(Analysis) Thursday night’s U.S. House vote extending war funding through September is being cast as a Democratic cave-in, even though most House Democrats including Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposed it.  The major votes thus far in the House reveal some significant nuances.

  • Roll Call 186 on March 23 provided funding and attached timelines, and passed 218-212.  Fourteen Democrats were opposed, an odd mix of the bluest of Blue Dogs and the Not Another Dime contingent.  The Iowans voted along party lines.  Roll Call 265 on the conference report (April 25) was almost identical.
  • Roll Call 276 on May 2 was the veto override vote, which led 222-203, well short of the 2/3 needed.  Here, the Not Another Dime contingent (John Lewis, Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee, etc.) voted yes with the majority of Democrats, but the hard-core conservative Dems like Jim Marshall of Georgia voted no.  This separates the people who voted no on Roll Call 186 for the “right” vs. “wrong” reasons. (Kucinich voted “Present” just to draw more attention to himself.)  Again, Iowans on party lines.

  • It gets more interesting with the McGovern amendment to de-authorize the war on May 10 (Roll Call 330).  That failed 171-255.  The Democrats split 169 yes, 59 no, revealing a conservative contingent of about 50 who were willing to vote for timelines on Roll Call 186, but not for deauthorization.  That group includes Leonard Boswell, who voted with Steve King, Tom Latham and all but two House Republicans.  Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, however, voted for deauthorization.
  • Thursday’s vote, Roll Call 425, was opposed by 140 House Democrats including Loebsack and Braley.  Boswell joined 86 Democrats and all but two Republicans in voting yes. 

    This latest vote gives us a House Democratic caucus split into five unequal groups.  I haven’t done a member-by-member analysis so this is rough math.

    Not Another Penny: 8.

    130, including Dave Loebsack and Bruce Braley, voted for deauthorization and against the blank-check bill passed Thursday.

    30 take the odd position of voting to deauthorize, but if we can’t get that then we’ll give Bush what he wants.

    Opposing deauthorization, but willing to vote for a funding bill with timelines, were about 50 including Leonard Boswell.

    6 or 7 House Dems are pro-war.

    Thus, despite the criticism tossed their way, Dave Loebsack and Bruce Braley are in the second-strongest anti-war group in the House, behind only the tiny handful of Not Another Penny folks.  Meanwhile, Leonard Boswell is taking the weakest Democratic position except for the handful of openly pro-war Dems.

    Related: As the Gannett papers round up Dave Loebsack’s votes and conclude he’s voted with the Democratic majority 100 percent, House Republicans have launched a campaign against freshman Dems for “voting like Nancy Pelosi.” But Loebsack and fellow Iowa first-termer Bruce Braley are absent from the list.