The pros and cons -
Ellison does the right thing

BY PHIL WILLKIE

I had not closely followed the debate in the Democratic caucus until last Thursday evening. Then, I could see the dilemma that Ellison and other freshmen faced. Many of them, like Ellison, have called for immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and had pledged not to fund this war.

Then, the funding deal appeared on the table, but it was tied to beginning troop withdrawal within a year. It's a bad piece of legislation, but it offered a chance to rebuke Bush and a chance to change direction in Iraq. If the bill were rejected, then the Democratic speaker and resistance to this war within the U.S. House

of Representatives would be weakened. If it were passed, the parliamentary equivalent would be a vote of no confidence in the Bush administration.
As it was, Bush was furious, and then shamelessly used military families as a backdrop at his press conference minutes after passage of the bill. He was rebuked for the first time. Bush will now veto the bill and it will not cause any immediate change. But it is something we can build on.

I am glad that a few representatives, like the legendary civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), could hold out and vote to not spend a penny more for this war. Representatives Dennis Kucinich, Lyn Woolsley, Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee joined him. They cast courageous votes and should be applauded for following their conscience. But their dissent has not been covered in the national media. I was grateful they are holding the Democratic leadership to the fire, but I'm still glad this bill passed because it gives some hope that this war will come to an end.
When the final funding bill is hammered out, there probably will be no deadline to end the war.

I have supported very few Democrats and have been a third party activist on and off since 1980. The last Democrat that I voted for in a presidential race was Walter Mondale. In the last elec-, tion I was saddened that Bush won again but I could not support John Kerry. He ran a pathetic campaign but despite that, I had hoped he would win.
Members of Congress do not have the luxury of having it both ways—especially last week when this bill that set the first exit deadline squeaked through.
Some will argue that this bill will do nothing to advance the peace movement. They may be right, but had Republicans prevailed in this vote, Bush would have celebrated.

We have much work to do in the peace movement. We need to build a broad-based movement within all political parties and make allies with Republicans like Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. We need a grassroots movement that will organize the broader public to resist war.

"Democrats were in no mood to compromise after a' 218 to 212 vote that largely united the fractious Democratic caucus behind one of the toughest antiwar measures ever to pass a house of Congress during combat operations."

- Washington Post, "House
Passes Iraq Puliout Timetable,"
March 24, 2007