U.S. House defeats $162.5 bln in new war funds
Published May 15, 2008 by Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/ ... 15?sp=true (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWBT00901020080515?sp=true)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday defeated legislation that would have funded the war in Iraq for another year, in a surprise move that the Senate could overturn.
By a vote of 149-141, the Democrat-controlled House rejected a measure that would have given the Pentagon $162.5 billion to keep the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan running through next summer, slightly below President George W. Bush's request.
A large group of anti-war House Democrats voted against the funds. That, coupled with 132 Republicans voting "present," meaning neither "yes" nor "no," killed the measure for now.
But the Senate is expected to debate its version of a war-funding bill possibly next week and is likely to resurrect the money for the coming year.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan)
Quote from: "cenacle"A large group of anti-war House Democrats voted against the funds. That, coupled with 132 Republicans voting "present," meaning neither "yes" nor "no," killed the measure for now.
This is good news, but what I'm wondering about most is the 'Pubes voting "present" in vast droves. 132 of them when they only have 199 members! They're all up for re-election in November.
What happens next will tell us what is unclear about their motivations at this point.
Hark! Is that the sound of rats leaving the fast-sinking S.S. Bush? :twisted:
Word on the street is that the repugs are skert shitless of the upcoming elections, as three recent special elections in repugnant strongholds saw the democratic challengers open cans of whoop-ass in all three contests.
The right wing rags are now spewing rumors that gop leadership realizes the current course could leave them with a deficit of around 70 members compared to the dems. So I wouldn't be surprised to see them at least try to distance themselves from the head chicken hawk's quagmire du jour.
lw
Yeah, shrub's endorsement is about as welcome right now as Nixon's was a couple decades ago. Look for mr "bomb bomb Iran" to tone down the rhetoric considerably until after the election.
Don't go thinking the war will not be funded. The powers that be will see to it that it gets money some way or another even if shrub has to take food out of the mouths of babes to do it. His polls are in the shitter at the moment anyhow and his legacy is one of failure so what does he care? Whether he cares or not he knows he has to follow orders and I predict that the war will go on even if Obama gets elected. It may eventually die if the public elects enough anti war people but it won't be right away.
I agree, LW, that Republicans are running panicked after losing three special elections recently, including one in Mississippi. None of them want to tie to the War, so they cast "present" votes. What that accomplishes, I don't know. Tell voters you did not vote for the War? Does that make sense? I don't know. The problem is that there is no coherent leadership to end it. The shift to the left in this fall's elections will bring Obama to the White House, and an undeniable end-the-war sentiment to Congress. As Stoney said, with nobody left to support it, they'll figure out how to end it.
This was Bush's War and it will be over not long after he leaves office. Isn't that pathetic? The man owned most of this decade and now he couldn't get elected rat-catcher on his own sinking ship. I don't think it will hit him until he sees how fast things change after he's gone. Or maybe he will be like Hitler, go on commanding from the delusional bunker of his own mind. "Clearing branches? Hell, no, I'm leading the Free World!"
The war will be funded and democrats will cooperate in doing it. Does anyone dispute that? We've seen this act over and over. It's like watching professional wrestling with the outcome already decided. There will be speeches and posturing but then they will decide to "support our troops" or whatever baloney they think will cover them and the funding will come.
Don't read too much into the repubs voting "present". There was lots for them to hate in that bill including a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq. That bill was just a 'feel good' bill for the voters back home. It had no chance of passing.
Yes, the repubs are running a little bit scared but the predictions of a democratic rout have been made for years now with nothing happening. Just enough demos vote for the war to always keep it going. This will be no exception.