(cross posted at MyDD.com)
Many of you know that the Senate is debating Iraq funding right now as part of a supplemental spending bill. The last time we really debated the Iraq issue, back in November, we got 40 senators to vote for a flexible timetable to redeploy troops out of Iraq. While that amendment didn’t pass, it was a strong show of support by Democrats for an Iraq policy, and national security policy, that make sense. The online community had a lot to do with that vote. Members of Congress heard from people around the country who stood up together and demanded a new course in Iraq – one that makes our country stronger.
Now, six months later, without any kind of timetable or strategy, things in Iraq are only getting worse. There is no end in sight for U.S. troops who have been asked to sacrifice so much in the name of a deeply flawed policy. That is why today I introduced an amendment to redeploy U.S. forces from Iraq by December 31, 2006.
Our country desperately needs a new vision for strengthening our national security, and it starts by redeploying U.S. forces from Iraq. Our military has performed heroically in Iraq, but the continued, indefinite presence of large numbers of U.S. forces there is preventing us from focusing on the global terrorist networks that threaten us today.
Last August I suggested December 31, 2006, as a target date for withdrawal. Since then, the situation in Iraq has only deteriorated, and the administration has done nothing to change course. Congress needs to step up and set a deadline ourselves. We have waited too long for the President to give us a vision and a plan for when our troops will come home. Congress cannot simply sit by and put ideas in the White House’s suggestion box. The Administration refused to listen to those who questioned the rush to war, and now they refuse to listen to anyone who calls for a policy that makes sense for our troops, or for our national security.
We can’t keep waiting for the President to finally figure out what we already know – that the U.S. policy in Iraq is failing. We need to focus our resources on defeating terrorist networks around the world that threaten our country. The debate happening in the Senate now is an opportunity to demand a deadline for the redeployment of U.S. forces by the end of this year.
Welcome to Booman Tribune Senator Feingold (and staffers). I applaud your efforts to hold the White House and their web of warmongers accountable for the incompetence and irrationality of their decision-making. We have a lot of activists here at this site, many of whom work tirelessly at the local level to protest and circulate petitions to end the bloodshed in Iraq.
What else would like us to do to help your efforts?
Please welcome our newest member. It’s quite an honor to have him posting here.
Great Honor Indeed, Booman!
Thanks for posting here, Sen. Feingold. I hope I am not presumptuous to say that we at BT want to hear much more from you, not only to inform us, but also to provide us with direction of ways we can support your efforts.
You’ve been one of my greatest hopes in the senate for quite some time. I’d like to also chime in with Steven D. that you are one of my heroes as well.
What a great and inspiring surprise. Senator Feingold is among less than a handful of congressional politicians that I truly admire.
“We can’t keep waiting for the President to finally figure out what we already know – that the U.S. policy in Iraq is failing.”
Only failing if you think you can define success.
Obviously success for the warmongering bu$h administration is keeping a war going for as long as possible to profit the military-industrial complex and securing Big American Oil interests in the Middle-East to profit Big American Oil, of which both bu$h and cheney are major beneficiaries.
So far, so good, since hardly anybody has noticed. And now we learn that exorbitant gas prices are really something like a fever, take an aspirin, go to bed, and call me in the morning so I can tell you to go f*** yourself while I laugh all the way to the bank.
Fingers crossed that this is not (and I’m sure it isn’t) just a hit-and-run and Senator Feingold and/or his representatives will come back to read and (hopefully) respond to our comments!!!
I am lucky, as a WI resident, to have you as my Senator. Thanks so much for continuing to press this issue forward. You put much of the rest of the Democratic Caucus to shame. We do not belong in Iraq, we certainly should not be constructing permanent Imperial bases of occupation and gigantic Embassy complexes in a country where we plainly aren’t welcome. I shudder to think what will happen to those troops in Iraq if the rumors of a campaign against Iran bear out.
PS: keep fighting on Censure as well Senator. You have a lot of fans out here in the reality-based community, and as word spreads more and more people will support your fight …
… and I hope you seriously consider being a REAL progressive candidate for President in a couple of years. I know you’d have my vote and active support.
Thank you for adding your voice to our community Senator. You have a lot of fans here already.
