MORE OF OUR MONEY-- BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS-- TO FUND BUSH'S WAR IN IRAQ WILL SOON BE APPROVED BY CONGRESS

Do you want your congressional representatives-- we each have two senators and a congressmember who we employ-- to vote to continue the occupation of Iraq? Polls show that if you do, you're part of a rather small minority... unless you're an Inside the Beltway person. They're different from the rest of us. And I suspect that real Americans-- Democrats and Republicans-- who live in the U.S. would pretty much agree that if our entire insider political class, along with the lobbyists and pundits and others who swim in their orbit, vanished tomorrow we'd probably be a lot better off. Unlike the rest of us, they have lots of reasons why keeping America tied up in the Iraq Civil War, perhaps even expanding it into Iran, is a swell idea.

Front and center in today's Inside the Beltway Post is a story by Tom Ricks about Bush's latest request for $50 billion to continue the occupation. How would you choose if you were voting on one of these: $50 billion more down the Iraqi rat hole or trials and firing squads for every single person in a high level position in the Bush Regime. (If you're an anti death penalty fanatic, you can opt for a codicil in your vote requiring something other than a firing squad; fair enough?)

Two days ago there is no doubt how Brian Baird would have voted when Bush goes to Congress and asks for the $50 billion. After his accountibility moment with his constituents, he either changed his mind or could be facing the prospect of looking for a new line of work come next year.

The $50 billion request follows the $480 billion already approved for 2008 for the Pentagon plus $147 billion in a supplemental for continued war in Iraq and Afghanistan, mostly Iraq. "The request is being prepared now in the belief that Congress will be unlikely to balk so soon after hearing [Bush's pet general Petraeus and his ambassador/viceroy] argue that there are promising developments in Iraq but that they need more time to solidify the progress they have made, a congressional aide said."

I don't have a doubt that the Democrats will fail to prevent Bush from continuing on this mad course. Do you know the phone number or e-mail address of your 3 congresscritters? If enough of us tell them they we won't vote for them if they vote for the $50 billion, they may get the idea that the American people are serious about this. Not sure if yours are among the most likely Democrats to betray us? The worst of the worst in the House are all at that link two steps back, although I expect that there will be dozens of other Democrats who will also show their true color (red). In the Senate, the half dozen Democrats most likely to vote with the Republicans on Iraq-- the ones who almost always do-- are (the ones up for re-election next year are in bold):
Ben Nelson (NE)
Max Baucus (MT)
Mary Landrieu (LA)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Tom Carper (DE)
Mark Pryor (AR)


UPDATE: AND, OF COURSE, THERE ARE SOME DEMOCRATS WE KNOW WE CAN COUNT ON TO FIGHT HARD TO GET US OUT OF BUSH'S IRAQ DISASTER

Like Senator Chris Dodd: