No Means No!

No Means No! Blue America howieklein@aol.com Many of us are getting bombarded with end of the quarter fundraising pleas from members of Congress. Even without the Blue Dogs and other reactionaries there are scores and scores of hard-working, decent Democrats in the House who we want to see retain their seats. But few of us have the resources to donate to all of them. So how about if, for now, we just focus on the next big battle coming down the pike: funding the continued war in and occupation of Afghanistan? On June 16, the Obama Administration forced through another Bush era supplemental spending bill, <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll348.xml">226-202</a>. It was an absolute disgrace but loads of Democrats said Obama was still new in his office and needed the money and breathing room to give him the time to figure out how to wind down the war while still supporting the troops over in Afghanistan. Only 32 Democrats, many at great political risk, were willing to call "bullshit" on this excuse and actually went ahead and voted no. We're proposing that netroots donors consider rewarding this good behavior by donating to the re-election campaigns of these members who have already done something very politically difficult by breaking with their own president on a national security issue. Someone pointed out to me that Mike Quigley hadn't been elected to Congress when that vote was taken but that he's since gone onto the House floor and made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4xtJi5l3nY">a speech</a> that left no doubt where he stands on the issue. We're willing to add any Democrats to this list who do likewise-- <i>on the floor</i> and a speech strong enough to be meaningful. According to good sources, neither Obama nor Gates, has made up his mind about <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/59123/afghanistan-troop-request-may-contain-political-fail-safe">escalation in Afghanistan</a>. Inertia and right-wing bluster are pushing them in the wrong direction. It's up to us to be a part of a countervailing force, pushing against that. Helping let members of Congress know that this is a real issue to real people is one aspect of doing just that. The congressmembers are listed according to how vulnerable their districts are to Republican challenge. Eric Massa, Alan Grayson and Carol Shea-Porter are actually representing Republican districts. public true 4180.83 57 Eric Massa false NY-29 massa 2500.00 906051.88 16342 http://www.massaforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17761 503.23 19 [[youtube: http://www.youtube.com/v/sJqnWIQ3o1c]] Alan Grayson false FL-08 grayson 4800.00 441484.52 12984 http://www.graysonforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18665 1330.23 41 At the Washington debut of Robert Greenwald's brilliant and provocative film, <a href="http://rethinkafghanistan.com/">RETHINK AFGHANISTAN</a>, Alan Grayson spoke about the realities on the ground in Afghan society. Unlike most of our policy-makers, he's been all over the world and has a far better understanding of diverse cultures and societys like Afghanistan than most members of Congress. Take a look at his remarks at the debut: [[youtube: http://www.youtube.com/v/aVLJUUgIOv4]] Carol Shea-Porter false NH-01 shea-porter 4800.00 236225.60 3034 http://carolforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12790 215.24 15 Mike Michaud false ME-02 michaud 4800.00 1628.56 22 http://www.michaudforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12764 50.23 9 Lloyd Doggett false TX-25 doggett 4800.00 12191.57 3252 http://www.doggettforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12865 121.23 12 Jared Polis false CO-02 polis 4800.00 527706.34 1710 http://www.votepolis.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18064 75.23 10 Bob Filner false CA-51 filner 4800.00 6299.50 2965 http://www.bobfilnerforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12696 50.23 9 Dennis Kucinich false OH-10 kucinich 4800.00 153954.74 5350 http://www.kucinichforcongress.us/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12826 103.23 15 Chellie Pingree false ME-01 pingree 4800.00 774939.22 4257 http://pingreeforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17915 55.23 11 Niki Tsongas false MA-05 tsongas 4800.00 442573.16 1723 http://www.nikitsongas.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17775 52.23 11 James McGovern false MA-03 mcgovern 4800.00 7255.77 2059 http://www.jimmcgovern.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12749 49.23 8 Raul Grijalva false AZ-07 grijalva 4800.00 49637.65 3202 http://www.grijalva2004.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12662 93.23 13 Marcy Kaptur false OH-09 kaptur 4800.00 14004.91 2264 http://votemarcy.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12825 61.23 10 John Tierney false MA-06 tierney 4800.00 6289.46 1694 http://www.johntierney.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12752 76.23 10 Peter Welch false VT-01 welch 4800.00 3060.03 22 http://www.welchforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12874 49.23 8 Tammy Baldwin false WI-02 baldwin 4800.00 5954.90 47 http://www.tammybaldwin.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12881 86.23 11 Brad Sherman false CA-27 sherman 4800.00 28324.23 39 http://www.bradsherman.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12681 49.23 8 Mike Honda false CA-15 honda 4800.00 6519.53 2197 http://www.mikehonda.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12675 49.23 8 Zoe Lofgren false CA-16 lofgren 4800.00 52.23 11 http://www.lofgrenforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12676 51.23 10 Mike Quigley false IL-05 quigley 4800.00 10749.23 50 http://www.quigleyforcongress.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/21495 49.23 8 Sam Farr false CA-17 farr 4800.00 6394.30 2936 http://www.friendsoffarr.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12677 48.23 7 Pete Stark false CA-13 stark 4800.00 6600.66 1845 http://www.petestark.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12673 53.23 8 Keith Ellison false MN-05 ellison 4800.00 9851.11 3260 http://www.keithellison.org/index.htm https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12773 78.23 9 Jackie Speier false CA-12 speier 4800.00 162690.70 2222 http://www.jackieforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18726 48.23 7 Lynn Woolsey false CA-06 woolsey 4800.00 8831.28 2002 http://www.woolseyforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12666 68.23 9 Donna Edwards false MD-04 donna edwards 4800.00 512841.62 11838 http://www.donnaedwardsforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17959 165.23 12 Maxine Waters false CA-35 waters 4800.00 8341.73 2165 http://www.congresswomanmaxinewaters.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12689 98.23 11 Donald Payne false NJ-10 payne 4800.00 4042.43 2005 https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12796 48.23 7 Michael Capuano false MA-Sen capuano 4800.00 115843.84 436 https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/23039 50.23 8 John Conyers, Jr false MI-14 conyers, 4800.00 8124.82 3301 http://www.johnconyers.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12769 49.23 7 Diane Watson false CA-33 watson 4800.00 4667.60 1675 http:// https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12687 58.23 8 Barbara Lee false CA-09 lee 4800.00 8139.50 2254 http://barbaraleespeaksforme.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12669 68.23 9 When Barbara Lee stood up and voted against giving Bush the authority to wage unlimited wars of his choosing, hers was a lonely voice. In fact, she was the <i>only</i> member of Congress to do so! Prescient? Damned straight! And she's still fighting, 8 years later, to end the occupation of and the war against Afghanistan. And she's leading the way. She also opposed the <a href="http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/10/miserable-8th-anniversary-of-fruitless.html">administration's trick</a> of exempting the Department of Defense from Pay-As-You-Go restrictions, which-- in effect-- gives them the ability to continue to wage unpaid for an unaccountable wars. Jose Serrano false NY-16 serrano 4800.00 4204.95 1667 http://www.actblue.com/page/serrano https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12814 58.23 8 Blue America PAC false blueamericapac 5000.00 605661.15 14974 http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2006/08/have-you-had-enough-song-for-change.html https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/11689 118.23 11