**FYI - See the attached press release - hundreds joined today's
conference call from all over the country, and the anti-escalation
resolutions are now moving in multiple states. - D
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 1/17/07
CONTACT: Matt Singer, Progressive States Network at 406-549-0773
msinger@progressivestates.org
KENNEDY: State Pressure Critical in Stopping Bush Escalation Plan**
/State Legislators from accross America join Senator to launch the
50-State Response to Bush's Iraq Escalation/
MISSOULA, MT - In a conference call with state legislators from
across the country, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy said that pressure from
state governments would be key in preventing President Bush’s
escalation plans from seeing the light of day.
Senator Kennedy drew a parallel between the minimum wage – which was
increased by voters in six states last fall and in statehouses across
the country last year – and the Iraq war in noting the importance of
states putting opposition to the escalation on Congress’s front
burner.
Kennedy is sponsoring legislation in the U.S. Senate to require that
the Bush Administration seek Congressional authority for any
escalation. The conference call was organized by the Progressive
States Network and co-sponsored by Women Legislators’ Lobby, MoveOn,
and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.
Steve Doherty, co-chair of the Progressive States Network and former
minority leader of the Montana Senate, explained the crucial role
that state legislators – elected leaders who remain near their
constituents year round – have served as a crucial moral voice in
recent history.
“Some folks will say that foreign policy is not a responsibility of
the states, but I saw during my own time in the legislature the
difference we made – speaking out on Irish terrorism, supporting our
troops, standing for fair trade. Elected leaders are supposed to
stand up for their constituents – America needs us now more than
ever,” said Steve Doherty.
Prior to the call, resolutions opposing the escalation were being
drafted and introduced in nearly ten states. Today, the Progressive
States Network and its allies are working to get more resolutions
introduced and to provide the legislators introducing them with the
grassroots support they need to pass the resolutions.
“Since we have announced this campaign, the level of interest from
legislators, from the grassroots, and from Congress has just been
overwhelming. The resolutions are sprouting up all over the country.
It’s a sign of just how deeply flawed this escalation policy really
is – that it is creating these types of grassroots alliances to fight
it,” said David Sirota, co-chair of the Progressive States Network and
bestselling author of Hostile Takeover.
Opposition from legislatures is one facet in a much larger campaign
to prevent President Bush’s reckless escalation policy. For more
information on the Progressive States campaign, President Bush’s
proposed escalation, a recording of the conference call, tools to
contact your legislator and model state resolution language, please
visit www.progressivestates.org/iraq
{
http://www.progressivestates.org/content/524}
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.
It accomplishes this mission by uniting policy makers with experts and
grassroots organizations to provide the combination of efforts needed
to advance good policy. It’s board of directors includes
representatives of MoveOn, AFSCME, SEIU, AFL-CIO, Center for American
Progress, ACORN, and Media Matters for America.
###
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