What if they gave a war and nobody paid for it?

June 14, 2009

What if they gave a war and nobody came? From Mark Weisbrot in The Guardian:

Enter the anti-war movement: 51 House Democrats had already voted against the war spending when it passed the House. Should they now vote in favour of it in order to give the IMF money? The Democratic leadership says yes, but anti-war Dems are saying no. They want to see some indication that the occupation of Afghanistan is not permanent. The Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress can’t seem to muscle the votes they need to pass a $108bn appropriation for the IMF. The stakes are high for both the administration and the world. The battle is taking place primarily under the radar, but the details are very interesting for what they reveal about politics in the United States.

The cast of characters: the US Treasury, an opaque institution that is kind of a permanent government; the anti-war movement, which has more clout and representation in Congress than you would know from reading the newspapers; groups concerned about global justice and the IMF’s abuses; the Republican congressional leadership, which hopes to score some political points in opposing the IMF funding; and the various members of Congress and their personal beliefs and constituencies.

The plot: the Obama administration is trying to get $108bn for the IMF as part of a commitment that Obama made at the G20 meeting in April, led by the G7 (high-income) countries, to raise $500bn for the IMF from member countries.

But, from the beginning, the administration has faced tremendous obstacles to getting a majority members of the House of Representatives to vote for the money in an up-or-down vote. This is because many members of both parties are afraid that it would be seen as another taxpayer bailout for the financial industry ? and foreign banks at that.

Which it appears to be, actually. This unprecedented increase in the Fund’s resources, with a goal of $1tn, is vastly higher than anything the institution has ever seen. It happens to coincide with huge expected losses by western European banks in eastern Europe, where these banks have at least $1.4tn in exposure. To make the issue even more delicate, some of these banks, like France’s Societe Generale, have already received US taxpayer dollars through AIG under the Tarp programme.

Some of these taxpayer handouts to domestic and foreign financial institutions have been difficult to justify, not least the billions that have ended up as dividends for shareholders or bonuses for executives who helped crash the economy. So it is easy to see why the administration wanted to avoid an up or down House vote on the IMF money.

This was done by attaching the IMF money to a supplemental war spending bill in the Senate. The House had already passed its war spending bill without the IMF money. But the normal procedure is for the two chambers to reconcile their differences and present a bill ? which would presumably include the IMF money ? to both houses, with the idea that “funding for the troops” must be passed.

Jim McGovern of Massachusetts had proposed an amendment to the war spending bill that would have required the Pentagon to submit a report by December outlining an exit strategy from Afghanistan. (It now has 86 sponsors). The House leadership, presumably on behalf of the Obama administration, rejected this moderate proposal.

Then there are the Democrats who actually know what the IMF does. Forty-one of these (with much overlap with the anti-war Dems) signed a letter asking the US Treasury ? which is the principal overseer of the IMF ? to commit to some modest reforms of the Fund in return for the money. They want the IMF to stop requiring countries that are suffering from economic downturns to cut spending, raise interest rates or take other measures that worsen their decline. They want parliamentary approval in recipient countries for IMF agreements, and to increase debt cancellation for poor countries. But the Treasury has refused to offer any concessions.

Now come the Republicans, who supplied 168 votes for the war spending in the House. If you attach the IMF money, they say, we will vote against it this time. “Against funding for the troops?” asks the Democratic leadership, daring them. That’s right, say the Republicans, unless you put the IMF money to a separate vote.

Interestingly, the Republicans are not trying very hard to get the IMF money removed. They are not saying anything on television or in the media. This indicates that they may want this money to pass with only Democratic votes, so that they can attack the Dems ? especially those in conservative districts ? when the money ends up bailing out the European banks in eastern Europe.

So far, the Obama administration has failed to peel off enough anti-war or pro-social-justice Democrats to get a majority for a bill which includes IMF money.

What is at stake here? For the anti-war movement and the world, it would be a small but significant step forward if this legislation failed because a sizeable group of Democrats want an exit strategy from Afghanistan. For those who want reform of the IMF, and favour economic progress generally, there is perhaps even more at stake.

Ten years ago the IMF was one of the most powerful institutions in the world, and the main avenue of influence for the US government in developing countries during a period in which the vast majority suffered long-term economic growth failure. Most of the IMF’s power has been lost over the last decade. The US Treasury wants to use the current economic crisis to regain that power, without reforming the institution or its policies or granting a significant voice to developing countries. We will see what happens.


