[Peace-discuss] Re: Democrats and Israeli lobby for war

[C. G. Estabrook]

I'm glad to hear that you would have voted against this
extremely dangerous bit of congressional fecklessness, David.
 It's shocking that your vote would have put you at odds with
more than 90% of House Democrats.   

I said putative opponent because the Democrats haven't been
putting up any serious opposition to the Republicans and the
administration, especially on the war.  I'd be pleased to see
that change.  On this as on other matters, the official
parties are well to the right of the American population. 
Their job, of course, is to blunt the public's demands.

As a result of efforts of AWARE and other groups, citizens in
Champaign and Urbana will be able to vote in November on
advisory referenda on withdrawal from Iraq and the impeachment
of the administration.  Neither position is supported by the
Democrat party: self-proclaimed liberals (like Barack Obama)
would vote "no" on both.

How would you vote on them?

Regards, Carl  


David Gill wrote:
> Carl--
> 
>      I would have voted against this.  It's been shown time
and time 
> again that outside interference by America only serves to
exacerbate the 
> situation in Iran;  in fact, many feel that there might have
been a 
> reformist president elected last year, rather than
Ahmadinejad, if our 
> approach had been different over the past 3 years.
> 
>      I'm unsure why you use the term "putative" in
describing me.  Is 
> this some type of hostile jibe?  I'm Johnson's true and
certain opponent 
> in November's election.
> 
> David Gill
> On Friday, April 28, 2006, at 02:32 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> 
>> [Naturally, our congressional representative, Tim Johnson,
voted for 
>> this bit of war-mongering -- as did almost all the
Democrats in the 
>> House.  (We should ask Johnson's putative opponent, David
Gill, 
>> whether he would have voted for it -- or would he have
joined the 15 
>> Democrats and 6 Republicans who stood against it?) --CGE]
>>
>>    April 28, 2006
>>    Steppingstone to War
>>    House passes 'Iran Freedom Support Act'
>>    by Justin Raimondo
>>
>> It is "a steppingstone to war," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich,
during the 
>> debate over the so-called Iran Freedom Support Act, and if
this vote 
>> is any measure of the degree of congressional opposition to
the 
>> looming prospect of war with Tehran, then we have a lot to
worry > about.
>>
>> Only 21 members of the House stood up against the overwhelming 
>> bipartisan wave of support for the bill, which would impose
economic 
>> sanctions on the Iranians – and openly proclaims the goal
of effecting 
>> "regime change." Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, said
the bill 
>> reminds him of a 1998 congressional resolution – the Iraq
Liberation 
>> Act – that paved the way for the Iraqi debacle. Yet most of
the 
>> "antiwar" contingent in the House of Representatives caved
and voted 
>> in favor, including Democrats John Conyers, Maxine Waters,
Jack 
>> Murtha, Bernie Sanders, Barbara Lee, and Lynn Woolsey...
>>