[Peace-discuss] [Peace] Tomorrow I'll ask Carol Ammons to oppose the Saudi arms deal

[C G Estabrook]

Bob— 

What response did you get?

—CGE
==================================
Robert Naiman naiman at justforeignpolicy.org 
Sat Jun 3 19:56:04 UTC 2017

Tomorrow afternoon this event is happening in Champaign:

IL - 13 Listening Session: Champaign-Urbana
Public · Hosted by Carol Ammons

https://www.facebook.com/events/1855909114660297/


Yesterday I asked Rodney Davis to oppose Trump's Saudi arms deal. I
presented the IL-13 signers on our petition
<https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/congress-vote-no-on-trumps?r_by=1135580>,
and asked him to cosponsor the bipartisan Amash-Pocan resolution against
the Saudi arms deal. Rodney Davis said he would speak with Amash and the
other Republican sponsors and get back to me.

Now Carol is asking: "What do you want your Representative in Congress to
do?" I figure that's an easy question for me to answer. I want my
Representative in Congress to oppose the Saudi arms deal.

So, I figure, why not take Carol the same petition I took Rodney, and make
the same ask?

I figure: if Carol opposes the Saudi arms deal and challenges Rodney to do
the same, it's win-win. Either Rodney agrees, in which case I win, or
Rodney doesn't agree, in which case it's a public issue and the
News-Gazette has to report on it and Rodney gets in trouble, in which case
I also win.

Is it plausible that Rodney, feeling a little heat, would agree to
co-sponsor the Amash resolution?

Last September, then-Illinois Senator Mark Kirk was one of only four Senate
Republicans to vote against the Saudi tank deal. The other 23 no votes were
Democrats. Mark Kirk had not previously been known as a critic of Saudi
Arabia or its "particularly aggressive" war in Yemen, as the Vatican puts
it.

What made Mark Kirk flip? Tammy Duckworth was breathing down his neck,
putting out a press release every time he didn't say "excuse me" after
burping.

Could we do that to Rodney Davis? Could we flip him with some pressure? If
not, why not?

I'll print out the petitions again around noon tomorrow. So there's still
time to sign.

Sign the petition: Congress: Vote NO on Trump's Saudi Arms Deal

https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/congress-vote-no-on-trumps?r_by=1135580


===

Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org

naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

(202) 448-2898 x1