Home Corruption Economy Environment Foreign Policy Politics Society Women's Rights
June 14, 2009 What if they gave a war and nobody paid for it? What if they gave a war and nobody came? From Mark Weisbrot in The Guardian: Enter the anti-war movement: 51 House Democrats had already voted against the war spending when it passed the House. Should they now vote in favour of it in order to give the IMF money? The Democratic leadership says yes, but anti-war Dems are saying no. They want to see some indication that the occupation of Afghanistan is not permanent. The Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress can’t seem to muscle the votes they need to pass a $108bn appropriation for the IMF. The stakes are high for both the administration and the world. The battle is taking place primarily under the radar, but the details are very interesting for what they reveal about politics in the United States. The cast of characters: the US Treasury, an opaque institution that is kind of a permanent government; the anti-war movement, which has more clout and representation in Congress than you would know from reading the newspapers; groups concerned about global justice and the IMF’s abuses; the Republican congressional leadership, which hopes to score some political points in opposing the IMF funding; and the various members of Congress and their personal beliefs and constituencies. The plot: the Obama administration is trying to get $108bn for the IMF as part of a commitment that Obama made at the G20 meeting in April, led by the G7 (high-income) countries, to raise $500bn for the IMF from member countries. But, from the beginning, the administration has faced tremendous obstacles to getting a majority members of the House of Representatives to vote for the money in an up-or-down vote. This is because many members of both parties are afraid that it would be seen as another taxpayer bailout for the financial industry ? and foreign banks at that. Which it appears to be, actually. This unprecedented increase in the Fund’s resources, with a goal of $1tn, is vastly higher than anything the institution has ever seen. It happens to coincide with huge expected losses by western European banks in eastern Europe, where these banks have at least $1.4tn in exposure. To make the issue even more delicate, some of these banks, like France’s Societe Generale, have already received US taxpayer dollars through AIG under the Tarp programme. Some of these taxpayer handouts to domestic and foreign financial institutions have been difficult to justify, not least the billions that have ended up as dividends for shareholders or bonuses for executives who helped crash the economy. So it is easy to see why the administration wanted to avoid an up or down House vote on the IMF money. This was done by attaching the IMF money to a supplemental war spending bill in the Senate. The House had already passed its war spending bill without the IMF money. But the normal procedure is for the two chambers to reconcile their differences and present a bill ? which would presumably include the IMF money ? to both houses, with the idea that “funding for the troops” must be passed. Enter the anti-war movement: 51 House Democrats had already voted against the war spending when it passed the House. Should they now vote in favour of it in order to give the IMF money? The Democratic leadership says yes, but anti-war Dems are saying no. They want to see some indication that the occupation of Afghanistan is not permanent. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts had proposed an amendment to the war spending bill that would have required the Pentagon to submit a report by December outlining an exit strategy from Afghanistan. (It now has 86 sponsors). The House leadership, presumably on behalf of the Obama administration, rejected this moderate proposal. Then there are the Democrats who actually know what the IMF does. Forty-one of these (with much overlap with the anti-war Dems) signed a letter asking the US Treasury ? which is the principal overseer of the IMF ? to commit to some modest reforms of the Fund in return for the money. They want the IMF to stop requiring countries that are suffering from economic downturns to cut spending, raise interest rates or take other measures that worsen their decline. They want parliamentary approval in recipient countries for IMF agreements, and to increase debt cancellation for poor countries. But the Treasury has refused to offer any concessions. Now come the Republicans, who supplied 168 votes for the war spending in the House. If you attach the IMF money, they say, we will vote against it this time. “Against funding for the troops?” asks the Democratic leadership, daring them. That’s right, say the Republicans, unless you put the IMF money to a separate vote. Interestingly, the Republicans are not trying very hard to get the IMF money removed. They are not saying anything on television or in the media. This indicates that they may want this money to pass with only Democratic votes, so that they can attack the Dems ? especially those in conservative districts ? when the money ends up bailing out the European banks in eastern Europe. So far, the Obama administration has failed to peel off enough anti-war or pro-social-justice Democrats to get a majority for a bill which includes IMF money. What is at stake here? For the anti-war movement and the world, it would be a small but significant step forward if this legislation failed because a sizeable group of Democrats want an exit strategy from Afghanistan. For those who want reform of the IMF, and favour economic progress generally, there is perhaps even more at stake. Ten years ago the IMF was one of the most powerful institutions in the world, and the main avenue of influence for the US government in developing countries during a period in which the vast majority suffered long-term economic growth failure. Most of the IMF’s power has been lost over the last decade. The US Treasury wants to use the current economic crisis to regain that power, without reforming the institution or its policies or granting a significant voice to developing countries. We will see what happens.	Reference Susan Faludi on Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton On Abortion Hillary Clinton's Farewell Speech Individual Liberty Women As Second Class Citizens Barack Obama: Oprah's Messiah or False Prophet? Study Proves Media Bias for Obama Independence Day Hillary Delegate Speaks for Us At The Convention Harriet Christian Videos and Transcript Obama Sells Out Women... Again What Sexism? The Crooked Caucuses The Truth about Late Term Abortions Bush & Republicans vs. Contraception & Choice The "Christian" Wrong - What Jesus Said The Bible and Choice Sexist Language is a Big Turnoff The Religious Right's War on Contraception March for Women's Lives March for Women Media Coverage Ambiguously Worded Abortion Polls - What Does Roe V. Wade Really Say? Flag Burning Folly God Bless America vs. This Land is Your Land Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness Waist Deep in the Big Muddy Flag Wavers and Fortunate Sons Lew Rockwell on The Glory Of War The Barking Dogs Dogs Are Not People M. Scott Peck on Evil Dying for a Boyfriend The Dangers of Being Polite How to Screen a Date Addicted to "Love" Critique of "A Return to Modesty" Mary Magdaline Was Not a Prostitute Airbrushed Dummies Katharine Hepburn's Old Maid Movies Marilyn Monroe and the Casting Couch Curvy Marilyn Monroe Corsets and Lies I Miss Carol Burnett's Face Kate Hudson's Nose Job Eva Marie Saint vs. Elizabeth Taylor Madamism vs. Youth Paul McCartney & Younger Women It's Woody Allen, But Is It Art? By Request - Luke Skywalker / Mark Hamill Before and After Accident Nose George Lucas Ruined Star Wars Unfaithfully Depicting Women in Period Dramas The Hunks of Masterpiece Theatre Period Dramas Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, and Women A Perfectly Dreadful Pride & Prejudice The Wishbone Version of The 39 Steps Sexist Sixties Songs Recommended Sites ASH American Bird Conservancy Amnesty International The Angry Democrat Antiwar Audubon Society Austenprose BarkingDogs.net Barking Dogs Videos Broadsheet Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Center for American Women and Politics Center for Reproductive Rights Children's Defense Fund Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox Cinie's World Clean Water Action Conan O'Brien Cost of War Defenders of Wildlife Diane Rehm Doctors Without Borders Dog Bite Law Earth Share Electronic Frontier Foundation Environmental Defense Environmental Working Group FAIR Feminism 101 Feminist Campus Feminist Majority Free Press Girls Go Tech Glenn Greenwald Grandmothers For Peace Green Consciousness Greenpeace Grist A Heartbreaking Choice Hire Heels International Planned Parenthood Federation IAVA Jane Goodall Institute League of Conservation Voters Liberals Like Christ March for Women's Lives Make Them Accountable Media Matters Mia Farrow Ms. Magazine National Museum of Women in the Arts National Womens' Health Foundation National Womens' History Project Natural Resources Defense Council Nature Conservancy The New Agenda No Quarter Noise Free America Noise Pollution Clearinghouse NOW with Bill Moyers Open the Government PETA PUMA PAC Patrick.net Peace Alliance Peter Werbe RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan) Rachel Carson Society Reproductive Health Reality Check Ring Of Fire Roman Catholic Womenpriests SERRV International Savage Politics Sierra Club Skin Deep Smithsonian Southwest Indian Foundation Spread Firefox Sustainable Style Foundation That's Me on the Left To the Contrary Tobacco Control UNICEF Vegetarian Times Verified Voting WASP, Women Pilots of WWII Wakeup Walmart Walmart Watch We Can Solve It The White House Project Win Without War Women Count PAC Women On Web Women Priests Women's eNews Women's Media Center World Farm Animals Day World Health Organization Zero Footprint Quotations Life "Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear." ~ Zora Neale Hurston "Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I've had my share. But whatever happens to you... you have got to not forget to laugh." ~ Katharine Hepburn "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." ~ Maya Angelou "If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time." ~ Edith Wharton "Mistakes are the dues one pays for a full life." ~ Sophia Loren Women "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." ~ Virginia Woolf "Woman must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression." ~ Margaret Sanger "Probably, hanging onto the past brings more destruction than any other single cause... It's the Muslim fundamentalists who worship the past and ignore the reformist spirit with which Muhammad viewed women. It's the backward-looking Christian literalists who interpret religious teachings in a way that consolidates their power." ~ Gloria Steinem "'Inherent differences' between men and women, we have come to appreciate, remain cause for celebration, but not for denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual's opportunity." ~ Ruth Bader Ginsberg "Feminism is and always has been about women acting in the world as full-fledged citizens, as real participants in the world of ideas and policy and history." ~ Susan Faludi "...remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors... If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation." ~ Abigail Adams "Bloody treason, murderous act Not by women were designed. Bells o'erthrown nor churches sacked Speak not ill of womenkind." ~ Gearoid Iarla Fitzgerald "We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room. We want an equal share in government and we mean to get it." ~ Bella Abzug "Too often the great decisions are originated and given form in bodies made up wholly of men, or so completely dominated by them that whatever of special value women have to offer is shunted aside without expression." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt "There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard. There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives." ~ Hillary Rodham Clinton "Of my two 'handicaps' being female put more obstacles in my path than being black." ~ Shirley Chisholm "Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company?" ~ Zora Neale Hurston "If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place." ~ Margaret Mead Nature "Eventually, all things merge into one; and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs..." ~ Norman Maclean "There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example - where had they gone?... It was a spring without voices." ~ Rachel Carson "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." ~ St. Francis of Assisi "I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men." ~ Leonardo Da Vinci "God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but He cannot save them from fools." ~ John Muir "We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it... Our delight in the sunshine on the deep-bladed grass to-day might be no more than the faint perception of wearied souls, if it were not for the sunshine and the grass in the far-off years which still live in us, and transform our perception into love." ~ George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) "Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life." ~ Rachel Carson "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." ~ John Muir Freedom "The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object." ~ Thomas Jefferson "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood of ideas in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." ~ John F. Kennedy "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." ~ James Madison "When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion." ~ C. P. Snow "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." ~ Albert Einstein "Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." ~ William Pitt "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin "No matter how big a nation is, it is no stronger than its weakest people, and as long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise." ~ Marian Anderson "Being pro-choice is trusting the individual to make the right decision for herself and her family, and not entrusting that decision to anyone wearing the authority of government in any regard." ~ Hllary Rodham Clinton Truth "Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt "If somebody tells you you ought to quit, it's because they're afraid you won't." ~ Bill Clinton "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." ~ Robert F. Kennedy "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery "Find things that shine and move toward them." ~ Mia Farrow "The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me? But the good Samaritan reversed the question: If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Abuse of Power "We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth in a few hands, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis "Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things." ~ Russell Baker "O, it is excellent to have a giant's strength; But it is tyrannous to use it like a giant." ~ William Shakespeare "I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be." ~ Thomas Jefferson Violence "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. "When men talk about defense, they always claim to be protecting women and children, but they never ask the women and children what they think." ~ Patricia Schroeder "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower "What difference does it make to the dead whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?" ~ Mohandas Gandhi "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind... War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." ~ John F. Kennedy "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." ~ Jesus "Every gun that is fired, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." ~ Mohandas Gandhi "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Hypocrisy "And thus I clothe my naked villany with odd old ends stol'n forth of holy writ, and seem a saint when most I play the devil." ~ William Shakespeare "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing... in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men... But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret..." ~ Jesus "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, ... legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state." ~ Thomas Jefferson "Persecution is not an original feature in any religion, but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law." ~ Thomas Paine "I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right.... There is no place in this country for practicing religion in politics." ~ Barry Goldwater Politics "I never was surer of my position that no self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her political rights." ~ Susan B. Anthony "All political movements are like this - we are in the right, everyone else is in the wrong. The people on our own side who disagree with us are heretics, and they start becoming enemies. With it comes an absolute conviction of your own moral superiority. There's oversimplification in everything, and a terror of flexibility." ~ Doris Lessing "In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take." ~ Adlai Stevenson "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." ~ H.L. Mencken Pretended Patriotism "Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." ~ George Washington "Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them!" ~ Albert Einstein "True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else." ~ Clarence Darrow "When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson "The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." ~ George Orwell "To (say) that we are to stand by the president right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but it's morally treasonable to the American public." ~ Theodore Roosevelt About We express sentiments that differentiate women from doormats or prostitutes; in short, we are feminists. Our site is nonprofit and accepts no advertising. Fair Use Notice. Contact: blogmail at democraticwings dot com © 2003-2010 DemocraticWings.com Powered by WordPress Evolve