Raul Grijalva's Response to Pork Spending
Dear Miss :
Thank you for taking the time to communicate with me regarding the supplemental spending bill for the Iraq War.
Since my arrival in Congress, I have voted against every single previous bill to fund this war. I have opposed this war from the beginning and I want to see our men and women in uniform withdrawn from Iraq as quickly as is practically feasible. As a member of the Progressive Caucus, I support an immediate commencement of a withdrawal to be completed within six months. In other words, you're a coward who wants his rights protected but no one else's and you don't have the stomach to support those who fight to protect your rights along with everyone else's.
Accordingly, I have co-sponsored a number of bills to bring this war to an end, foremost among them HR 508, the Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007. I am well aware of your voting record--I subscribe to two voting services that keep me apprised of your self-serving interests.
However, in making my decision on the supplemental, I had to take into account that any bill that could pass this House would have to be the product of negotiation and compromise among a number of incongruous groups with often incompatible philosophies and goals. Furthermore, there are a number of provisions in this bill that are desperately needed and that I wholeheartedly support. These include fulfilling our moral obligation to properly fund medical care for our nation's veterans, increasing the minimum wage, restoring the people and communities of the Gulf Cost region, addressing health care needs for our children, and low income energy assistance. The troop funding is not the place to put your pork and special interests. It should have funded the troops and veteran's EXCLUSIVELY.
Still, I was disappointed with the end product of this House's legislative process. I felt, and I still feel, that the schedule for withdrawal in the bill is far too long, and that the benchmark formula in the bill will be easily manipulated by an Administration that has demonstrated a willingness to deceive the Congress and the American people with regard to the situation in Iraq . Still, the bill did set a precedent by declaring a date for withdrawal, however distant. I don't see that you've ever had any military service, although you talk a big game. You're a coward, plain and simple, and can't stand there are positive things happening in Iraq.
Ultimately, I was faced with the option of voting for the bill or voting against it and seeing the Congress' first attempt to bring the War in Iraq to an end fail, thus delivering a victory for the Bush Administration and an even larger defeat for the peace movement. NICE TO SEE THEY ADMIT DEFEAT FOR THE PEACE MOVEMENT!
I will tell you in all sincerity that this choice was extremely difficult. Sure it was--until you got your pork and appropriate bribe in the pork--what was your bribe to get you to sell out the country?
But in good conscience, I could not sit on the sidelines, with the vote as close as it was, and witness a result that would, in effect, enable this administration's desire for war without end. I voted to pass this bill. You have no conscience and you have no morals or you would have demanded a clean bill for troops and veteran's alone instead of all the pork and your bribes.
If I had the opportunity, I would have voted for an amendment offered in Committee by Representative Barbara Lee, to fully fund a withdrawal of US forces and bring the War to an end. This remains my preferred policy.
I am certain that this will not be the last word by this Congress on Iraq . Ultimately it is the American people who have pushed their government to face reality with regard to Iraq , and their sustained pressure which will continue to move this debate forward. The reality is if we don't finish in Iraq, we'll be fighting here at home. The reality is the surge is working. And the reality is, the last word will be held by the true President, not the 535 pretenders such as yourself.
I will continue to fight to bring this tragic misadventure in Iraq to an end, and I hope I will retain your confidence in this struggle. Fighting for your rights is not a tragic misadventure. You, however, are a tragic excuse for an American.
Sincerely,
Raul M. Grijalva
Member of Congress
This is what the troops are facing in the 110th Congressional mindset, not to mention the treasonous behavior and fiduciary mismanagement encouraged by Pelosi and Reid. Sphere: Related Content
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