More States Pass Resolutions Demanding Congress Stop the Escalation

[babylonsister]

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/197

More States Pass Resolutions Demanding Congress Stop the Escalation
Submitted by Chad on Fri, 03/09/2007 - 2:06pm. Alerts

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

NJ & ND are the most recent states to pass anti-escalation resolution; CO, NH, and OR set to vote on resolution next week.

As the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate prepare yet again to vote on President Bush's Iraq escalation plan, the Progressive States Network announced today that over 29 state legislatures have introduced resolutions opposing the President's escalation of the war in Iraq. Most recently, resolutions have passed in the North Dakota legislature, the New Jersey general assembly, and are moving to the floor in Oregon; this in addition to the previous passage of resolutions in California, Vermont, and Iowa.

This ongoing effort, which has included resolutions and subsequent legislative hearings in state capitals, is part of a campaign organized by the Progressive States Network.

Steve Doherty and David Sirota, co-chairs of the Progressive States Network, explained the widespread legislative support: "Opposition to escalation is mainstream. Average Americans nationwide oppose it overwhelmingly. These resolutions are sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, on both coasts and in the heartland, in red states and blue states."

Using Progressive States' Web site, citizens have already sent thousands of letters to their legislators urging state legislative action against the escalation, and thousands more are expected to speak out in the coming weeks as part of a mobilization by Progressive States Network's partners Moveon, True Majority, and the Women Legislators Lobby.

"This war has taken an awful toll on our states," said Joel Barkin, executive director of the Progressive States Network. "These states have been dutifully sending the President their Guard soldiers for 4 years, this time they're sending their constituents' views."

Opposition from legislatures, organized by Progressive States, is one facet in a much larger campaign involving Americans against Escalation in Iraq, a group comprised of US Action, Service Employers International Union (SEIU), Win Without War, Vote Vets, Center for American Progress, Campaign for America's Future, MoveOn, and United States Student Association.

For more information on the Progressive States campaign, the individual bills in specific states, President Bush's proposed escalation, or state resolution language, please visit www.progressivestates.org/iraq.

The Progressive States Network was founded in 2005 to drive public policy debates and change the political landscape in the United States by focusing on attainable and progressive state level actions.