Why US "Democrats" love the War in Iraq

Perhaps you are of the opinion that US Democrats are a lot more interested in getting the troops out of Iraq than the US Republicans. Think again.

Here's a list of lawmakers (led by nobody less than Democrat John Kerry) that have the most money invested in companies with Department of Defence contracts:

The Investors: Lawmakers with the most money invested in companies with Department of Defense contracts

Member of Congress	Minimum Value of Investment	Maximum Value of Investment
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass)	$28,872,067	$38,209,020
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)	$12,081,050	$49,140,000
Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC)	$9,232,037	$37,105,000
Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis)	$5,207,668	$7,612,653
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif)	$2,684,050	$6,260,000
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich)	$2,469,029	$8,360,000
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa)	$2,000,002	$2,000,002
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis)	$1,365,004	$5,800,000
Rep. Kenny Ewell Marchant (R-Texas)	$1,163,231	$1,163,231
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas)	$1,000,001	$5,000,000

This new study "shows that members of Congress have collectively invested as much $196 million in military companies under contract with the Pentagon."

Isn't that a clear conflict of interest for these lawmakers? Of course it is. Wouldn't the difference of a couple of million dollars effect your voting behaviour? Well, perhaps not yours, but I wouldn't trust many US senators, would you?

The highest stakeholder is Democratic Senator John Kerry. Kerry made at least $2.6 million from his investments between 2004 and 2006.

That's nice, $2.6 million. I wonder what John Kerry (and all those other holy Democrats) did with all that blood money.

LINKS
- Capital Eye: Strategic Assets
- Democracy Now: Headlines - Study: Lawmakers Invest $196M in Pentagon Contractors
- Truthout: Blood Money