[Peace-discuss] more on antiwar referenda

[Ricky Baldwin]

Letters to the editor, folks - and I think we need a
campaign to write letters to our elected reps and set
up meetings with them.

Ricky

The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
November 8, 2006 Wednesday 
 
 VOTERS' ANTI-WAR MESSAGE LOUD, CLEAR 

Organizers of a movement to bring U.S. troops home
from Iraq are lauding success at the ballot box from
Wisconsin to Massachusetts.

Nine Wisconsin communities weighed in on measures
calling for troop withdrawal, approving all of them.

In Dane County, Middleton's "Bring the Troops Home"
referendum passed 4,498 to 3,191, and a similar
measure squeaked by in the town of Springdale.

An anti-war measure passed overwhelmingly in
Milwaukee. 

Eleven communities in Illinois -- including the
Chicago metropolitan area comprising about half the
state's electorate -- passed troop measures by wide
margins. And 36 such measures appeared set for passage
in Massachusetts legislative districts.

Steve Burns, the program coordinator for the Wisconsin
Network for Peace and Justice who helped engineer
ballot successes in Madison and other communities in
April, said the results were "fantastic."

"Looking at the results in April, it isn't just a
Madison thing," Burns said. "It's just really
startling."

Janet Parker, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice
vice chair, said anti-war organizations in Illinois
and Massachusetts took their lead from Wisconsin,
where in April, 24 of 32 municipalities approved
anti-war measures.

"The organizers of these referenda in Illinois and
Massachusetts have told us that Wisconsin referenda in
April were their inspiration," she said.

They're shooting for more referendums in the spring.

"I bet after today we'll be hearing from a lot of
places that want it," she said.

James Railey, 27, said he voted to withdraw the
troops, but he's not sure that's the best option right
now.

"Honestly, I don't know what the best thing to do is,"
said Railey, a graduate student at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "I really just voted yes' to send
a message."

That message was loud and clear.

In the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee, 72 percent
of voters favored the referendum.

The suburbs of South Milwaukee, Fox Point and
Wauwatosa followed in step, as did Middleton, the city
of Racine, Lake Delton in Sauk County and Boscobel in
Grant County, all with approval rates at 58 percent or
more.

Only two of the votes were close.

Voters in Viroqua in Vernon County approved it by 52
percent to 48 percent, while voters in Springdale in
Dane County passed it by only four votes.

Wes Taylor, a 21-year-old mechanical engineer in
Milwaukee, said he's disappointed with the public's
reaction to Iraq.

"I think people are getting confused with who is
really to blame and who needs to be called out on the
war. I think it's shooting the messenger to not
support the troops," he said. "A lot of people don't
want to be over there, but they're just doing their
jobs."

Opponents of the referendums said problems left by a
quick troop withdrawal from Iraq could be worse.

"It's up to us to see it through to victory. My hope
is that we'll complete this mission," said Sam
Johnson, vice president of Vote No to Cut and Run. "We
have come a long way, and we've accomplished a lot in
Iraq. It's not something that's simply going to go
away in a week."

The opinions of the voters reflected that uncertainty
of what to do while voting to bring the troops home.

"We have to be mindful that we went in there and
wrecked the place," said 68-year-old Tom
Christofferson, a Milwaukee resident voting for the
withdrawal. "I wish I had the answer."

While all anti-war initiatives passed, a pro-war
measure in Ozaukee County did as well. Voters there
agreed by a 2-to-1 margin on the issue of supporting
the nation's "war on terror" in Iraq, Afghanistan and
elsewhere until "organized terrorism is eliminated."

LOAD-DATE: November 9, 2006



 
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