Welcome, Senator Feingold. There’s a lot of liberals and progressives who are frustrated with the Democratic party these days, myself among them, but in my experience you are generally held in high esteem. I appreciate your work and your leadership. Thanks for fighting against this horrific war, this dangerous foreign policy, and for equal rights for all Americans.
Iraqis have themselves declared that their country is mired in a civil war, indeed that is has been so now for many months. If the Bush administration had a strategy for dampening that civil war, they would have implemented it long ago. Instead, they have continued to deny that Iraq is suffering from civil war.
That is the clearest possible evidence that the administration does not have an idea about how our forces are to cope with civil war in Iraq. With all that they have been subject to during the last three years, and given that they’ve had to bear the brunt of the administration’s lack of adequate planning and incompetence, it is very unreasonable to allow our soldiers to be left in the midst of a burgeoning civil war.
We need to get them out before the last acceptable options are gone. We need to bring them home before they are well and truly pinned down in the crossfire.
What took you so long? haha
Might I add that your voice and actions speak for me dear sir. I have been watching you for awhile now and I am so proud that we still have one Senator in our party that still believes in the Constitution, honesty and integrity. If only you could get the rest of the Disos to do what they took an oath to do.
I am behind you 100% Russ on the pull out of our troops to Censuring the President that lied us into this quagmire. let us know how we may best support you. If you run(please do) in 08 you have my vote for sure. Need a First Lady? LOL
heh, someone had to be the first to ask š
And who better that me!!
That’s our leezy! I’d never be one to accuse you of being a shrinking violet (or any other sort of shy flower) … LOL
Oh come on now IVG…you know what a hard time I have speaking up. The White House would never be the same, that’s for sure! Roll up the rug, Leezy’s gonna shake it up tonight…lol!
Well, it wasn’t gonna be me . . .
I was just sitting here reading the thread and thinking the same thing lol. Good thing I read em all the way through!
And to add to the chorus…
Thanks Sen. Feingold for posting here…it is definitely an honor! Definitely behind you all the way…just say the word.
Welcome Senator Feingold (and staffers), and thanks for having the courage to stand up and speak the truth!
<picks jaw up off the floor>
Welcome to the pond, Senator! Thank you for everything that you do, and the honor and integrity that you show along with it.
The Constitution gives the Congress the power to declare war. Following from that, must it not also give you the power to end it?
Let’s get our men and women back home. I’m behind you 100%.
I’m so thrilled to have you splash in our Pond!
Welcome to the pond Senator Feingold. It’s an honor to have you here, and thank you for your clear vision and hard work.
Thank you so much for coming here to talk to us. We here, admire your ways of handeling things. I want to say, I am sorry you cancelled your flower appreciation. I talked to them today and they praised that of your honor for not accepting gifts. I just never thought, flowers as a gift…but that just goes to show us how your word means something. Thanks for everything you are trying to do. May I ask, please Sir, do we have to leave anyone behind, in Iraq? Can’t we just cancel our embessy and all the bases and bring them all home.:o) I fear what would happen to everyone, if we just left a few behind. What is gonna happen with the threat of Iran that budh is making?
Anyhow, thanks for being here and joining with us to save America. I am behind your bid for President United States of America, so please run….
Wow..a real Senator. Nice to meet you…..
The War in Iraq is a failure beyond words.
Give ’em hell for me, and while you’re at it, tell Senators Murray and Cantwell that Omir says they need to support you.
If I understand correctly, UN Resolution 1546 (Rev.) requires that all US led Multinational Forces in Iraq withdraw no later than 31 December, 2006.
Question: why doesn’t congress, simply put, enforce this agreement? It would appear that your amendment is a step in that direction.
I shall continue to press my senator, Mr. Salazar, to support this amendment as well as your Resolution for Censure.
Welcome to Booman Tribune, I look forward to your participation.
Peace
Thanks so much for joining us Senator Feingold and staff. We’re with you all the way on a deadline for getting out of Iraq. The sooner the better.
And as a Minnesotan – I have to tell you that I often think that your good friends the Wellstones are watching you and being proud of your integrity and courage. I hope you feel their spirit of support every day and know that there are many of us who join them. What you have been doing for our country keeps the sliver of hope alive that I have in our political system.
