House Democratic leaders are offering billions in federal funds for lawmakers’ pet projects large and small to secure enough votes this week to pass an Iraq funding bill that would end the war next year.
So far, the projects — which range from the reconstruction of New Orleans levees to the building of peanut storehouses in Georgia — have had little impact on the tally. For a funding bill that establishes tough new readiness standards for deploying combat forces and sets an Aug. 31, 2008, deadline to bring the troops home, votes do not come cheap.
Some conservative Democrats who had been expected to vote no on Thursday are wavering.
To get them off the fence and on the bill, Democrats have a key weapon at their disposal: cold, hard cash. The bill contains billions for agriculture and drought relief, children’s health care and Gulf Coast hurricane recovery.
Um… I thought the Democrats had a “mandate” on Iraq? Why do they need to buy votes? And why are they loading pork projects on the backs of our Armed Forces?
One of Glenn Reynolds’ readers at Instapundit wrote: “Coalition of the bribed! I heard that somewhere, once.”
Indeed. “Most ethical Congress in history.” More like most morally and patriotically bankrupt Congress in history!
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