Pete Hoekstra backs Bush in trip to Iraq

Surprise, surprise!

"I believe it is important to be successful in Iraq, and I believe that in Gen. Petraeus and the strategy he has outlined, we have the best chance we have for success,"

So he supports the plan of letting the troops that were added as the "surge" return, when the military knew that was the timeline they had planned all along. See... that's not a withdrawl.

I keep hearing and reading success but what is the main goal? Last month Hoekstra said he doesn't want democracy in Iraq but security and stability. But the way I see it, we took that away when we started dropping bombs. Don't get me wrong, Saddam Hussein wasn't a good man by any means, but the basis of this war was and still is a lie. If we went to Iraq to free the people, if that was the idea, then we should be in a lot of countries right now by this logic. It's all a sham. Don't buy it.

Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio is on the same trip, here's what he thinks:

"what he’s seen in Iraq this week reinforces his belief that President Bush’s troop surge isn’t working and the time has come for redeployment “in a big way.” “I don’t know that the surge has returned the dividend (expected).”

He advocates "not a quick withdrawal of troops,” but the creation of a plan to bring soldiers home as “quickly as possible.” He doesn’t think the situation in Iraq will further improve if U.S. troops remain there.

“The situation here is bleak,It’s actually scary.”

Oh yeah, Rock out to this great video.... moe. Tailspin very fitting...

Pete Hoekstra and Michigan republicans ready to stay in Iraq

Today General Petraeus will report on the "situation" in Iraq. I think we all know how that will go. But for a more in depth analysis of this report watch the following video released by the National Security Network



In an article from today's Detroit Free Press Pete Hoekstra says

"he just hopes the report leads to a discussion about what America's real threats are in the Middle East and around the world from "radical Jihadists" and how the nation is going to address them -- and not just with troops in Iraq."

This sounds alot like what he said in a memo released to republicans on February 10, 2007 on the eve of the "surge" debate:

"If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."

Hoekstra continues to beat the drum for more war and more conflict around the globe under the auspice of "radical jihadists". I wonder why that is? Maybe because a large amount of his campaigns have been funded by defense contractors since the start of the war in Iraq.


General Dynamics $20,000
Northrop Grumman $18,250
GENTEX Corp $17,950
Boeing Co $17,000
Lockheed Martin $16,500
Raytheon Co $16,444
L-3 Communications $6,000

Who do you think Pete Hoekstra represents when he votes?

Fellow Michigan republicans had this to say:
Rep. Candice Miller

the report has the "potential to be a historic pivot on the way forward," providing a chance to better define the troops' mission and odds of victory. She's willing to give the troop surge more time if there's enough evidence of success.

Rep. Mike Rogers

"he expects there could be some troop withdrawals when a "strategic change" is announced"

Rep. Tim Walberg

"I'd love to be able to say that we will continue the surge and in light of the impact, we'll start a drawdown of the troops," "I would hope that I could say that."

Rep. Vern Ehlers

"Certainly it would be silly to remove troops at a time when it appears things are turning around,"

It seems they have already made up their mind.

Pete votes against higher education assistance

HR 2669 College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 includes the following assistance for higher education and loan reductions:

Increasing the Purchasing Power of Pell Grants: Authorizes and appropriates additional funding for the program for FY2008-FY2017 to increase the amount of the maximum Pell grant for which a student is eligible by $200 for each of the award years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, $300 for award year 2010-2011, and $500 for each subsequent award year. Increases the authorized maximum Pell grant to $7,600 for academic year 2008-2009 and by $1,000 increments each academic year thereafter until it stands at $11,600 for academic year 2012-2013. Increases students' Pell grant eligibility by increasing the income protection allowance.

Making Student Loans More Affordable:Phases-in cuts in the interest rate charged undergraduate student borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2012.

Rewarding Service in Repayment:Provides student loan forgiveness to borrowers under the FFEL or DL programs who serve full-time in areas of national need as: (1) early childhood educators in low-income communities; (2) nurses; (3) critical foreign language specialists who teach in elementary or secondary schools or use such knowledge as federal employees; (4) librarians; (5) highly qualified teachers who teach bilingual education or who teach in schools that enroll a high proportion of disadvantaged students; (6) child welfare workers; (7) speech language pathologists in elementary or secondary schools; (8) National Service participants; (9) school counselors in elementary and secondary schools that enroll a high proportion of disadvantaged students; and (10) public sector employees. Provides up to $1,000 of student loan forgiveness for each year of service, but limits forgiveness to $5,000 in the aggregate.

These are only part of this bill, which will help the people of our country gain the tools to get the jobs so many badly need. With the costs of tuition rising and student loans going through the roof this bill is a big breath of fresh air.

And Hoekstra voted no.