First off, it passed, which means that the President is getting everything he wants (but the Democrats will be quick to tell you that the Bill did include a minimum wage hike, woohoo!!). Under the Bill, money was included to fund all war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September.
The Democrats are vowing that this is only the beginning, and they will revisit this issue in September under the normal Appropriations Spending Bill for 2008. To avoid misunderstanding in this blog post, I will not use sarcasm, but say that I am not hopeful that anything in September will change. What proof do we have that when Bush holds his breath and throws another tantrum in September, the Democrats won't once again roll over.
As a side note, I want to point out something that I have notice as a grassroots organizer and devoted political hack. People wonder why, in the face of overwhelming evidence, the American people voted for, and then re-elected George Bush. Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with ideology or politics or party affiliation. It has to do with one thing and one thing only - the perception of strength. Most people don't have the time or the energy to worry about running the country on a daily basis, and need to feel secure in the fact that the leaders that they elect have the strength of will to run it on their own. Frankly, I think they want a Son of a Bitch in office. And once again, we have proven that Republicans are stronger of will than Democrats.
Anyway, enough ranting, how did our state do:
In the Senate, both Maryland Senators - Cardin and Mikulski voted YES on the Capitulation Bill. It seems that the wise old men and women of the Senate felt that cooler heads should prevail and that grown ups need to do what grown ups do. They weren't anywhere near alone on the Democratic side, but personally, I expect better from Maryland.
In the House, our two resident Republicans, Gilchrist and Bartlett both voted YES on the Bill. No surprise there. There is a long article in the Gazette of Politics and Business this morning about Gilchrist getting a pro-war Primary challenger. Bartlett is just old and senile.
As far as our Democrats - Van Hollen, Wynn, Sarbanes, and Cummings all voted NO. No surprises there, but good for them. Wynn is facing a tough primary challenge, and this would have killed him.
Hoyer and Ruppersburger voted YES. I'm not surprised about Steny, but I can't help being appalled. I don't really know anything about "Dutch", however, there were rumors that he was considering a run for Senate in 2010 should Mikulski retire. Guess who I'm not working/voting for.
Of the Presidential Candidates, only Biden voted YES on the Bill. Obama, Clinton, Dodd, and Kucinich voted against it. Not that Biden had a chance in hell anyway, now, I believe he is completely irrelevant.
If you want to see the entire vote (I'm having issues linking, so here are the websites -
Senate - http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00181
House - http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll425.xml
A few predictions, if I can:
Minority Leader John Boehner will continue to find more things to cry about on the House Floor. Damned, that man likes to cry.
Nothing will change in September. Troop deaths will continue to rise, no headway will be made in securing Baghdad, violence will continue, unabated.
Democrats will try and retake the moral high ground in September, but given this capitulation would have lost their edge and authority. Bush will hold his breath, Boehner will cry, and the Democrats will continue to fund the war.
Escalation, through the summer and fall will continue, with a 2nd "surge" adding as many as 40,000 new troops to Iraq.
Bush will continue to ignore Iraqi calls for us to leave (Fyi, a majority of Iraqi parliamentarians have already signed on to a bill setting a timetable for our withdrawal).
We will be in Iraq at full strength at least until Jan. 20, 2009.
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