This week the House will hold the first real debate on the Iraq War since the Republican Congress approved Bush's Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Democrats will let all 435 Members of Congress speak for 5 minutes.

What will your Representative say? Will your Representative actually represent you? We invite you to "Debate the Debate" at DebateTheDebate.com, a new feature of Democrats.com that gives you one-click access to news from your Congressional District. Just login to Democrats.com with your voting address and click the "local" link (http://democrats.com/local) to find it!

We need your help to make this work.

1. Login to Democrats.com and click "local" to see if someone has already posted your Representative's speech.
2. If not, look for your Representative's speech at TrueMajority. If you can't find it there, visit your Representative's web site here. Most Members will publish their speeches in the section on "speeches" or "press," and these can be copy/pasted without restriction. If you can't find the speech, call your Representative's Washington office and ask for the Press Secretary. 
3. When you find the speech, create a New Forum Topic devoted to your Representative's speech. Use a title like "Iraq Speech by Rep. Smith." Choose our "Debate The Debate" topic so all 435 debates can be easily found.

When your Representative's speech has been posted, use the comment section to debate whether your Representative actually represents you.

If you don't like your Representative's speech, you can use Democrats.com to do something about it!

• Use the debate to clarify your views, then write letters to your local newspapers and call local talk shows
• Organize a protest in front of your Representative's local office
• Join the Occupation Project to hold a sit-in inside your Representative's office
• Organize a town hall meeting to get your Representative to address your concerns
• Find a better candidate to challenge your Representative in 2008

You can also join your local Congressional District Impeachment Committee to persuade your Representative to support the Impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Background: The 2002 debate on Iraq was based entirely on lies:

1. that Iraq had WMD's and ties to Al Qaeda, and was therefore an imminent threat to the U.S.
2. that U.S. troops would be greeted with flowers
3. that Iraqi oil would pay for rebuilding Iraq

So now Congress is finally debating the reality: Iraq had no WMD's and no ties to Al Qaeda, U.S. troops were greeted with endless bombs, and U.S. taxpayers will spend $1 trillion or more to watch murderous militias destroy Iraq.

The debate will be framed around Bush's latest escalation - will another 48,000 U.S. troops end Iraq's civil war, or is it time to turn Iraq over to the Iraqis and bring our troops safely home?

Here is the exact wording:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

Politics: Democrats are united in support of the resolution, while Republicans are deeply divided.

"Every time I go to another funeral, every time I go to Walter Reed, people are really gracious, but what do you say? What are we doing over there now?" asked Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Md.), whose Eastern Shore district has lost 23 service members in the war.

GOP leaders and conservatives may apply some pressure to stay off the Democratic resolution, but, Gilchrest added: "My internal soul goes a lot beyond my minuscule political career."...

Gilchrest voted with the Republican leadership in June, but last month he was one of eight House Republicans who signed a letter stating that the deployment of additional U.S. troops to the sectarian fighting in Iraq would only make matters worse...

Gilchrest collected 29 Republican signatures on his own letter pleading with Bush to open diplomatic dialogue with Syria and Iran to find a way out of Iraq, then personally handed the letter to Bush at a bill-signing ceremony in the Oval Office. He is now working with Democratic Reps. Gregory W. Meeks (N.Y.), James P. McGovern (Mass.) and Solomon P. Ortiz (Tex.) to further that diplomatic push.