Leslie Cagan of United for Peace/Justice: "Peace Activists Must Use All The Tools in Their Toolbox"

[marmar]

from DemocracyRising http://democracyrising.us/content/view/737/151/:

Written by Kevin Zeese
Friday, 19 January 2007
Interview with Leslie Cagan of UFPJ

By Kevin Zeese


The national coordinator of United For Peace and Justice believes peace voters sent a clear message on November 7 and “If they didn’t hear it they have plugs in their ears,” she says in an interview I recently conducted with her.

The message, according to Cagan, was “People want the war to end, and they want a Congress that will act on the mandate that people gave them.” But she was not surprised when they took the power of the purse off the table as the Democratic Party, particularly it’s leadership are “enablers” who have “played a very supportive role for the president.” She acknowledges this is Bush’s war, but “Without the consent of Congress he could not have carried out this war.”

The peace movement must not stop, indeed it has work ahead of it to end the war. “A lot of building up of the back bone needs to happen and it does not happen over night.” She sees it as our job to “keep the heat on as Congress does not act without being pressured.”

No one strategy is going to end the war. It is important for peace activists to move on several layers at once, no one thing is the answer. She is a strong advocate of street hear and pointed to the upcoming demonstration on January 27th as an important event. She urged people to come to DC not only for the demonstration, but for the lobby day on January 29th. UFPJ is organizing workshops and lobby trainings on the 28th. Details about the 29th follow this article.

Cagan believes the most important activity occurs not in Washington but in the home districts of legislators. She urges consistent public protests at home as well as email, phone calls, faxes and in-person visits to their offices. She urges activists to “get in the local media. That is what Members read.” And, “bird dog” elected officials when they are at home. Let them see you at community meetings and town halls. They need to know they will always be asked about the war.

Civil disobedience is another tool Cagan supports being used by activists when it is non-violent. Like every tool it needs to be used wisely at the right time and in the right way. With Congress and the president seeming to ignore the will of the voters civil disobedience becomes more appropriate.

She also urges advocates to keep electoral pressure on. A strong electoral signal was sent in November but we need to “Remind them in two years they will be voted on.” She urged people to sign the VotersForPeace pledge (see www.VotersForPeace.US) saying “We need to double and triple the number of signers of the VotersForPeace pledge -- now before the crunch of the elections hit.”

While there are 21 Republican senators up for re-election, Cagan urges not only pressuring Republicans, but Democrats as well. She notes there are many senators running for the presidency and one focus should be the initial primary and caucus states, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Working in these states is also a way to get national attention because the media spotlight will be on during the primaries.

She favors activists getting involved in electoral politics (this is her personal view as UFPJ is not an electoral group). They should support candidates who oppose the war. And, run for office themselves. Of course, with every choice activists need to balance the time involved in the activity.

Regarding the so-called surge, Cagan says “We have to frame the escalation as ‘stay the course’ – from day one, Bush wanted to go to war, now he wants to stay in the war. The real escalation will be when they go after Iran.”

No one tactic or venue or tool does it. We need a tool box that allows us to express ourselves in a lot of ways.

# # #

Information on the January 27 demonstration and related activities

Join us in DC on January 27-29

The rally will begin Saturday morning at 11 am on the mall between 3rd and 7th streets

Sunday will be a full day of workshops, organizing meetings, lobby training and state caucus meetings. See the schedule here: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3485

Hundreds of activists will stay through Monday. If you are already planning to come, please take the time to register. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/modinput4.php?modin=121

What will we be lobbying for?

Members of congress are introducing new legislation almost daily, so we don't yet know which piece will be the strongest -- but our message will be clear -- Congress should use their power of the purse to cut funding for this war and occupation -- the war should not be expanded, and Congress should invetigate the lies that got us into this war.

See you in Washington!

Check out www.unitedforpeace.org for the ride and housing board, for volunteer opportunities and more. If you just can't make it to DC, there may be an action near you... visit the website to see.

[liberaldemocrat7]

1. Gandhi had the right notion: boycotts.

Yet the peace movement here in America will not use boycotts to end the Bush war.

So as you sew so shall you reap.


I say call General Electric in Connecticut, demand the CEO get the GOP to end the war and tell the person on the phone you and millions of other people won't buy GE products until the GOP ends the war.

[marmar]

2. Absolutely, as did MLK and the Civil Rights Movement.....

In the end, the only thing "power" understands is money. Starve the beast.

[Leopolds Ghost]

3. Why am I not surprised that UFPJ has been hamstringing itself this whole time?

I would have never guessed that they were THIS much about electing Democrats to Congress.

That is NOT their job.

I'm glad that my anti-war money went to other organizations. I am SICK AND TIRED of trojan horse organizations.

Nonprofits that are primarily concerned with electing people from one party to Congress should be POLITICAL nonprofits, i.e. PACs.

Otherwise the Democratic party is really doing nothing but farming out its leftists, away from the fiery core of political power that the officeholders covet from themselves, to operate as Maoist front groups on behalf of the party.

I am SICKENED when activist groups take my vote for granted and assume that the best way to ADVOCATE THEIR ISSUES is simply to elect people from a certain party to Congress.

And then they lie about what they have been doing, i.e. electoral work, NOT mass protest, NOT direct action (because blocking traffic is "violent", don't you know. Anything that disrupts the oil economy is violent -- to paraphrase Mussolini, the traffic must move on time. That is why many of these namby-pamby center-liberals think BOYCOTTS are violent, and told MLK so!)

Congress went Democratic because the American public was sick and tired, not because of UFPJ's half-hearted "psst psst, fellow activists, we really need to get Dems elected!" when there ARE no fellow activists left outside of Democratic Party or Green Party apparatchicks, no major protests except once a year, and geared to electoral success of the people they are supposedly pressuring, which never works (just ask A.Philip Randolph) because they haven't done anything to appeal to non-partisan anti-war sentiment.