NYT: Democrats in State Capitols Push Antiwar Resolutions

[Doondoo]

Frustrated by the inability of Democrats in Congress to pass a resolution opposing President Bush’s policies in Iraq, state legislators across the country, led by Democrats and under pressure from liberal advocacy groups, are pushing forward with their own resolutions.

Resolutions have passed in chambers of three legislatures, in California, Iowa and Vermont. The Maryland General Assembly sent a letter to its Congressional delegation, signed by a majority of the State Senate and close to a majority of the House, urging opposition to the increase in troops in Iraq.

Letters or resolutions are being drafted in at least 19 other states. The goal is to embarrass Congress into passing its own resolution and to provide cover for Democrats and Republicans looking for concrete evidence back home that anti-Iraq resolutions enjoy popular support.

“The end of this war has to start sometime and somewhere,” the president of the Iowa Senate, John P. Kibbie, a Democrat, said Thursday. “And stopping the expansion of these troops needs to happen now.”

The activity was spurred in a conference call last month that included state legislators; Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts; and advocacy groups like the Progressive States Network and MoveOn.org.

Mr. Kennedy said pressure by the states would push Washington to oppose the Iraq plans of the Bush administration. “Your voices, your calls, your e-mails and your resolutions have an impact on the debate,” Mr. Kennedy said.



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16pressure.html

[democrank]

1. Enough is enough.

If heartbreaking death and injuries and obscene debt don`t move Congress to act against this war, maybe job security will. Keep the pressure on. ~PEACE~

[rodeodance]

2. Bush has rallied his loyalists (McConnel et al)-----one side has to blink

Sat. or it will be a replay of last vote.