Marcy Kaptur says she won’t vote for the supplemental. I guess the bill must really be in some trouble, because Pelosi herself is whipping:
Earlier this week, the Speaker approached Rep. Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio progressive who sits on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and asked Kaptur to reconsider her “no” vote.
Rather than making a case based on the policy, Kaptur said, the Speaker asserted that Obama and congressional Democrats needed to clear the decks of “the last old business” left over from the Bush administration.
Kaptur was unmoved.
“I don’t agree with her analysis that we’re cleaning up for Bush,” said Kaptur, who worries that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are too costly and that the administration lacks a plan for success in Afghanistan. “This is Obama’s first chance. This is his first wave.”
Yvette Clarke is sticking to her word, too:
“I made a commitment to my constituents that I wouldn’t vote for funding to escalate wars,” said Rep. Yvette D. Clarke , who represents a liberal Brooklyn district.
I guess we can put Mike Honda in the "leaning no" category:
Rep. Michael M. Honda , a California Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said he has been contacted by a member of the president’s lobbying team.
“I told people at first blush ‘No, I’m not changing my mind,’ just to maintain some space,” Honda said. “I’m looking at it.”
Honda said the argument that has been pushed to him is that the president needs help. But, he said, he doesn’t think the president’s standing or momentum would be diminished by a “no” vote.
Rep. Honda signed the 2007 pledge not to vote for any war funding except to withdraw troops from Iraq, just like Yvette Clarke and Marcy Kaptur did. He also voted against the supplemental the first time, and signed Maxine Waters’ letter saying that the IMF funding was a non-starter.
You can call him at (202) 225-2631 or in his district at (408) 558-8085 and tell him you hope he sticks to his principles.
The Whip Tool has progressive vote history on the supplemental, the 2007 pledge and the Waters letter here.





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How is funding Bush’s wars “cleaning the decks”?????
Called Chris Murphy’s (CT-05) office yesterday.
Don’t know his position, but he always seems to vote with the leadership.
sorry if this has been covered earlier, but do we know when the vote is to take place?
All very interesting. When will someone make the argument that we just can’t AFFORD these stupid wars?
new post up back at the Lake…
If all goes smoothly for us, we WILL be Marcy Kaptur constituents by mid July 2009. So I thanked her in advance. If we had to lose Sherrod Brown to the Senate (yahoo!), Kaptur seems a superb replacement in the House. ;->