The most important thing in Congress right now is to find a solution to the mess in Iraq. Some want to pull out immediately with no ifs, ands or buts. Others on the right want to stay there indefinitely until we win the war on terror, whatever that means. What needs to be done is to get a binding resolution that will get a large majority of Congress to pass legislation that solves the problem and hopefully has the muster to survive a likely veto from the President. H.R. 455 just might be that bill we are looking for.
From PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN at DailyKos:
For those of you that are in NYC I strongly urge you to attend one of the DFNYC meetups tonight at 7pm (03/07/07) and participate in the discussion. I'll be at the one in the East Village, but there are plenty of other sites around the five burroughs.Although the bill is not currently the most well-known of the numerous congressional war proposals, H.R. 455 has a number of attributes that make it a distinctive and politically viable option for bringing the Iraq conflict to a reasonable conclusion...
- H.R. 455 is tied to war funding. It would be attached to the appropriations bill so, if it is not removed in conference, the Senate would have to pass it and the President would have to sign it in order to continue funding for the war. Funding is "the only real way to force a change of direction in Iraq."
- Because it maintains funding for the troops (albeit for their removal) it cannot be tarred with the Republican talking point that it "cuts off funding for the troops."
- Because it maintains funding for Iraqi reconstruction, it avoids the argument that we are abandoning the Iraqi people in the same way Congress supposedly "abandoned" the people of South Vietnam.
- The bill establishes a firm and reasonable deadline for troop withdrawal (12/31/07) that will provide an incentive for the Iraqi government to take control of their own political and military destiny. The deadline is well after the "Friedman Unit" that General Petreaus has specified as critical for establishing security.
Unfortunately, at this time the House leadership is not lining up behind H.R. 455 or any of the 13 or so other House proposals for ending the Iraq war or curtailing the current escalation. The compromise currently being floated "requires" withdrawal if the Iraqi government misses ambiguous benchmarks for reducing violence within a "Friedman Unit". Elements from Jack Murtha's plan conditioning troop deployment on adequate preparation and equipping can be quietly circumvented with a Friday afternoon Presidential waiver. Given this administration's apparent interest in maintaining an Iraq presence regardless of the cost and demonstrated ability to circumvent the will of Congress, this plan can be interpreted as little more than a symbolic action. While the composition of this Congress makes compromise essential, compromise that accomplishes nothing is deceptive and useless.
Therefore, DFNYC (the local coalition group of DFA) is soliciting the help of individuals and groups around the country to put grassroots pressure on their congressional representatives to support and cosponsor H.R. 455. Even if H.R. 455 is not their preferred bill, they may be more likely to respond to a focused request rather than the amorphous anti-war sentiments that have resulted in nothing more than nonbinding resolutions. And even if this effort is unsuccessful in getting H.R. 455 passed, it helps build "momentum" that will encourage support of other legislation that will directly keep the President from sending more brave soldiers to die in an unnecessary conflict that will be even harder for his successor to end.
Please contact your congressperson by phone or e-mail and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 455. You can get contact info for your congressperson (and/or find out who he/she is) at http://www.house.gov/...
Here are the locations:
Upper West Side, Cosi (downstairs) 2160 Broadway @76th Street, with hosts Merle McEldowney & Tracey Denton
West Village, Kettle of Fish, 59 Christopher St. (near 7th Ave.), with host Dana Northcraft
East Village, Rififi/Cinema Classics, 332 E 11th St (between 1st and 2nd Ave), with host Abhishek Mistry (Please email Abhishek if you plan to attend - research@dfnyc.org)
Park Slope/Brooklyn, Ozzie's, 249 5th Ave, with host Josh Skaller
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Wycoff-Bennette Homestead, 1669 East 22nd. St. (between Quentin & Kings Highway), with hosts Annette Mont & Estelle Glasser
Sunnyside, Queens, The Grind, 39-24 Queens Blvd., with host Dan Jacoby
Bayside, Queens, The First Edition, 41-08 Bell Blvd, right near the LIRR stop, with hosts Steve Behar and Costa of Democrats for New Politics
If you care about a concrete solution to end the war and you have some free time tomorrow night, be sure to stop by one of these spots to find out more on how to get involved.
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