We at ConnCon like to remind our readers that
elections have consequences. Today's latest lesson of that can be found in a "breaking" story posted at 2:00 today on the Hartford Courant's website. (The Courant demonstrates its bias by titling the story "Democratic Congressmen Band Together on Iraq"; only because it is Dems does the Courant not point out WHAT they are banding together on.) The Courant is reporting:
The four Democratic members of the Connecticut House delegation banded together and said in a joint statement today they will oppose the Iraq spending plan, a plan with no timetables for withdrawing U.S. troops, and instead "demand legislation that includes consequences" for the Iraqis and "a plan to redeploy and then bring our troops home." In an unusual development, the members issued a four-paragraph statement, saying, "We will vote the will of our constituents in Connecticut and the American people -- voting against a measure that does not hold this administration accountable for its failed policy in Iraq or set a new direction. "We cannot in good conscience support a bill that keeps our troops in the middle of a bloody and chaotic civil war with no exit strategy and no timeline for redeploying our troops," they said. Making up their minds today were Reps. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District, Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3rd District, and Chris Murphy, D-5th District. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, announced his opposition Wednesday.
Amazingly, the Courant goes on to mention the motivation, perhaps to provide cover, as follows:
They were all under intense pressure from Connecticut anti-war activists who have been flooding their offices with e-mails and phone calls. A Connecticut Opposes the War newsletter issued today via e-mail, for instance, listed each member's phone number and reminded readers: "Democrats need to hold firm now in order to keep the pressure on Bush and Republican legislators."
Perhaps most interestingly, Rep. Murphy claimed he was compelled to vote against the spending bill because, according to the Courant, he "had been sent to Washington with a mandate to end the war." Voters in his district would be right to be confused about this point because last fall -- while running against Nancy Johnson -- Murphy notoriously danced around foreign policy issues.
In any event, it's illustrative that our Democrats have -- unlike the leadership of their party -- come out against the funding bill. Again, the 2006 election brought a lot of so-called "moderate" Democrats to Washington. That was not the case in Connecticut.
