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Congress votes to support troops Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10669~1262477,00.htmlhttp://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10669~1262477,00.html
3 Bay Area Democrats vote against war resolution
Lee, Stark and Honda vilified by Republicans for opposing language that praises Bush
By Lisa Friedman
WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- As the rest of Congress stampeded this week to get behind America's men and women in uniform, some Bay Area Democrats heeded their infamously different drummers.
Reps. Pete Stark of Fremont, Barbara Lee of Oakland and Mike Honda of San Jose voted against a resolution early Friday supporting the 250,000 troops in the Persian Gulf.
Their votes drew jeers and expressions of disbelief from Republicans. But Lee, Stark and Honda, all critics of President Bush's diplomatic dealings with Iraq, accused the GOP of playing politics with the resolution by adding rhetoric that praises Bush.
"I stand united with my colleagues behind our men and women in uniform," said Stark, a U.S. Air Force veteran. But, he said, "I couldn't support a resolution that exonerates President Bush for his diplomatic failure."
"Keeping our troops out of harm's way has been and remains first and foremost on my mind and in my heart ... What I cannot support, though, is this resolution that endorses the war against Iraq that is now under way," said Lee.
The resolution passed 392-11, with 22 lawmakers voting "present" also by way of protest. A similar Senate resolution passed 99-0.
The road toward overwhelming approval by both parties was not easy. Democrat and Republican leaders negotiated for "hours and hours" over the wording, said Jonathan Grella, spokesman for House Republican Leader Tom DeLay.
Many Democrats felt the resolution was overly supportive of Bush. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, tried to temper the language, congressional sources said. But she was unable to persuade DeLay to change the sentence anti-war lawmakers felt was most objectionable.
That line stated, "Congress expresses the unequivocal support ... to the president as commander in chief for his firm leadership and decisive action in the conduct of military operations in Iraq as part of the ongoing global war on terrorism."
The resolution also declares that "the president's use of military force against Iraq is consistent with necessary ongoing efforts by the United States and other countries against international terrorists and terrorist organizations."
Honda noted that he, Stark, Lee, Rangel and other Democrats tried to put forth a bill that supported U.S. troops without addressing the divisive politics of war. That offering was rejected.
"House Republican leadership denied the troops this message of unity and decided to politicize the issue by drafting a resolution that included language in support of President Bush's misguided Iraq policy. I could not support this," Honda said.
But by the time lawmakers finally voted on the resolution at 3 a.m. Friday, it had won the support of most Bay Area Democrats, including Pelosi, Ellen Tauscher of Alamo, Mike Thompson of Napa, George Miller of Martinez and Lynn Woolsey of Marin.
Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, missed the vote because of a miscommunication with floor staff, an aide said. He would have voted in favor of the resolution and intends to file a notice with the House speaker on Monday indicating his support for it, the aide said.
By contrast, the Senate resolution that earned unanimous support simply "commends and supports the efforts and the leadership of the president as commander in chief, in the conflict against Iraq."
Karen Hanretty, spokeswoman for the California Republican Party, said the dissenting votes of Bay Area and other antiwar Democrats "demonstrates just how out-of-touch liberal members of Congress are with the majority of Americans."
While about two-thirds of Americans according to a recent ABC poll reported approve of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, a survey of California residents by the Public Policy Institute of California found only between 20 and 29 percent of adults favored military action.
Also voting against the "support the troops" resolution were representatives Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, John Conyers of Illinois and Jim McDermott of Washington. McDermott became a lightning rod for criticism late last year when he traveled to Baghdad and announced that he did not trust Bush. Antiwar presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich of Ohio voted "present."
Contact Lisa Friedman at lisafriedman@angnewspapers.net
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