The House Republican leadership has an exquisite sense of timing.  First, our air force drops a 500-lb bomb, killing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.  Next, Nuri al-Maliki completes his cabinet appointments.  Then, President Bush and his senior advisors convene at Camp David to talk about Iraq. Drum roll, please...
House Majority Leader Boehner announces a debate on the Iraq War for this Thursday.  Could there be a better time for an aye-vote on "Stay the Course"?  

Boehner's response to the groundswell of grass roots support for a full and open debate about Iraq is H. Res. 861, which provides unconditional support for the Iraq War and equates it with the "Global War on Terror." Ignoring the calls of American citizens across the country for a Congressional debate where all alternatives to the "Stay the Course" strategy can be presented and debated, Boehner is using the power of the Majority Party to propose a resolution that he hopes will embarrass those Democrats and Republicans calling for open and honest debate.   Read the full resolution here.

Do not be fooled by Boehner and his gang! The Democrats have been and ARE active on this issue.  They've been pushing since December for H Res 543, which would get  the war a fair hearing. But Boehner and the majority of the GOP are afraid of that, and so are throwing  H Res 861 out there as a red herring.  

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A major national grassroots campaign has been building across  America to get our elected representatives in the House to take responsibility for the Iraq War by debating our current policies.  The vehicle for this debate is the discharge petition for H. Res. 543, which allows a simple majority of the House (218 members) to bypass the roadblock that the Republican leadership has placed on any debate that can actually change our policies in Iraq.  

A debate that can really make a difference in the Iraq War would have to be under an "open rule," meaning that ANY idea can be proposed in the form of amendments, without artificial restrictions.  It would also have to be a fair debate that is equally under control of the Majority and Minority leaders.  H. Res. 543 provides for both, to ensure that the debate will not twist a national crisis into a political stunt.

Getting 124 Members to sign the discharge petition for H. Res. 543 has not been easy.  This week, Bill Pascrell (NJ-08) signed it, due to the sustained and spirited efforts by Louise Friedman, a Democracy for America (DFA) National Group Coordinator in New Jersey.  She sets an example in political activism that we all should follow.

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According to a New York Times poll last week, 67% of Americans think Congress isn't asking enough questions of President Bush's Iraq policy.
Duh. (Check out the poll results).

The best measure of Congress' willingness to ask the tough questions on Iraq is H. Res. 543, a House resolution that simply seeks a full and open debate on Iraq.  It doesn't propose a single solution, but invites ALL ideas and solutions to be brought to the table.  How controversial can that be?

Yes only 111 members of the House (about 1/4) have signed the discharge petition for H. Res. 543, which would allow a simple majority to bypass the wall of silence imposed by the House leadership.  To see who these courageous members are, visit OpenIraqDebate.

Who are the remaining members who can't even support a debate?

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Yesterday, Steve Rothman of New Jersey became the 110th signer of the discharge petition for H. Res. 543, taking us beyond the half-way point towards our goal of 218 signatures, which will win us a full and open debate on the Iraq War.

We hear that the phones are ringing off the hook in the halls of Congress with angry constituents asking their Representatives why they don't support at least an honest debate -- because without it, alternatives that are superior to the President's failed policies don't even have a chance to be heard.  Alternatives ARE being debated vigorously and heatedly in op-ed pages and TV shows and even around water coolers, but not in Congress.  Isn't that a bit ridiculous?  Don't we pay these people to talk?

Some people are doing more than talking...

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