[Peace-discuss] A raid on the unspeakable

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Blocking War Funding Just Got Easier
	By David Swanson

Last June we were handed an opportunity to block the funding of our illegal, 
murderous, counterproductive, catastrophic, and hated wars in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.  The president insisted on an off-the-books "emergency 
supplemental" bill, and the Senate added an IMF bailout to the bill, leading all 
the Republicans in the House to commit what for years they'd called treason: 
they all voted No on war money.

So, we only needed 39 Democrats to vote No, and we could have stopped the thing, 
at least temporarily.  We had a week-long knock-down drag-out fight, with the 
White House telling freshmen Democrats they would be "dead to us" if they didn't 
vote Yes.  And we still persuaded 32 Democrats to vote No.

Then we continued building opposition to the wars, and awareness of the need to 
choose between wars and jobs.  But we had to hope that we would again be handed 
a "supplemental" vote and that again some crazy scheme would be found to get all 
the Republicans to vote No.  If these wishes could be granted, then we would 
only have to find 40 Democrats to stand with the majority of Americans, 
soldiers, Iraqis, and Afghans.  Otherwise, we'd need 218 congress members.

Our wishes have come true.  President Obama has insisted on another 
"supplemental" this spring for $33 billion.  And funding to close Guantanamo and 
move "the Terrorists" to "the Homeland" has been added into the bill.

Of course, the Democrats think this will force the Republicans to vote for 
closing Gitmo.  Democratic loyalists and president worshippers are celebrating 
this genius stroke, oblivious to the fact that the funding of wars will destroy 
our nation along with those the wars are waged against, nevermind exactly where 
we imprison people.  In reality, this maneuver will force the Republicans to 
vote against the war funding.  And that will give us a chance.

We only need 40 No votes from Democrats in the House if the Republicans are 
voting No, and we can get them.  Here's the whip list: http://defundwar.org 
Have at it!



-- 

David Swanson is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial 
Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press.  You can 
order it and find out when tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book.

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