[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 in opposition to 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...
>>