The Capital Times takes pride that Wisconsin is spending lots of tax dollars on symbolic votes that by definition have no legal basis to affect anything. By every analysis the anti-war referendum project is simply politics using public funds.
War bellwether: state leads way on anti-war referendums: Groups involved in Madison's anti-war effort include the South-Central Federation of Labor, Dane County Democrats, Four Lakes Green Party, International Socialist Organization, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, the Madison Area Peace Coalition and Madison Ecumenical Center Board. Elected officials who have lent their name to the campaign include Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, State Reps. Spencer Black and Mark Pocan and State Sens. Mark Miller and Fred Risser.Capital Times Editor John Nichols writing for The Nation titles his article about the anti-war referendum movement Bringing the War Home, which is exactly the danger this surrender and retreat strategy entails. There are large numbers of people in America who willfully refuse to believe that there is a significant danger to our society. The people and organizations listed above truly don’t believe that violence will follow retreating soldiers back to our shores. They do believe that if violence continues in the middle east it won’t harm us in Wisconsin.
According to the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice the wording on the Madison resolution is short and simple: “Should the United States bring all military personnel home from Iraq now?" The simplicity of the wording is an accurate reflection of the simplicity of thought behind the measure.
A Channel 15 news story about today’s Protest Rally attempts balance by quoting a troop supporter saying: “We got ourselves over there to help out the Iraqis.” The truth is we got ourselves over there to defend our country because Iraq, like Afghanistan, is an ideal battleground to defeat those individuals intent on harming us.
