WAR FUNDING BILL DEFEATED-- GREAT DRAMA... BUT PROBABLY NOTHING MORE THAN A SHORT DELAY

Ever wonder why the war is still going?

Although John W. McCain has backed away from his "100 more years of war" pledge, he did vow today to make sure the war lasted at least until after he's out of office if he's elected. So if you want more war-- another trillion dollars or so of it-- just be sure to go vote for McCain and Republican congressmen and senators.

Actually, Congress looks like it isn't feeling as rubber stampy as it has been. Both Democrats and Republicans-- mostly for different reasons-- rejected the collaborationist war funding bill today, a bill that most Americans don't want but that Bush, Hoyer, Cheney, McConnell, and Emanuel are pushing forward. Late this afternoon, the House voted down the $162.5 billion war funding bill, shocking the increasingly out of touch Democratic House leadership. Hoyer, Emanuel and Pelosi thought they could count on pro-war Democrats and the Republicans to get it through. Boehner screwed them up by getting 132 right-wing, pro-war Republicans to vote "present." There were also 141 votes for continued funding and 149 against it.

Among the pro-war Democrats:

Jason Altmire (PA)
Brian Baird (WA)
Melissa Bean (IL)
Shelley Berkley (NV)
Howard Berman (CA)
Sanford Bishop (GA)
Dan Boren (OK)
Chris Carney (PA)
Don Cazayoux (LA)-- that sure didn't take long
Rahm Emanuel (IL)
Bill Foster (IL)
Steny Hoyer (MD)
Nick Lampson (TX)
Dan Lipinski (IL)
Tim Mahoney (FL)
Jim Marshall (GA)
Adam Schiff (CA)
Heath Shuler (NC)

Real Democrats who oppose the war voted against the funding bill including Blue America endorsed Dems (mostly alumni) like Tom Allen (D-ME), Mike Arcuri (D-NY), Bruce Braley (D-IA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), John Hall (D-NY), Paul Hodes (D-NH), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Jerold Nadler (D-NY), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Hilda Solis (D-CA)...

Instead of passing this part of the bill-- the part Hoyer and Emanuel were positive would sail through-- "House members voted to demand troop withdrawals from Iraq, force the Iraqi government to shoulder more war costs and greatly expand the education benefits for returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict."

John Boehner, who asked the Republicans to vote "present," loudly bragged that "We're playing political games on the backs of our troops." I was surprised to see Pelosi leave rabid war mongers Steny Hoyer and Rahm Emanuel (whose net worth has increased from $14,000,000 to $21,000,000 since coming to Congress in 2002) to vote for the bill while she joined the majority of her caucus to oppose it. Later she commented on Bush's veto threat and on McCain's and McConnell's vow to filibuster any bill that Bush doesn't like:

"In the House of Representatives, we have passed every resolution we have put forward to have a time certain or a goal for redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. The Republicans in the Senate are guarding that desk of the president because they don't want him to have to veto another Iraq bill, knowing that the American people overwhelmingly disagree with the president's policy in Iraq."

Does who you vote for matter? Sure does! Look at this report from a Fox affiliate in Texas on the close race between war-monger/chicken hawk John Cornyn and pro-peace Lt. Colonel Rick Noriega: