Votes Matter, Not Sympathy

The Inquirer also ran a story today about New Jersey Repug U.S. House Rep. Frank LoBiondo and his personal ordeal in supporting Dubya’s failed war in Iraq (here).

Here, however, is a list of votes cast by LoBiondo dating back to January of 2005; I’d like to call attention to the following in particular…

Vote 624: H.R. 2956: This bill would require the president to begin reducing the number of U.S. troops serving in Iraq 120 days after its enactment and would require most troops to be withdrawn by April 1, 2008 (No).

Vote 425: H.R. 2206: This bill would provide funding in Iraq without setting withdrawal deadlines for troops, which anti-war Democrats sought in an earlier bill (Yes).

Vote 265: H.R. 1591: House and Senate conferees approved this legislation providing $124.2 billion primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and setting benchmarks and a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, but President Bush vetoed the bill on May 1 (No).

Vote 186: H.R. 1591: The bill offers supplemental appropriations to help the United States fight the global war on terror, among other things. However, President Bush has vowed to veto the bill because it includes a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (No).

Vote 99: H Con Res 63: This measure expresses the House's disagreement with President Bush's planned troop buildup in Iraq (did not vote).

I believe Rep. LoBiondo is showing genuine sorrow in the Inquirer story, but if he is really serious about taking the hard steps in an effort to fix this mess (could take a decade, easily), he can start by representing his constituents in a manner consistent with how the majority of the U.S. feels about this nightmare for our troops and our country.