Last night, the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) passed a resolution urging Congress to (a) revoke the Iraq War Resolution of 2002, and (b) cut off all funding for the War — except as “necessary to provide for the safe and orderly withdrawal of all troops in Iraq.” If Congress did this, which they are empowered to do under the U.S. Constitution, George Bush would have no choice but to end the war.
The DCCC is an elected body that represents all registered Democrats in San Francisco, and is the official voice of the S.F. Democratic Party. Despite protests from Nancy Pelosi’s proxy, and attempts to water down the resolution, DCCC members made it clear that the House Speaker’s constituents — and the nation as a whole — oppose this illegal and unjustified War that has killed over 3,000 American soldiers. If we really want to “support our troops,” they said, we need to bring them home now.
Opposing a war that has lasted four years is no longer a fringe position out of San Francisco – but is now the mainstream American view. Fifty-six percent of Americans want our military forces out of Iraq (and 53% support a firm deadline), two-thirds oppose Bush’s latest escalation, and 58% support Congressman Jack Murtha’s plan to place readiness requirements on troop deployments. Democrats took back Congress because of the War, and now the American people want results.
Opponents of the war have become increasingly frustrated, as the President still refuses to listen – and Congress has not taken action that will force him to. As Jon Stewart recently said on the Daily Show, how will a “non-binding resolution” from Congress make a difference? “According to George Bush,” he joked, “the Constitution is non-binding.”
A record number of speakers came out to the DCCC meeting last night, and the public comment was powerful and emotional. “I feel like it’s déja vu all over again,” said Rick Hauptmann. “I lived through the Vietnam War, and we’re now in another morass. We need to get out now.”
“My son is in the Army,” said Marilyn Saner, “and he was injured in an IED explosion in Iraq. Now he’s being sent back. We must de-fund the war. I want him to be safe home with his family, and his fiancée. Please take the message back to Washington.”
The speakers acknowledged that while it is a risky move, the Democrats in Congress have no choice but to act boldly. “It’s time to fish or cut bait for the Democratic Party,” said Paul Cox, a Vietnam Veteran. “The country has turned against the War, and it is time for the Democrats to lead. We don’t need to damage any more lives.”
As Nancy Pelosi’s hometown, many of the DCCC members are well connected with the House Speaker, and some even work on her staff – a point that speakers made sure to bring up. “We all love Nancy,” said Howard Grayson, “and I know you don’t want to hurt her feelings. But it’s time to hurt her feelings.”
The Resolution was sponsored by DCCC members Rafael Mandelman, Robert Haaland and Michael Goldstein – who all come from the progressive wing of City politics. “The Democratic Party is a coalition,” said Mandelman. “We all support Nancy Pelosi, but the war is a place where San Francisco needs to make a clear statement. It’s important that we stand with the activists – it doesn’t mean we’re not with Nancy.”
In fact, the Resolution also commended Congress for “beginning to call President Bush and his administration to account,” while demanding that they go further and end the War. David Campos argued that wanting to make Pelosi look good and voting to de-fund the War are not mutually exclusive. “People want the Democrats to end this war,” he said. “This will make Nancy Pelosi look good.”
But Dan Bernal, who serves as Pelosi’s proxy on the DCCC and is her chief of staff, spoke against the Resolution. “Pelosi has opposed this war from the beginning,” he said, “and she is establishing a process to end the war. There will be debate next week in the House Appropriations Committee, and we are moving forward with other steps.”
“The only disagreement we have today is tactics,” he continued. “There is no consensus in the Democratic Caucus to de-fund this War, and the votes are just not there. We need a series of votes to create momentum to make any final legislation veto-proof. To build consensus, you have to move incrementally.”
Laura Spanjian then introduced an amendment to the Resolution. Under her proposed amendment, the DCCC would “support all effective means to end the War in Iraq,” including repeal of the 2002 Resolution and cutting off funds for continued military operations. While this would put the San Francisco Democratic Party on record supporting these actions, it would not specifically call upon Congress to do so.
But Mandelman replied that he would not support the Amendment. He had met with activists before the meeting about it, and they replied that it watered down the Resolution to the point of ineffectiveness. “We felt that it was really important to name Congress and to tell them to do this,” he said. After all, San Francisco voters already passed a Proposition in November 2004 – making it official City policy to support withdrawal.
The DCCC then voted on the Amendment, which failed 12-13. Members who voted “yes” on a watered-down Resolution were Bill Barnes, Gerry Crowley, Dan Dunnigan, Mary Jung, Leslie Katz, Trevor McNeil, Melanie Nutter, Laura Spanjian, Scott Wiener, August Longo, and the proxies for Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi.
Members who voted “no” to keep the Resolution intact were David Campos, David Chiu, Michael Goldstein, Robert Haaland, Joe Julian, Rafael Mandelman, Jane Morrison, Connie O’Connor, Holli Thier, David Wong, and the proxies for Carole Migden, Leland Yee and Mark Leno. The proxy for Fiona Ma abstained.
“What’s tragic,” said Holli Thier, “is that in the time that we’ve discussed this, people have died. I have great respect for the Speaker of the House, but sometimes we must listen to the grassroots. We are asking Congress to end the War now.”
Sensing that the Resolution was going to pass in its original form, DCCC members called the question to a vote. “I am going to vote yes,” said Melanie Nutter, who works on Pelosi’s staff, “but I want to say that I very much support my boss. I will trust her judgment, but I appreciate the persistence of anti-war activists.”
The Resolution then passed on a voice vote – with August Longo, Dan Bernal (Pelosi’s proxy) and George Broder (Feinstein’s proxy) abstaining. The DCCC then passed resolutions urging the release of Josh Wolf, condemning the recent Immigration raids in San Francisco, and condemning last week’s racist column in Asian Week. Feinstein’s proxy abstained on all of them.
The deadline for County Central Committees to pass Resolutions is March 3rd in order to have them heard at the California Democratic Convention in April.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul Hogarth took advantage of public comment at the DCCC meeting to speak out in favor of the anti-war Resolution – while he was also covering the event for Beyond Chron. “Like Josh Wolf,” he explained, “I am both an activist and a journalist.” Send feedback to paul@beyondchron.org
