I asked leading progressives what it will look like when and after the dems inform Bush that they will no longer fund the occupation. Responses came in from Dennis Kucinich, Cindy Sheehan, Jeff Cohen, Mike Malloy, David Swanson, Swami Beyondananda, Brent Budowsky
Progressives, myself included, are calling for refusing to fund the war any further. The word is that Dems in congress are afraid they will be cast as failing to provide for the troops. I figured that if we explored the possible responses, plans could be made on how to effectively deal with them.
So I started talking to people, asking them what they thought things would look like AFTER the congress refused to fund the war any further.
What would the Republicans do?
What would the media do?
What would the pentagon do?
What would retired generals do?
I put the word out to some of our writers, got a few replies, and spoke to Dave Lindorff and then, set up an interview with Democratic presidential primary candidate and congressman Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich has been the most outspoken advocate for de-funding the war. We talked about how this would work.
First, I spoke to journalist Dave Lindorff. Here's what he had to say:
I think that they've decided that they want the war to continue 'til november. I dont' think they're afraid at all. I've concluded that they want Bush in power and they want the war running. (He writes about this in his article Dead Men and Women Walking)
Emanuel has actually said that-- that Bush in power is good for Democrats and that the war is good for democrats.
If dems cut the budget for the war, the military would have to come up with contingency plans for how to get out. It would change the debate entirely. Obviously, there would be plenty of people saying we're cutting and running. But there would be plenty of retired generals saying it's about time. The dems would be cheered by the troops coming home.
With 70% of Americans and 80 or 90 % of Dems wanting the war to be over, who are they worried about-- the die hard republican core who hates them anyway?
For one thing, democrats would finally NOT be called wimps, which is the disaster they face next november.
Only 11% support them. Everyone sees through them. THis crap about we need 60 votes in order to do anything is just ludicrous. It's 41 (in the senate )to stop legislation.
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