Calling all Democrats with backbone

President Bush will ask the Democratic Congressional majority next month for $50 billion in additional war funds.  The House will begin debating the bill after General Petraeus reads the White House's Iraq report to Congress:

The request -- which would come on top of about $460 billion in thefiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplementalbill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- is expected to be announced after congressional hearingsscheduled for mid-September featuring the two top U.S. officials inIraq.

The Democrats have a great chance to fulfill the promise they made to voters last November.  The low congressional approval rating has to do with Democratic voters not being satisfied with the effort of Senate and House leaders in ending the war.  If they block this money, or at least appropriate it in a way that funds troop redeployment, then those same voters will see leadership and keep that in mind in 2008.  Even more immediately, Democratic voters will watch how their '08 candidates vote.  Senator Biden (D-DE) will have an even tougher time justifying this one, if he remains on the President's side on the issue of funding.

Comments

[granny]

How about first getting the appropriate money to the places it's needed in the Gulf Coast...and the physical presence of helpers to go with it.

Then funding the $40 billion No Child Left Behind has been underfunded.

THEN, appropriate for withdrawal only.