Will the Democrats Fold on War Funding?

The always excitable liberal John Aravosis thinks they might:

It's time to replace some conservative Democrats in Washington, DC. I just heard from an impeccable source that there is serious concern on the Hill that conservative Democrats in the House will vote with the Republicans to strip any and all restrictions from the Iraq supplemental tomorrow, effectively giving Bush all the money he wants with no restrictions and no effort to hold either him or the Iraq government accountable for anything. I.e., they will vote to continue this war along the same disastrous course because they're too afraid to challenge George Bush and his failed leadership.

Let me reiterate: This isn't some idle rumor. The concerns are coming from Hill sources themselves.

I'd point out that Aravosis is hardly a reliable source, so take his hysterics for what they are worth until you see an actual bill passed.

(H/T Instapundit, who notes that without the very conservative Democrats that Aravosis wants deposed, Democrats would still be the minority party.)

Update: Washington Post reporters seem to think Aravosis' hysterics may be off the mark, at least in the House:

ouse Democrats declared yesterday that they will vote on an Iraq spending bill that could cut funding for the war as early as July, defying a threat from President Bush that he would veto the proposal.

Even Senate Democrats called the House proposal, scheduled for a vote today, unrealistic. Senate leaders met with White House officials yesterday to try to find a bipartisan option to fund the war through the summer. But there appeared to be little progress in those negotiations, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned lawmakers that the debate is beginning to delay Pentagon operations.

The one area of agreement seemed to be that U.S. officials want the Iraqi government to better contain violence there. Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced trip to Baghdad yesterday to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials. He urged them to help end fighting between rival Sunni and Shiite factions, to make progress on revising their constitution and to better manage their oil revenue.

The House proposal would extend war spending through July, rather than September as Bush has requested. White House spokesman Tony Snow said the president would veto the bill because of its spending restrictions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said: "Our bill will fully fund the troops, honor our commitment to our veterans, hold the Iraqi government accountable and end the war."

Pelosi's pronouncement is of course delusional, as Gates states in the same article that the Democratic refusal to issue a viable bill is already beginning to delay military operations, possibly including the purchase of Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles:

The armored carrier has a grim black slash across its side, burn marks on the door and a web of cracks along the window.

Like most of the Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in Anbar province, this one has been hit as many as three times by enemy fire and bomb blasts. Yet, to date, no American troops have died while riding in one.

But efforts to buy thousands more carriers — each costing about $1 million — could be delayed if the White House and Congress do not resolve their deadlock over a $124.2 billion war spending bill.

About $3 billion for the vehicles is tied up in the legislation. The spending plan has stalled because of a dispute over provisions that would set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

At a hearing last month, lawmakers urged the Army to get more of the carriers to the battlefront as quickly as possible. The vehicles, with their unique V-shaped hull that deflects blasts outward and away from passengers, are considered lifesavers against the No. 1 killer in Iraq — roadside bombs.

Military leaders say the carriers have reduced roadside bomb casualties in Iraq by as much as two-thirds.

Milblogger "Teflon Don," who drives an MRAP, says of the vehicles in a recent frontline post:

The operations officer for the cavalry's parent unit came by and mentioned that troops pushing south towards us had hit multiple IEDs, and lost men, but "there wasn't much to be done, because they don't have route clearance". I wished for the hundredth time that there were more of us.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims she wants to, "honor our commitment to our veterans," but as past and former doomed House bill show, all she is actually accomplishing is making sure that our soldiers and Marines don't have the equipment they need, and as a result, more American soldiers are dying.