Senator, I humbly add my thanks for this post and for the many things that you do on behalf of the people of Wisconsin and America. Welcome to our community. I hope to see more from you in the future and I add my support and my willingness to take suggestions from you as to how we may help further your political goals.
We must have an end to this abomination called the Iraq war, NOW. You are in a position to know better than many of us what may be done and what may be done quickly, so please continue to share your insights and information about efforts to bring our troops home.
As a progressive independent living in Mississippi, I have always had to adopt Senators from other states as my true representatives. Please remember, sir, that there are many many folks all across America today that are looking to you and a handful of others in the Senate to represent our views. Though I may not have been able to vote for you, I consider you to be ‘my’ Senator.
thank you for your leadership!!
I believe that when Senator Feingold refers to the 40 votes last November, that he is referring to the Levin Amendment (SA2519) to the 2006 defense appropriations bill (S. 1042).
The roll call vote for that amendment can be seen here.
I have to assume that any of the Senators that voted Yea on this amendment would also stand with Senator Feingold on his amendment.
This means we need 10 more ‘Yea’ votes. The Dems who voted ‘Nay’ on the Levin amendment were: Conrad, Lieberman, both Nelsons, and Pryor. Corzine did not vote, but neither did Republican Lamar Alexander so they may have paired off on this vote.
Linc Chafee was the only Republican to vote with the Dems.
Support for President Bush and the war in Iraq has plummeted since November. I think we have a good shot at pressuring those Dems, and some of the more moderate Republicans (especially those up for reelection this year) into standing with Russ on this one.
do you ever ask your Democratic colleagues why they can’t locate their balls with both hands and a map?
I appreciate you posting here with us. I also appreciate and respect your straightforward approach to meeting the challenges BushCo. throws at this country on a regular basis. I know 08 is a ways off, and there is water left to go under the bridge; however I know I am not the only Democrat who has begun to imagine what a Feingold campaign for president might look and sound like. Keep the straight talk coming, and don’t be afraid to look behind you. The numbers of your supporters are growing. BTW Leezy as first lady works for me!!
I just about fell out of my chair when I saw this. Welcome Senator, I am sure that many of us are thrilled to have you here.
Please keep speaking the truth in as clear a manner as you have been speaking it. By the way, I would be honored to work in the Dept. of Education for you!
Thank you for all your efforts and for addressing us here, Senator Feingold.
You truely deserve a standing ovation for the good work you’ve been doing.You are one of those leaders that make me proud of being a Democrat!
Thank you Senator, for joining us here at the frog pond and for your efforts on behalf of the citizens of the United States of America. Would that there were more like you.
I too am impressed that you are posting here and I too thank you for doing all you do. Your censure of Bush is the right thing to do and know when historians write about these years, you will be considered a true defender of our consitution. I will certainly contact my two senators – Bond and Talent – and tell them to back your ammendment to have our troops out by the end of the year. Also we don’t need such an immense embassy or the military bases. What we need is a real energy plan, not war to define who controls the oil. And we need friends around the world, not enemies.
I have not been able to spend much time in the pond lately, but I popped over today and here is the very first post by the most honourable member of the senate (to my lights anyway).
Senator, I had the good fortune to see you speak in Brooklyn in March, shortly after you had introduced the censure resolution. Your words carried tremendous resonance that day. The energy in that hall was electrifying.
I did not get a chance to tell you then just how much it meant to us that you stood up and said what needed to be said. Now I’ve had the opportunity.
Thank you for all your courage and your clarity.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Finally, one of the few Senators that I truly admire appears at the pond. I’m with you 101%. We must pull out of Iraq completely and with all due haste. We must not only censure President Bush, we must impeach him and all the rest of his gang for war crimes and grossly deceiving the American people.
Thank you for stopping by the pond and I hope to see your words here again.
Give ’em hell, Senator!
I hope you are reading these comments.
I have a counterproposal.
Begin to step away from the Democratic Party NOW, while you still have time.
Tell them this:
Support my drive to end this war by Dec. 31, 2006 or else I will start a third party.
