[Peace] Let’s have a big anti-war demo in Milwaukee on July 13 at the DNC

[Robert Naiman]

https://www.facebook.com/robert.naiman/posts/10159055403547656

Let’s have a big anti-war demo in Milwaukee on July 13 at the DNC

Let’s have a big anti-war demonstration in Milwaukee on July 13 at the
Democratic National Convention.

Let’s support this with local actions at Democratic Congressional offices
on July 13, so people who are unable to travel to Milwaukee can
participate. Every Congressional Democrat is a member of the Democratic
National Committee, so on July 13 we can treat each Democratic
Congressional office as a local DNC office, which in a way it is.

Let’s support that with a call-in day to those Congressional offices, so
people can participate without leaving wherever they are.

Let’s raise a specific demand: that Congressional Democrats pass binding,
veto-proof legislation to end U.S. wars. In particular, that Congress pass
binding, veto-proof legislation to end Trump’s unconstitutional war with
Iran and Trump’s unconstitutional war on behalf of Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
Congress has already voted against these wars. But Congressional Democratic
leadership have failed so far to pass binding, veto-proof legislation to
end these wars, as they could have done, by passing binding veto-proof war
powers resolutions, or by cutting the funding on “veto-proof” “must-pass”
Pentagon spending bills. Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress is
supposed to be deciding when we go to war, not Trump.

Let’s couple this outside strategy with an inside strategy. Let’s push for
the elected delegates to amend the Democratic Party Platform to call on
Democrats in Congress to end U.S. wars, including the war with Iran and the
Saudi war in Yemen, through binding veto-proof war powers resolutions and
binding veto-proof funding prohibitions.

At the end of a contested presidential primary, the Democratic Party is at
its most democratic. The elected delegates to the convention are the people
that Democratic primary voters just voted for when they voted for
presidential candidates. According to current projections, there will be
four groups of such elected delegates: Sanders delegates, Warren delegates,
Buttigieg delegates, and Biden delegates. These delegates largely follow
the instructions of their campaigns in voting on issues outside of the
nominating process. Thus, raising these demands is a way of pressuring the
campaigns, which will in turn pressure the Democratic members of Congress,
who will also be delegates to the convention.

Regardless of what happens at the convention, there’s likely not going to
be a new U.S. president for at least another year from now, and we should
be ending these wars now. Also regardless of what happens at the
convention, under the Constitution, it will still be the job of Congress,
not the President, to decide when we go to war.

We’ve seen in the past that even though Congress already voted against
these wars, when push came to shove, ending these wars wasn’t a priority
for Democratic Congressional leadership when they had the opportunity to do
so. Let’s change that on July 13.

Perhaps, if they know they are going to face these demands on July 13, six
months from now, Congressional Democratic leadership will feel pressured to
act now.
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