SCHWARZENEGGER SAYS NO TO IRAQ VOTE & INDICATES IF YOU WANT AN END TO WAR DEFEAT CONGRESSMEN LIKE DREIER, DOOLITTLE, MILLER, ROHRABACHER & BONO

According to the newest Field Poll, something like 65% of Californians want the U.S. to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. But they won't get to vote on it for real. The state legislature decided to but an anti-war proposition on the ballot this February so people could officially express how they feel about Bush's Iraq agenda. But Governor Schwarzenegger, fearing a huge anti-war turn out could embarrass the state GOP, vetoed the bill this afternoon.

If Californians want to send Washington a message about Iraq, Mr. Schwarzenegger said, they can do so at the polls without an Iraq advisory question.

That isn't a bad idea. California has 51 congressional districts which includes 19 Republicans. All nineteen of them have been complete rubber stamps for all of the Bush regime's most heinous policies in Iraq. And several face strong Democratic opponents next year who are challenging them on their war votes. Last week Jane and I spent some time with Russ Warner, who is running against war-supporter David Dreier. Russ, whose son Greg, currently at West Point, served for 17 months in Iraq and came back and convinced his father to challenge Dreier, told us that if he were in Congress he would vote no on Bush's $50 billion supplemental spending bill. Dreier is not just voting for it, he is beating up on wavering Republicans who want to vote with the Democrats. This coming Saturday, Blue America will welcome Ron Shepston for a chat at Firedoglake (11am, PT), a retired Air Force officer and Vietnam vet who is taking on rubber stamp Republican Gary Miller. Ron is very much like fellow Air Force vet and Blue America endorsee, Charlie Brown and his opponent, John Doolittle, is very much like Gary Miller who fits the GOP mold of being both a war-monger and a crook.

But it goes beyond just the Gary Millers, David Dreiers and John Doolittles. The entire California Republican delegation strongly backs the war. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. When Schwarzenegger says voters can send Washington a message without a ballot initiative, he's correct in one very basic way-- even if gerrymandering gets in the way-- and that would be to defeat the entire GOP delegation. In order of terribleness (worst first) these are the Republican rubber stamps currently making sure the war in Iraq never ends:
David Dreier
John Doolittle
Daniel Lungren
John Campbell
Ken Calvert
Brian Bilbray
Jerry Lewis
George Radanovich
Devin Nunes
Buck McKeon
Kevin McCarthy
Darrell Issa
Duncan Hunter
Wally Herger

(Actually the 14 rubber stamp loons above have all supported every single House roll call on the war in Iraq. None of them ever voted no to anything, no matter how extreme and dangerous and misguided. Each one of these radical right maniacs could have just asked Cheney to vote for them and gone off to golf. Each is an utter disgrace to America.)

Gary Miller (who voted 54 times with Bush and one time-- to demand competitive bidding on oil contracts-- against Bush)
Ed Royce
Elton Gallegly
Mary Bono
Dana Rohrabacher

You want to end the war and the thinking behind the policies that led to the war? Remember these names on election day. Or, surf over to Blue America and donate $5 or $10 or whatever you can spare to Charlie Brown or Russ Warner.