[Peace-discuss] Vote today to end the war, call Rep. Johnson now

[C. G. Estabrook]

I called Johnson's office to urge him to vote for the McGovern bill on 
redeployment [sic]: he didn't, and it lost 171-225, although McGovern 
said he was surprised that there were so many votes in favor.  I think 
we should rather be surprised that there were so few. The bill in its 
final form wasn't that strong -- it essentially endorsed a continuation 
of the "bipartisan" US policy in the ME, which the electorate voted 
against last fall.

I also urged Johnson to vote against the Democrats' war funding bill: he 
did, but the bill passed 221-205.  It's outrageous that the Democrats 
who say that they are "against the war" (like Speaker Pelosi) should 
vote more money it.  Only ten House Democrats recognized this obvious 
point and voted against funding, while 219 voted for it!

It might be worthwhile to call Johnson tomorrow and urge him to support 
House Resolution 333, "Articles of Impeachment against Vice President 
Cheney," introduced by Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) -- not that I think he 
will.  Kucinich's bill charges Cheney with manipulation of intelligence 
to invade Iraq and threats against Iran.  I'm glad to say that last week 
Illinois' 9th District Rep. Jan Schakowsky became a co-sponsor.  --CGE


Robert Naiman wrote:
> 
> UFPJ, MoveOn, CLW and others are asking folks to call in support of the 
> McGovern amendment. The MoveOn alert is below.
> 
> The House leadership, apparently, is now supporting the (slightly 
> revised) McGovern bill, which is a big step forward. It's stronger than 
> the provision that was vetoed by the President. So, it seems, in 
> response to the President's refusal to seriously negotiate, the House 
> leadership is telling him to "ishrab mayyit al-bahar," as the Arabs say. 
> Go drink the water of the sea.
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> ...
> Dear MoveOn member,
> 
> This afternoon the House is going to vote on their latest plan for Iraq. 
> We received word late last night that there could be a vote today on an 
> amendment that would call for a mandatory withdrawal from Iraq by early 
> 2008—the strongest attempt to end the war we've seen come to the floor 
> of this Congress. At the same time, Republicans are trying to strip out 
> any measures that hold the president accountable on the war.
> 
> Can you call Rep. Johnson right now and tell him to vote for the 
> McGovern amendment to mandate a withdrawal from Iraq? Make sure he 
> understands that we want to end the war quickly—not hand the president 
> another blank check for Iraq.
> 
> Congressman Timothy Johnson
> Phone: 202-225-2371
> ...
> As more and more Republicans break with the president, Congress should 
> strengthen their efforts to impose a mandatory timeline for withdrawal.
> 
> Just yesterday, 11 Republicans went to meet with the president to send 
> him a message that he needs to change direction in Iraq.^1 And a CNN 
> poll released yesterday showed that 57 percent of Americans favor 
> continued Democratic efforts to attach a timeline to any additional 
> funding for the war.^2 It's a moment to keep pushing, not cave in.
> 
> Please call Rep. Johnson and tell him to vote for a mandatory swift 
> withdrawal from Iraq.
> ...