[Peace-discuss] Nancy Pelosi, are you with us?

[Amer Against War With Iraq]

Here is a letter I wrote to the new Democratic leader in the House of  Reps. 
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, asking her not to compromise the progressive 
agenda she was elected on and to retain her position against war with Iraq.  
She needs to hear from all of us.  Call her San Francisco office at 
415-556-4862, or write to her at 2457 Rayburn House Offices, Washingtonn DC. 
20515.

Lila Garrett
Chair
Americans Against War With Iraq AAWWI

Nancy:  I'm sorry you couldn't make the radio show I hosted on Monday, Nov 
25th.   I had Russ Feingold and Dennis Kucinich on the show, so it was 
great.  But we always want you.

Since I didn't have the opportunity to congratulate you publicly, which I 
would have done on the show, let me do so now.   I remember our talk at the 
Barbra Streisand event in the Ladies Room, of all places.  We agreed that 
war with Iraq would be a horror.  I remember how encouraged I felt by your 
firm stand against it. You asked me to put pressure on Gephardt to change 
his position.   Believe me, I tried.  Thousands of us tried.  His centrist 
position not only brought him down, it brought down the Democratic Party.   
If we insist on joining the drumbeat of the war and echoing the empty 
rhetoric of  phony patriotism, we will continue to lose.  The center is a 
good place to get shot at from all sides. It's a great place to get killed.  
But it's no place to win.   The election proved that for the umpteenth time. 
That's why right wingers like Novak, Linbaugh,  Kudrow et al keep advising 
us to stay in it.  They love watching us lose.

What will win is a real opposition party. Enough of this bi-partisan 
nonsense.  It's the Democrats' job to make the people understand that 
they're being manipulated. We need to repeat it like a mantra,  until they 
get it.  We hear little truth about Bush from Democratic leaders and none 
from the press.  If the right wing agenda  is allowed to run free with such 
weak opposition, not just the Democratic Party but our democracy are 
endangered species.  There is no mystery about why we're hated abroad.  The 
entire world feels threatened by this administration, and they're right.  If 
we connect the dots between the Patriot Act, Homeland Security Bill, and the 
end of the Miranda Act we have, let's just join Mollie Ivins and say it, 
fascism.  There is no other word.

In fact if we connect the dots between Bush's tax plan, his plans to 
privatize everything from social security to the government itself, we have 
a two level society, the all powerful rich, and the working slaves.  The 
middle class, which is the spine of any democratic society is dying.   When 
it's dead, the Bush-Cheney-Heritage Foundation agenda will be complete  and 
what will we have?  The comfort of knowing we accomplished  "consensus" with 
the politically lame, halt and gutless.

Nancy, this is your chance to lead us out of the quicksand of an 
administration who  would gladly bury us.   It isn't that they don't 
understand the dangers of  their barbaric policies.  They understand. They 
just don't care.  What they want is the instant gratification of all the 
power and all the wealth.  They are the Stepford family.  There is no doing 
business with them.  Our only hope is to reveal who they are and stop them.

By accepting the role of Leader you placed yourself at the helm of that 
movement.  We millions of genuine Democrats are solidly behind you.  We have 
always been your base.  You won your position by 80% of the Democratic 
Caucus.  Why would you even consider starting out by pandering to the other 
20%.   You don't need to.  There's no time for that.  The center is death.   
We look to you to lead us out of it.

Lila Garrett (Chair of AAWWI  Americans Against War With Iraq)






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