Kucinich: Democratic Congress Bids Up Bush on War!

Ohio Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich's congressional website http://kucinich.house.gov/ posted the following press release.

Kucinich: Democratic Congress Bids Up Bush on War!

Washington, Mar 30 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30) — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), strongly objecting to his own party’s policies to continue funding the war through 2009, released the following statement today:

“The Democratic Party is forfeiting the public’s trust with its unrelenting commitment to keep the war going when it obviously has the power to end it. Instead of passing the budget and keeping the war going through the middle of 2009, Congress should have rejected it.

“The Democrats have bought the war from an Administration that lied to get us there. They are letting the President know they don’t really plan on enforcing the troop withdrawal deadlines. They won’t even stand behind the party’s wrong-headed timeline, which keeps the causalities rising through 2008.

“Since the President will veto the supplemental bill, Congress has one last chance. It must send the clearest possible message to the President and the world by putting into place a real plan to end the war now. That plan is embodied in HR 1234.

“Within seven days, the House approved almost $300 billion for war between the supplemental appropriations bill and the budget resolution. The $195 billion in the budget resolution stands in stark contrast to the $93 billion for education, job training and social.

“Which is it? Does the Congress want to stop the surge and keep the war going? Does it want to end the war by continuing to fund it? The people will not take kindly to Democrats saying one thing and doing another.

“If the Democratic Party had told the American people last October, ‘Vote Democratic and we’ll keep the war going through the end of President Bush’s term,’ there would still be a Republican majority in Congress. But the Democrats led the American people to believe that they would end the war.”