Dems send out trial balloon on Supplemental
They'll doubtless be on the edge of their seats watching for Kos's reaction
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in Anti-war liberals | Congress | War — Comments (19) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Crossing the AP wires only moments ago was this little nugget:
In grudging concessions to President Bush , Democrats intend to draft an Iraq war-funding bill without a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and shorn of billions of dollars in spending on domestic programs, officials said Monday.
While details remain subject to change, the measure is designed to close the books by Friday on a bruising veto fight between Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress over the war. It would provide funds for military operations in Iraq through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Read on.
Of course, "Democratic officials" - who "spoke on condition of anonymity" - "stressed the legislation was subject to change," and that "they were not authorized to discuss provisions before a planned presentation to members of the party's rank and file later in the day."
Is it just me, or does that "planned presentation to members of the party‘s rank and file" sound an awful lot like "leak this and hope that Kos doesn't blow us up for even hinting at the idea of funding the war without a surrender date built in"?
Again from the story:
Either way, Democratic leaders have said they hope to clear a war spending bill through both houses of Congress and send it to Bush's desk by week‘s end. They added the intention was to avoid a veto.
Trying to avoid a veto. How nice a goal.
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Dems send out trial balloon on Supplemental 19 Comments (0 topical, 19 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Don't know if there's any other hidden goodies.
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"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
They'll try to tack on minimum wage with no or minimal small business tax breaks.
These are the guys who used to whine about unrelated add-ons right?
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8P92GR80&show_article=1
This passage makes me think the Dems will skimp on the tax breaks going this back-door route. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's impossible to be too cynical when talking about the Dem leadership,
Both the House and Senate have approved legislation raising the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour in three separate 70- cent increases over 26 months. The measures both included modest tax breaks, mainly aimed at helping businesses that hire low-skilled or handicapped workers.
White House officials have said Bush is amenable to accepting an increase in the minimum wage, although they and key GOP lawmakers favor larger tax cuts to accompany the measure.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman
they will have the political leverage to defund by September.
Even then they will try to get Bush to sign something that will get them off the surrender hook.
That's the end of the Fiscal Year. This summer and early fall, when Petraeus is asked to provide evidence of benchmarks reached, will be the real fight over funding, and whether benchmarks and surrender-triggers will be included in it.
Finally, 105 days after President Bush sent Congress his urgent request for funds to support our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, it looks like Reid, Pelosi, and Murtha have decided that they have gotten all the partisan political points to be gained from withholding funds for our troops fighting the war.
Having made their petty political points, it is way past time for the Democrats to stop using the money, needed to support our troops fighting the war, to seek some partisan political advantage.
You should read what the Kos-kids are saying about this. They are beside themselves.
and the dog catchers on military posts will get paid
Was there a deal here in exchange for some support on the amnesty bill?
Real change requires real change. -Newt Gingrich
What's the catch?
The Dems don't normally give us what we want without something extreamly distastful attached.
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.