John Aravois of Americablog is reporting that the conservative caucus of Blue Dog Democrats is preparing to sell out their fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives by voting today to give Bush everything he wants regarding the Iraq supplemental funding bill:
I just heard from an impeccable source that there is serious concern on the Hill that conservative Democrats in the House will vote with the Republicans to strip any and all restrictions from the Iraq supplemental tomorrow, effectively giving Bush all the money he wants with no restrictions and no effort to hold either him or the Iraq government accountable for anything. I.e., they will vote to continue this war along the same disastrous course because they’re too afraid to challenge George Bush and his failed leadership.
Let me reiterate: This isn’t some idle rumor. The concerns are coming from Hill sources themselves.
I don’t have any idea who John’s source is on this, and he’s not talking, but I can only assume it’s someone who wants the netroots to put pressure on these back-stabbing, back-sliding Democrats and put a stop to their plan to abandon their own leadership in the House. I’m willing to trust that his source is telling the truth.
So who are these traitorous Dems (hint: one of them is Patrick Murphy, a freshman rep from Pennsylvania that this community supported and helped get elected.)? Here’s the list of Blue Dog Democrats (via Wikipedia):
(cont.
* Mike Arcuri (New York)
* Joe Baca (California)
* John Barrow (Georgia)
* Melissa Bean (Illinois)
* Marion Berry (Arkansas)
* Sanford Bishop (Georgia)
* Dan Boren (Oklahoma)
* Leonard Boswell (Iowa)
* Allen Boyd (Florida)
* Dennis Cardoza (California)
* Ben Chandler (Kentucky)
* Jim Cooper (Tennessee)
* Jim Costa (California)
* Bud Cramer (Alabama)
* Lincoln Davis (Tennessee)
* Joe Donnelly (Indiana)
* Brad Ellsworth (Indiana)
* Kirsten Gillibrand (New York)
* Jane Harman (California)
* Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (South Dakota)
* Baron Hill (Indiana)
* Tim Holden (Pennsylvania)
* Steve Israel (New York)
* Tim Mahoney (Florida)
* Jim Marshall (Georgia)
* Jim Matheson (Utah)
* Mike McIntyre (North Carolina)
* Charlie Melancon (Louisiana)
* Mike Michaud (Maine)
* Dennis Moore (Kansas)
* Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania)
* Collin Peterson (Minnesota)
* Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota)
* Mike Ross (Arkansas)
* John Salazar (Colorado)
* Loretta Sanchez (California)
* Adam Schiff (California)
* David Scott (Georgia)
* Heath Shuler (North Carolina)
* John Tanner (Tennessee)
* Gene Taylor (Mississippi)
* Mike Thompson (California)
* Charlie Wilson (Ohio)
And here’s the link to the House Website where you can find their contact info, or the contact info for your own representative (you can either type in your zip code to find your rep, or scroll through the list in the drop down menu at the top of the House home page).
I suggest you give them a call if you can make the time to let them know what you think of their craven rejection of the will of the American people regarding the Iraq War. They are acting like 2006 gave Bush a mandate to continue the war, when just the opposite was true. They were elected to stand up to Bush, not kowtow to him and lick his faux cowboy boots.