[Peace-discuss] Local Congressional representative & war

[C. G. Estabrook]

It's rumored - rumored - that Tim Johnson "intends to drop out of his  
reelection race ... Johnson apparently believes that this is now a  
safe seat since perennial candidate David Gill won the Democratic  
primary race, so it’s OK to leave without partisan worry. Possible  
replacements include Rodney Davis, Rep. Chapin Rose, Rep. Adam Brown,  
Sen. Sam McCann, Johnson’s former chief of staff Jerry Clarke and his  
current chief of staff Mark Shelden."

AFAIK none of these worthies will have Tim's settled opposition to  
Mideast war. Admitting that he was wrong a decade ago to vote for the  
invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Tim reversed his position and now  
for some time has voted consistently against funds for war. He even  
joined other members of Congress from both parties in a suit against  
the illegal attack on Libya.

David Gill's position isn't clear. If he's changed it to approximate  
Tim's, as he seems recently to indicate - he hasn't been as honest  
about renouncing his earlier support for Obama's position on  
Afghanistan.

If it's true that we'll have two 'major party' Congressional  
candidates with ambiguous positions on war, we might want to consult  
with other anti-war groups in the district - the Greens, Occupy, etc.,  
here and in BloNo, etc. - about whether a third-party antiwar  
candidate would be a good idea.

--CGE