Working From the Top Down

[Kevin Spidel]

Working From the Top Down

By, Tim Goodrich, Co-founder, Iraq Veterans Against the War / Western Region
[email protected]


So often in our quest to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home, we work from the bottom up. This happens when we have people in the streets protesting, people calling their elected officials and Iraq war vets and other credible sources speaking at public forums. While this is all great and our efforts are working, we frequently forget another valuable method for effecting change. I believe that it is equally important to work from the top down.

What exactly does it mean to work from the top down? Well, it means that we need to put people in office who have enough guts to call for an immediate withdrawal in Iraq. This is equally, if not more, important that working from the bottom up. After all, these are the people calling the shots and making the decisions that will ultimately bring them home.

If you need any more proof of how this strategy works, I’ll give you a couple of examples. The name Paul Hackett is universally known because of his narrow congressional loss in a heavily Republican Ohio district. Not only did he educate thousands and come within a hair of winning the race, but he brought the issue of the war in Iraq to the forefront. By doing this he undoubtedly brought the debate closer to the position that we want; bringing the troops home now.

A second example is the recent speech given by Congressman Murtha. Long know as a hawk in DC, Murtha came out and gave a resounding speech about the situation in Iraq. To open his speech he said, "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us." And you know what; he is absolutely right. He realizes that supporting an open ended occupation is now a political liability and a sinking ship. We need more candidates that are willing to take a stance like this.

Luckily, more and more candidates are taking the position that the troops need to be brought home now. One of those is Steve Young. Steve is running in a special election for 48th congressional district of California, which includes Irvine, Laguna Hills, and Newport Beach. If you’d like to see Steve’s position on Iraq, visit his website at http://www.steveyoungforcongress.com. To give you a synopsis, here is a quote from his website, "We are putting American men and women in harm’s way and getting few straight answers from the Administration about why they are there and how we will get them home. We have to bring our soldiers home alive, not in body bags."

This is the kind of man I want to be calling the shots the next time an appropriations bill comes up in the House.

Right now, precious few of our elected officials are calling for withdrawal from Iraq. That’s why it is so important that we make sure to support the ones that do. I’m taking the day off tomorrow to help Steve Young win and I hope you will join me. If you live in or near Orange County and would like to help on Election Day tomorrow, please call 949-640-4400. If you can’t help with this campaign, there are other things to do to help bring the troops home. For a list of actions, visit http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/home/

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Tim Goodrich is an Air Force combat veteran and co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War. During his time in the military, he deployed in support of Afghanistan and helped with the pre-war bombing of Iraq. After being honorably discharged from the military, he visited Iraq as a civilian where he saw the other side of the bombing and the effects of the occupation on the Iraqi population.

[niyad]

1. we also have to make sure that those currently holding office KNOW that

their continuation in said office depends on demanding that the troops be brought home NOW. We may not have until jan '07 (when the new congress is sworn in) to correct this travesty.

[unkachuck]

2. so what you're saying is....

....we should NOT support NON-progressive Dems in '06....ok, I can see that....Iraq is a bone-headed war for bone-headed reasons....have you ever seem in your life time a more useless waste of people and energy?....can you imagine how challenging it would be to invent a greater waste of resources and time....yet 'we' remain committed....

....most our flock of wishy-washy Dems can't seem to see or say this...."it's too difficult, it's the public, it's the polls, it's evil bush, it's civil war, it's 9/11, it's Jupitor aligning with Mars, it's, it's...."

....I've come to the conclusion that if our current crop of wishy-washy Dems can't take a stand on a no-brainer war like Iraq, they'll never take a stand on anything important....they are a pathetic group and they like it that way....