The 'Public' Likes The New Congress Less Than Bush

[Annie]

That's really something in only 3 months!

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/

 

[Avatar4321]

wonder why that is.... Could it be that the people just dont like their congressmen trying to make the troops bleed for political purposes.

 

[Annie]

wonder why that is.... Could it be that the people just dont like their congressmen trying to make the troops bleed for political purposes.

That's totally true. And, the Congress misinterpreting what the voters wanted. They were pissed at the way the administration handled the war, they don't seem to like the way the Democrats are now doing so.

 

[Annie]

Then again, there's reports like this one:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070309/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

Democrats link pet causes to troop plan

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 44 minutes ago

Democrats seeking votes for their Iraq-withdrawal plan have stuffed the bill it's in with billions of dollars for farms, flu preparedness, New Orleans levees, home heating and other causes.

Some critics say the Democrats are simply being opportunistic — using a must-pass measure for funding U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to carry items that can't advance as easily on their own.

At the same time, Democratic leaders are trying to increase support for setting deadlines for ending U.S. military combat in Iraq, which they've made part of the larger legislation.

It's plain that Democrats are unwilling to approve the bill's $100 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan without devoting considerable sums of money to the home front.

"The president wants to make sure we take care of Iraq, but I think we also have to make sure that we don't lose sight of what we have to do here at home," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill.

Already, money in the bill not directly related to the war exceeds $20 billion.

The funding — ranging from $3.5 billion for medical care for veterans and active duty troops to $500 million in "emergency" money for a Western fire season that has yet to start — has raised hackles with Republicans who say Democrats are using the measure to muscle federal dollars back home.

"Wartime funding should be not used as a gravy train," said Senate GOP conservative Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record) of New Hampshire.

But Gregg said the White House would be hard-pressed to veto the bill over the add-ons, and White House aides have conspicuously failed to issue one — though a veto promise hangs over the bill because of its higher-profile provisions setting a deadline for ending the U.S. military role in Iraq.

All told, farmers would get $4.3 billion in disaster aid, aimed chiefly at the drought-stricken Great Plains and California farmers hurt by a hard freeze earlier this year.

The drought disaster aid package has been scaled back, in part to make room for $74 million for a peanut storage program that pays storage and handling fees as farmers market their crop. And Rep. Sam Farr (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., is pressing for $25 million for spinach farmers who pulled produce from market shelves after last year's E. coli outbreak.

Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., isn't waiting on the upcoming farm bill to extend income subsidies aimed at small dairy farms. Obey's 13-month extension would cost $283 million.

Those items and others, including $2.5 billion for homeland security projects such as additional cargo screening at ports and airports, $2.9 billion for levee improvements and other aid for the Gulf Coast, and $735 million to close shortfalls in the State Children's Health Insurance Program, offer virtually every lawmakers a reason to vote for the Iraq funding bill — regardless of their feelings on the war itself.

Democrats insist they aren't being bought off.

"Absolutely not," said Rep. Jim Costa (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat representing a farm district in California's Central Valley. The California delegation is demanding help for citrus, avocado and other farmers facing $1.2 billion in losses from a devastating January freeze.

"I would support this one way or another," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., a driving force behind the drought aid package.

In some cases, such as drought aid for farmers, new money for veterans medical care and additional aid for the Gulf Coast, Democrats are fulfilling promises from last year's campaign.

Still, the need to maximize the vote count among Democrats makes it harder for party leaders to say "no" to lawmakers whose requests are, say, more parochial.

Republicans accused Democratic leaders of larding the bill with spending aimed at greasing its way through Congress.

"They've tried to appease every member of Congress, every coalition, every interest group, by loading this bill up," said Rep. Ray LaHood (news, bio, voting record), R-Ill. He said the strategy risked having the bill collapse of its own weight.

"If this is a sweetener deal, then it makes me real sour on the whole bill," said Rep. Lincoln Davis (news, bio, voting record), D-Tenn.

There are a few lawmakers — such as Rep. Peter DeFazio (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore. — whose support for war funding is contingent on add-ons. In DeFazio's case, it's $400 million to extend payments to rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging.

The billions of dollars not requested by Bush include $1 billion to prevent or prepare for a possible avian flu epidemic and $400 million in additional heating subsidies for the poor.

 

[Adam's Apple]

I've always thought the reason the Democrats won the '06 election was that the voters had no alternatives available to them, so they decided to give the Dems a chance to see if they could do any better. Now they're seeing that they wasted their vote.

People are going to have to make their voices heard in Washington if they want to stop the madness. In lieu of having a third party alternative, a good way to do that is to hook up with campaigns of activist groups like NumbersUSA or AFA that support what you're interested in. There is clout in numbers of people working together to achieve the same goal.