It is time to punish and reward, spank and thank, and vote out and reelect in November. It is also time to push the strongest opponents of war in the House to begin forming an effective vehicle for victory. The new Out of Afghanistan Caucus, or the Progressive Caucus, or the group of progressives who signed an anti-war letter on Tuesday, or some other collection of leading anti-war voices in Congress needs to establish a caucus with strict requirements for membership, including a commitment to oppose all legislation that funds non-defensive wars. Such a caucus should raise funds and supply election funding to its members, allowing them some independence from the pressure of the pro-war party "leadership." We have 114 names to start with. Resources are available at http://defundwar.org

As the peace movement begins working with labor and civil rights groups this fall, we need to make sure everyone understands which congress members are funneling all the money we need into wars and which ones are not. Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to build the sort of unified coalition that will be required this coming winter if we are to pass cuts to the military budget and prevent cuts to Social Security.

David Swanson is the author of "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union"

Mike Ferner, National President
Veterans For Peace
Organized locally.
Recognized nationally.
Exposing the true costs of war and militarism since 1985.

www.veteransforpeace.org

Views: 51

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Burbia posted a blog post

Former President Trump?

When was this article written? It is attributed to Victor Davis Hanson. He is a Fellow at Hoover…See More
7 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Don’t Go Hunting For Bigfoot

It is October 19, 2019 at 5:46 AM. This will be the last time any visual evidence of Mark is seen…See More
11 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Most Corrupt Series: Elizabeth Warren | Forgotten History

Elizabeth Warren has built her reputation as a "reformer", but her political career has also drawn sharp criticism. Questions have been raised about her fina...
Saturday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Ashrams and Moonies Perfect Case for Mind Control
"less prone, Thanks for your support Buddy! "
Thursday
Doc Vega posted a photo

main-thumb-ti-6724328-100-cnsgqkrgkrhyeyyerazynmuwoplecnbx

When will they put Trump on Mt. Rushmore?
Thursday
Doc Vega's 4 blog posts were featured
Thursday
Burbia's blog post was featured

Charlie Kirk Assassination

September 10th 2025 in Utah Turning Point USA CEO has been assassinated. Coincidentally,  answering…See More
Thursday
Charles Magus's blog post was featured

FURTHER PROOF OF WALK-INS! Prisoners of the Dulce Base by Sherry Shriner

There is a real connection between the Cabal and what is happening at this Undergroung…See More
Thursday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Ashrams and Moonies Perfect Case for Mind Control
Thursday
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's blog post Sentient World Simulation
"Cannot open the link"
Thursday
Tina Sullivan is now a member of 12160 Social Network
Thursday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Wednesday
Sandy posted a video

We’re cooked

We’re cooked
Wednesday
Sandy posted a photo
Wednesday
tjdavis posted a video

Tom Horn discusses Masonic view of 2025

Startling perspective by Tom Horn of the upcoming year: 2025
Sep 16
cheeki kea posted a photo
Sep 16
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Grooming the New Generation of Assassins
"It's a distressing state of affairs when evil leftists hardwire impressionable students and…"
Sep 16
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post This Memorable Anthem Given by Nick Freitas Hit the Nail on the Head Please Listen!
"Burbia Charlie Kirk's wife is a real firebrand! God bless that poor woman! "
Sep 15
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post This Memorable Anthem Given by Nick Freitas Hit the Nail on the Head Please Listen!
"Burbia thanks for the videos! "
Sep 15
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Sep 15

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted