Democrats brace for next vote on war funds

"It's a shame I had to disappoint the people who voted for me, because they are the ones who count in the end. But it was the most definitive statement against this war that the Congress has yet had.... It went as far as we could possibly go and still get 218 votes [for passage]," he says.

The post-veto vote on war funds will be even harder, he predicts. "It will come back and pass as a clean supplemental, but not with my vote."

In the House, 42 Democratic freshmen – who voted unanimously with their leadership in support of the war-funding bill – are the key both to their party's continuing control of the House and to the standoff with the White House over Iraq.

"New members were instrumental in framing the legislation to hold the Bush administration and Iraq government accountable," says Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) of Maryland, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Such lawmakers are now preparing their antiwar constituents for disappointment. House freshmen Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes, both of New Hampshire, swept into office on a tide of anti-GOP voting in their state, fueled by the war in Iraq. Both voted with party leaders to fund another year of war along with a mandatory withdrawal date. But they have had to work hard to explain that vote to constituents.

"I was very honest about the emotion and difficulty of the vote," says Representative Shea-Porter. "I tell them that you push as hard as you can and cut the best deal you can." She'll find it hard to back a version of the spending bill that removes a timetable for withdrawal. "I voted for this bill because of that deadline."

Representative Hodes, for his part, says that constituents grasp the inherent challenges. "New Hampshire voters are very sophisticated. My sense is that they understand where my heart is, and they know how the legislative process works in a difficult situation, like this one."

In Peterborough, N.H., antiwar activists staking out the front steps of town hall say they are disappointed, but that they understand the votes by their two freshmen lawmakers. "There's a game going on now; I can't say I understand the compromises," says Jim Giddings, a peace activist from Greenville, N.H. "I don't hold it against him," he said of Mr. Hodes, who represents this district. "He is trying his best, and his intentions are good."

Activists on both sides are targeting politically vulnerable lawmakers – moderate Republicans in blue states and conservative Democrats in red states.

"The only way this debacle is going to end is if the political pressure on members of Congress ... finally gets to the tipping point, and they have very little choice other than to represent the views of their constituents at home, rather than the views of George W. Bush," says Tom Andrews, national director of Win Without War, an antiwar group.

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