...If you live in Cincinnati, the answer is $298 million, according to a new report by the National Priorities Project. Ohioans in general will pay $11.2 billion, while the war will cost Kentuckians $2.4 billion.
The Northampton, Mass.-based group, which describes itself as a non-partisan organization that gives citizens the resources to shape federal budget priorities, calculated the cost of the war for each state, as well as various cities and counties across the country...
...If the $11.2 billion that Ohioans are spending on the war were put to use elsewhere, it would buy health care for 1,521,022 people and provide 194,559 teachers, 1,257 new elementary schools and 102,392 affordable housing units, to name just a few, the organization said...
...The cost for all Americans: $318 billion...
Also, in the same article, the results of research by HillMonitor are posted. HillMonitor analyzes the voting records of members of Congress. Here are some of their findings as stated in the same Cincinnati Post article:
...Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning is one of the most reliable members of Congress when it comes to supporting the positions of President Bush and the White House, according to a new analysis of voting records...
...Other senators from Kentucky and Ohio also supported Bush. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell voted with the president 93.24 percent of the time; Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine, 91.89 percent; and Ohio Sen. George Voinovich, 90.54 percent. All three are Republicans.
On the House side, former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman and House Speaker Dennis Hastert tied for the top spot, with each voting with the president 100 percent of the time.
Portman's loyalty is no big surprise. The Terrace Park Republican's ties to the Bush family go all the way back to the president's father, George H.W. Bush, for whom Portman worked. Portman left Congress more than a year ago to work for the current administration and now serves as the White House budget director.
Other House members from Ohio and Kentucky also scored high in terms of presidential support.
Portman's successor, Rep. Jean Schmidt of Miami Township, voted with the president 95.74 percent of the time; Rep. Geoff Davis of Hebron, Ky., 94.12 percent; House Majority Leader John Boehner, 92.86 percent; and Rep. Steve Chabot of Cincinnati, 91.86 percent. All four are Republicans.
Overall, the Senate voted with Bush just 75.26 percent of the time, the lowest of his presidency. Senate Republicans backed the president 92.57 percent of the time, while Senate Democrats sided with him just 54.56 percent.
House Republicans backed the president's agenda 88.5 percent of the time, while Democrats sided with him 40.99 percent. Overall, the House voted with the president 66.45 percent of the time.
So who voted with the president the least? Former Sen. Jon Corzine, who is now the governor of New Jersey, sided with Bush just 31.3 percent of the time while in Congress. California Congressman Pete Stark sided with Bush just 21.43 percent.
Both, obviously, are Democrats.
This is a very good argument to vote for Democrats.