I am telling you, sir…the powers that control the party and the media are NOT going to allow you to run for President on the Democratic ticket. The same sort of thing that happened to Howard Dean…no slouch in the politics department, as I am sure you understand…will happen to you as well. And they will run some lame sonofabitch like Small K kerry instead.
Continue to talk plainly and clearly about the issues, and bypass the party entirely. There is an electorate out there that can elect you president and begin to REALLY change things here. Cobble together the minorities, the working class and the young along with the real liberals and you have a fighting chance. IF you organize in “minority” neighborhoods with the same optimism and diligence that I see from Democratic organizers working in up-scale suburban and urban areas.
I wanted to see Howard Dean do the same thing when he ran, and he did not.
I wanted to see him do it AFTER the election, after kerry’s shameful concession “for the good of the country”. And once again he did not.
Did you look around the room when you made your proposal regarding the war in the Senate floor? Did you read the reactions of your so-called “allies” as they scurried into their self-protective little ratholes?
That is what you are going to get right on down the line.
It is time for some REAL change.
The one party/two names system is simply not working.
You could be the man to do it.
Or…”I coulda been a contender” could be your political epitaph.
Your choice.
Either way…I’m with you.
But there is only ONE way you are going to win.
The New Party In ’08!!!
VAYA!!!
Arthur Gilroy
Cool this is cool! Sen. Feingold we are with you here at the pond.
over this! He’s home right now also but I don’t kid myself that this is going to be a long term thing. He has taken out an obscene amount in life insurance too because I told him that if he was killed in Afghanistan it would hard…..it would be tough…..I could get through it though. If he is killed in Iraq though, baby you had better pay the house off and have college educations paid for too because I’m not going to be able to manage anything else except stare at wall until further notice. I can’t even attempt to figure out how I would ever get my mind around the fact that my husband was killed for a bunch of lies and then reluctance to “lose” all the while failing to outline what a “win” would be composed of and we would all know we had crossed that finish line and could go home now! Thank You Senator! I’m laying a lot on you, my family has laid a lot out there though for the U.S.A. and obeying this Commander in Chief…..even though I pray for a different one every single day. My husband also refuses to leave the Army right now no matter how much I beg or cry. He said that it is darn near broken and such crazy things happen daily that if he left he would lose his only real chance to make a difference and not just whine and complain about it. So I sit here tearing my hair out and basically laying all the rest of it on you!
Sen. Feingold,
Great to see you post at the pond. I think you are hero to most people here. The way you have stood up to the abuses and lies that have been heaped on us following September 11, 2001.
I know you’ve earned support from many Democrats who are disillusioned with the party as a whole. I look forward to the day when I, as a non-Wisconsin resident, get my chance to cast a vote for you.
Keep up the outstanding work.
Thank you for standing loudly and proudly for the principles this country was founded on. You have given many who were despairing, hope. No amount of bullying and propaganda from the neo-cons can bring down someone who bravely and consistently comes down on the right (correct) side of the Constitution. I hope you give this Washingtonian the opportunity to cast her vote for you in ’08.
P.S. Never stop quoting that powerful document, it gives the masses goosebumps.
If I were already a Senator, I’d be introducing legislation requiring they be home for the 4th of July parades.
Thank you Senator for your display of good old fashioned Harry Truman style Courage.
We will overpower the bastards with heat seeking letters.
Bob Higgins
Worldwide Sawdust
Keep up the good work sir! I am totally behind your efforts. I belong to the Progressive Patriot Fund. I would seriously consider voting for you for President in ’08!
We only have a few good politicians.
Soon, me and another will most likely be arrested for asking a DEMOCRAT Senator why they haven’t spoken out against this ILLEGAL OCCUPATION. Oh sure, they voted against it in the beginning but have remained mute – therefore they have the same amount of blood on their hands. Sen. Wyden is more worried about oil than the blood of children and the hijacking of their health, their education and their futures.
Thank you Senator for having the balls to stand up with the rest of us.
I’d also advise you and your staffers to join us in the streets. It’s getting down right dangerous out there.
They are NOT fighting for our freedom “over there” because they are taking it away from us over here.
Janet in Portland Oregon who is raising a family of liberals.