Special Guest Post from Rep. Lois Capps

To celebrate the RUNDOWN's return from its brief hiatus, we are proud to present a special guest post from Lois Capps, our very own Representative from California's 23rd District. Congresswoman Capps has been a valuable friend and ally to the UCSB Democrats and we are honored that she chose to participate with us.



Pictured above: The Congresswoman delivers her opening statement during an Energy & Commerce Committee hearing on Medicare.

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May 1, 2007

"Mission Accomplished" - Four Years Later
by Lois Capps

Today, May 1st, 2007, is the fourth anniversary of President Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln.

That day President Bush told Americans that "major combat operations" in Iraq were over. Like almost every other assertion he and his administration have made about this war, he couldn't have been more wrong. And the cost for these mistakes has been borne by the men and women of armed forces and their families.

This anniversary is a sad moment that should give us all pause. But it could also be a rare moment of hopeful opportunity as Democratic Congressional leaders deliver a bill to the President that would enact a real change in our Iraq policy.

This bill establishes a timeline -- for the first time -- to bring our troops home from Iraq. It stands in sharp contrast to previous Iraq legislation passed by the Republican-led Congress, which were nothing more than blank checks to the Bush Administration for an open-ended US troop commitment to the war in Iraq. The Democratic Congress will not simply enable the Bush Administration to continue its failed policies in Iraq.

The President should make today's mission to listen to the American people and sign this bill. That is one mission he could accomplish.

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To read more posts by Congresswoman Capps, visit her official blog here.