Stop $70B More for Iraq: Shut Down Congress' Phones

Once again our Democratic "leaders" are betraying our troops by keeping them in Iraq forever to be murdered or maimed for no reason except the insatiable greed of Bush-Cheney's oil cronies. 

On Tuesday, House Democrats plan to approve $30 billion more for Afghanistan. Then Senate Democrats plan to approve $70 billion to cover Iraq as well. Then House Democrats plan to approve the full $70 billion.

Why are our Democratic "leaders" betraying us? Because they want Bush to sign - not veto - the $522 billion omnibus spending bill to fund the government this year. We have no Democratic "leaders" - we have utterly incompetent negotiators who lose 100% of their battles, no matter how much public support they have.

Our Democrats in Congress clearly do not care about the voters who elect them, whether Democrats or Independents, virtually all of whom want them to end the disastrous occupation of Iraq now. Our Democrats in Congress do not care about the troops fighting in Iraq and their families, who oppose the occupation even more than the rest of us, by 69% to 64%. The only support for the occupation of Iraq comes from hard-core Bush Republican voters who never vote for Democrats.

Who do Democrats in Congress actually care about? The donors who fund them - period. So call your Representatives and Senators with a simple message:
Not one more penny for Iraq - or not one more penny for your campaign.
If you have ever contributed to your Representatives or Senators or to any Democratic committee, be sure to tell them how much you will not give them.

Let's all call Monday and Tuesday (between 9-5 ET) and shut down the Congressional phone system . Call your Representatives directly:
http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html
Or call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121
Or call toll-free: 800-828-0498 - 800-614 2803 - 866-340 9281

And join the Democratic Donor Strike against the DCCC and DSCC
http://democrats.com/donor-strike-2007

More from our friends at United For Peace and Justice:

Gather some friends together and pay a visit to one or more of your legislators. Stop by during lunch if that is convenient. Emphatically demand an end to the occupation. Your peaceful visit can be brief, or last long enough for your to read the names of every civilian and soldier killed in Iraq, or it can last until the member of Congress agrees to oppose all funding that is not tied to the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops and contractors.

If you are able to organize a visit, post notice of the visit here:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php?sortby=&caltype=59

Otherwise click to see if someone in your area has already organized a visit - enter your zip code and increase the search miles to find a protest near you.

Update 1: Here is a sample letter you can adapt and bring to your Representative's office:

The Honorable (full Name)
United States Congress
Washington, DC 20510
 
Dear Senator (last name),
 
We the undersigned urge you to vote against any funding to continue the military occupation of Iraq, which may be included in an FY2008 Omnibus spending bill, unless it requires these funds to be used solely for fully-funding the safe and timely redeployment of our troops and military contractors from Iraq within an immediate, specified timeline.   Should legislation come to the Senate floor that does not strictly limit funding to the safe and complete redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq, we urge you to cast a NO vote.
 
After almost five years, nearly 4000 lives of our brave service men and women, millions of Iraqis displaced and hundreds of thousands killed, and approximately $500,000,000,000,000 spent, it is past time for the U.S. occupation of Iraq to end.
 
The basic reality is that the only way to end the violence against U.S. forces and bring stability to Iraq and the region is to declare that forces will be redeployed from Iraq as soon and safely as is possible and that we have no designs to have an indefinite military presence there.
 
The American public is ahead of Congress on this point.  More than half of those polled in recent weeks want U.S. troops home as soon as possible (USA Today/Gallop) with nearly 60 percent wanting the occupation to end on a specified timeline (Pew).
 
The President is pursuing his misguided Iraq policy in direct contradiction to the will of the people, and Congress must step up and refuse to continue to fund it.
 
Thank you,