Today's "deal" between the Democratic Leadership in the Congress can be framed in more than one way. At the end of the day, nothing has really changed the course of the war in Iraq. It's that simple.
The Democratic Leadership needs to understand something. In November, the American people elected you to control the United States Congress. That's a big deal. The number one thing they want you to do is change the course of the war in Iraq.
Thus far, you're failing. Now, you've got your own time table. If you aren't able to pass meaningful legislation in September that will begin the process of bringing our troops home, then you will lose credibility with us, the American people.
UPDATE (and another below this one!):
MoveOn.org has just sent this out. I fully endorse getting behind this. Their reasoning is great. Let's put the pressure on Democrats to vote against this plan. Here is MoveOn's statement:
MoveOn Opposes Iraq Bill -- Urges All Democrats to Vote Against
Statement by Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org Political Action Executive Director
Voters elected Democrats in November to lead the way out of the mess in Iraq, but the supplemental bill to be voted on this week won't end the war.
There are no real timelines or real accountability for the Bush administration -- just a blank check for an endless war.
A vote for this bill is a vote to continue President Bush's failed Iraq policy, and we'll be urging every last member of Congress to vote against it.
MoveOn members are asking us to consider all options for Democratic members of congress who ran on ending the war but vote for more chaos and more troops in Iraq -- including in-district advertising and recruitment of primary challengers.
And we'll work hard so that Republicans who refuse to listen to the country on Iraq face a great political backlash in their home districts.
In an email this morning, MoveOn encouraged all 3.2 million of its members to urge Congress to vote no. In part, the email reads: "Every single Democrat must vote against this bill. This is a key test vote on whether your representative is serious about ending the war." The email was sent by MoveOn's Nita Chaudhary.
HERE IS THE OTHER UPDATE:
MoveOn provided me with this link:http://pol.moveon.org/call/signup.html?cp_id=514&mode=house.senate
You can click on that to get your specific Senators and Member of Congress' phone numbers. It also allows you to report those calls to MoveOn so they have an idea how strong of a lobbying effort is happening at the grassroots level.
If you'd like to print out something to mail or hand deliver to your Representatives, you can print it using this link:http://cdn.moveonpac.org/content/pdfs/moveon_backbone.pdf