(Originally posted on The Bilerico Project by Mattilda aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore)

Gay consumerism reaches a whole new level with the opening of a Whole Foods Market in the glittering new $20 million Chicago LGBT Center.  A recent article in the Chicago Tribune (echoed by articles in the Advocate/Gay.com/Planet Out and Queerty) gushed about the excitement of "the first retailer of its size to anchor a gay community center in the US."

Whole Foods is a notorious union-busting chain, whose CEO, John Mackey, a free-market capitalist in green-face, is fond of comparing unions to herpes or parasites.  Whole Foods is also known for opening stores near smaller, community-based or cooperative health food stores, often forcing the smaller stores out of business (the Starbucks model).

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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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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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Yesterday, the Discharge Petition for H. Res. 543, the resolution introduced by Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) to get a full and open debate on the Iraq War got its 106th signature, edging towards the half-way point in the race for 218.  April has reaped 29 (almost 1/3) of the signatures, including 4 Republicans who are willing to defy their own party leadership in order to represent their constituents' concerns about the war.

Then we learn from the Hill newspaper yesterday that John Boehner (R-OH), the House Majority Leader, now favors a "lengthy debate" on the Iraq War: Read the Hill article.  

What a coincidence!  Listening to Boehner in a closed-door meeting of the Republican Conference, Walter Jones (R-NC) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) were apparently pleased.  I wonder if they're considering withdrawing their signatures.  I wonder if other Republicans concerned about their re-election prospects are now breathing a sigh of relief that their leadership is giving them some cover...

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Turning point in the Iraq War?
The phrase isn't mine, but that of Knight Ridder journalists.  Click here to read.

They're right -- except that since they wrote this article, the number of signers on H. Res. 543, which seeks a full and open debate on the Iraq war, has risen to 95! And that number includes 4 Republicans to date...  

H. Res. 543 is a clever parliamentary technique to bypass the House Republican leadership to get a floor debate on the war. It's being led by Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), with bipartisan support.

Read more about the campaign at DC for Democracy's website.  DCFD is working with our sister organizations in the Democracy for America (DFA) family to mobilize grassroots support for this resolution.

If you are a DFA member, please contact your DFA group organizer.  If you are not a DFA member, visit Win Without War's excellent website: Open Iraq Debate.  

This IS the turning point of the Iraq War.  So ride the wave!

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