The democrats have a problem.  In winning their majority last November, many did so on an anti war agenda.  Now that they have the majority, many of their followers have grown in voice demanding they make good on their promises.

Now they are not exactly united on how to deal with the war.  The far left nutroots sponsored members seem to favor a pull the troops now approach, the Cut and Run solution.  The more moderate however like the support the war with a firm time line for withdrawal, the Slow Bleed solution.

Aside from a few cowardly RINOs, the republicans and a scant few democrats favor supporting the war on terror and achieving a victory.  They are a clear minority.

So since congress launched this session, they have wrangled on how to address the war so as to appease the angry voices like Code Pink and the Sheehanistas who demand action now.

Well, they finally managed to pull it off.  They had to find a solution to get the cut and runners to support the slow bleed tactic, as the cooler heads in congress know that an immediate pullout would never fly.  They finally found the solution.  A funding package that contains emergency funding, a non binding timetable for withdrawal…oh yes and a ton of Pork Spending to lure the reluctant nutroots in from the left.

 House passes spending bill with Iraq deadline

President Bush slammed Democrats on Friday after the House narrowly approved a supplemental war spending bill that includes an August 31, 2008, deadline for combat troops to leave Iraq.

“Today, a narrow majority in the House of Representatives abdicated its responsibility by passing a war spending bill that has no chance of becoming law, and brings us no closer to getting our troops the resources they need,” Bush said about an hour after the vote.

The House voted 218-212 to approve the $124 billion spending bill that includes the deadline.

Bush reacted fairly predictably:

Bush said the vote had only one outcome: “It delays the delivery of vital resources for our troops.”

He repeated his promise to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk. The measure appears unlikely to pass the Senate with the deadline intact.

Bush said a spending bill must become law by April 15 to avoid causing hardships for military personnel.

“Congress needs to send me a clean bill that I can sign without delay,” he said.

It took an exceptional amount of pork to make it pass.  The Democrats loaded it with enough pet projects they of course labeled as Emergency Objectives.

And you may ask how much?  I’m glad you asked.  QandO and ST provide the answers:

• 1) $24 million for funding for sugar beets.
• 2) $3 million for funding for sugar cane (goes to one Hawaiian co-op).
• 3) $20 million for insect infestation damage reimbursements in Nevada, Idaho, and Utah.
• 4) $2.1 billion for crop production losses.
• 5) $1.5 billion for livestock production losses.
• 6) $100 million for Dairy Production Losses.
• 7) $13 million for Ewe Lamb Replacement and Retention Program.
• $32 million for Livestock Indemnity Program.
• 9) $40 million for the Tree Assistance Program.
• 10) $100 million for Small Agricultural Dependent Businesses.
• 11) $6 million for North Dakota flooded crop land.
• 12) $35 million for emergency conservation program.
• 13) $50 million for the emergency watershed program.
• 14) $115 million for the conservation security program.
• 15) $18 million for drought assistance in upper Great Plains/South West.
• 16) Provision that extends the availability by a year $3.5 million in funding for guided tours of the Capitol. Also a provision allows transfer of funds from holiday ornament sales in the Senate gift shop.
• 17) 165.9 million for fisheries disaster relief, funded through NOAA (including $60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath Basin region).
• 18) $12 million for forest service money (requested by the president in the non-emergency FY2008 budget).
• 19) $425 million for education grants for rural areas – (Secure Rural Schools program).
• 20) $640 million for LIHEAP.
• 21) $25 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol Power Plant.
• 22) $388.9 million for funding for backlog of old Department of Transportation projects.
• 23) $22.8 million for geothermal research and development.
• 24) $500 million for wildland fire management.
• 25) $13 million for mine safety technology research.
• 26) $31 million for one month extension of Milk Income Loss Contract program (MILC)
• 27) $50 million for fisheries disaster mitigation fund.

By my count that is more then 6.4 BILLION in pork projects tacked onto the 124 billion spending package. or about 5.2 percent of the spending.

As ST notes:

Certain Democrats in the House didn’t want to continue funding our troops in Iraq … but the “emergency funding” (aka pork) for their states that was shoved into the bill coerced them into changing their minds.

This from a Democratic Congress that promised to ‘change how things work in Washington, DC.’ Uh huh.

She is right.   Apparently the ethics of war is still for sale in Washington DC, like there was a doubt.

All for a few tons of Pork.

And all for nothing as they cannot sustain a veto override. 

Ask yourself is this is really a Congress that is a New Direction or is this just the same old Congress, just with a new label.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS