We Deserve to Know, Where Do They Stand?

By: Judy Feder
Published On: 7/22/2008 5:26:42 PM

As some of you may know, over the weekend Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki spoke out in favor of Senator Obama's plan for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Yesterday, senior Iraqi government officials again re-stated their support for troop withdrawal by the end of 2010.

This morning I spent some time looking for my opponent's position on a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. I am sure none of you will be surprised to hear that I couldn't find Congressman Wolf's position on a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. To be honest, I had a difficult time figuring out just exactly what his position is on Iraq at all. He just simply appears not to have any clear position at all.

I also heard from several 10th District voters this morning that when they called Congressman Wolf's office to request his position on a timeline for withdrawal no one could give them an answer. The Congressman's office respectfully requested that if constituents wanted to know his position on the issue they could fax the questions to the office on Capitol Hill and someone would get back to them.

Well, I thought perhaps I could help them out with just such a request, so that's exactly what I did. A few minutes ago I faxed a letter to Congressman Wolf asking for his response to the following questions:

  1. Prime Minister Al-Maliki and the Iraqi government have expressed a desire for American troops to withdraw for Iraq by the end of 2010. Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. More specifically, do you support the 2010 timeline for withdrawal?
  2. Do you support Senator McCain's open-ended commitment to the War in Iraq?

After faxing the letter over to the Congressman, I got to thinking, perhaps this is something that could really use the help of the netroots. What if instead of just one letter getting faxed to Congressman Wolf asking for his position, there were 100 faxes and emails to his office asking for his position? What if we were able to get the entire Republican delegation on the record on whether they support a timetable or not? I think it's time that we held our elected officials in Virginia responsible for taking a clear position, and it's time that we demand that they listen to the American people on this issue.

So here's where you guys come in, if you live in the 10th District and you have access to a fax machine, send a fax to your Congressman and ask where he stands on a timeline for Iraq and whether he supports McCain's open-ended commitment to the War in Iraq. And if you don't have a fax machine, well, pick up the phone and make sure they hear from you too. Here's the contact information for Congressman Wolf's office:
Washington Office
241 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5136
(202) 225-0437 fax                                                                                                                     Also, you can send an email here

And for those of you who live outside the 10th District, I want your help too! I think we should get all of the Republican members of Congress from Virginia on record, so pick up the phone or send a fax and ask your Congressional representatives if they support a timeline for withdrawal or whether they support Senator McCain's open-ended commitment in Iraq. Here's the contact information:  

Rep. Rob Wittman 1st
Phone: (202) 225-4261

Rep. Thelma Drake 2nd
Phone: (202) 225-4215
Fax: (202) 225-4218

Rep. J. Randy Forbes 4th
Phone: (202) 225-6365
Fax: (202) 226-1170

Rep. Virgil H. Goode 5th
Phone: (202) 225-4711
Fax: (202) 225-5681

Rep. Bob Goodlatte 6th
Phone: (202) 225-5431
Fax: (202) 225-9681

Rep. Eric I. Cantor 7th
Phone: (202) 225-2815
Fax: (202) 225-0011

Rep. Thomas Davis III 11th
Phone: (202) 225-1492
Fax: (202) 225-3071  

Comments



Afghanistan (South County - 7/22/2008 9:28:47 PM)
Also, another point to include would be plans to address the situation in Afghanistan.  Perhaps, frustrated by their demise in Iraq, the terrorists and associated movements are apparently shifting focus and resources back to Afghanistan by attacking the NATO ISAF and U.S. forces.  The fight there is going kinetic fast.  Disucssions in the past week or so have focused on a 'shift' of forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, that is technically to not replace units as they rotate out of Iraq, rather sending fresh deploying forces to Afghanistan instead.  Key point here is that you can't increase force strength in Afghanistan with out drawing down forces from Iraq.


A great idea (VaD2 - 7/22/2008 10:05:18 PM)
All of us should contact our Member of Congress to get them on the record. Kudos to Judy for getting the ball rolling.  


Correction (Tiderion - 7/23/2008 4:55:57 AM)
Rep. Rob Wittman holds the First District. We're still hoping to beat him this year though. So:

Rep. Rob Wittman 1st
Phone: 202-225-4261
(not sure what his fax is, couldnt find it)



Faxes and Phone calls (Evan M - 7/23/2008 12:54:36 PM)
I think it's really bad form for the Congressman to not be willing to respond to phone calls, and insist on faxes. Nonetheless, these are important questions, regardless of the politics, and I look forward to the answers from our Representatives. If only to know whether they'll listen to the voters, or the dead-enders in the Republican party.