ProgressOhio

Tuesday, August 28th at 7pm is officially the beginning of the end for the Iraq war.

At that time at three locations across the state Senator George Voinovich, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, and Congressman Steve LaTourette will be called on by hundreds on their constituents to Take A Stand against the war.

Come take part in the beginning of the end of the Iraq war in your neighborhood!

Painesville Take A Stand Event

Veterans Park Gazebo (Painesville, OH)

Painesville Sign up
 

Columbus Take A Stand Event

Statehouse Atrium (Columbus, OH)

Columbus Sign up
 

Cincinnati Take A Stand Event

20th Century Theater (Cincinnati, OH)

Cincinnati Sign Up

In an interview with the Ashtabula Star-Beacon, Congressman Steve LaTourette (R-Painesville) said, “I think the war will be over (by the presidential election),” LaTourette said. “We will see a drawdown in troops. (Bush) won’t leave office with this thing going on.”  Read the whole article by clicking here.

Will he put his vote where his mouth is and vote to bring our troops home?

Click Here to go to Take A Stand and make him!

Tired of seeing Senator George Voinovich say one thing and vote for the opposite?

In June, Voinovich said, “I believe we can accomplish more in Iraq by gradually and responsibly reducing our forces.” A month later, he voted against a bill that would set a timeline for U.S. troop withdrawal.

What better way to get George Voinovich’s attention than a huge 10’x20’ billboard? We will drive this billboard around the state as part of the “Voinovich Double Talk Express.” Our message will reach thousands of Ohioans, including the Senator himself.

We came up with a few slogans ourselves ("Cleveland Voinovich and his evil twin D.C. Voinovich" and "Voinovich's House of Waffles") but after much debate, we’ve decided to leave it up to the people!

We’re asking YOU to come up with a creative slogan for a full side of our “Voinovich Double Talk Express” mobile billboard!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR MESSAGE TO SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH!

Please abide by these rules:

• No Profanity
• 100 character limit
• Must communicate a clear message about the war to the public and especially the Senator

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR MESSAGE TO SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH!

We will announce the finalists on Monday, August 13th and a vote will determine the winner!

Peace,

Matt Hurm

Ohio Field Director, Iraq Summer Campaign

Back in Ohio for the August congressional recess, Rep. Deborah Pryce was welcomed by 25 protestors today who presented the Congresswomen flowers for each Ohio military soldier who has died in the conflict.

Charles Davis, a veteran and former Pryce supporter happened to be walking by and said some insightful things. “After more than four years, 3,600 Americans killed, and tens of thousands wounded, our troops and families have sacrificed enough. It’s time to stop extending deployments and sending more and more of our young men and women into a civil war. It’s time for Representative Pryce to start bringing the troops home safely.”

The two dozen protesters each presented a carnation to Rep. Pryce with the names of fallen Ohio soldiers. Congresswoman Pryce has called for more time to “evaluate” the situation, but as the White House and Bush loyalists wait, brave Soldiers die. Since the beginning of the war, 156 Ohio Soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

“Maybe Deborah Pryce forgets the number or perhaps she loses perspective when she compared to the over 3600 Soldiers that have been lost from all across the nation, the countless Iraqi deaths, or the over $450 billion spent,” said Davis. “But there are a lot of Ohioans who want Congresswoman Pryce to never forget about the loss of life her reckless support of the escalation has created. To never forget that 156 is not just a number, but stands for 156 futures that will never be, 156 Ohio families whose lives are changed forever. Each one of these flowers stands for one of the 156 brave Soldiers who have paid the ultimate “Pryce” in Iraq.”

With the Iraqi parliment on vacation and the situation on the ground in Iraq growing even more unstable, I strongly encourage you all to take three minutes and write a letter to the editor.  Slowly, but surely, Republican support for the war is waining and the more pressure from constituents they read in their local papers, the more likely they are to finally break from their party line and vote to bring our troops home.

“Iraq Summer” Campaign Turns Up Heat on Congresswoman Pryce for Betraying Constituents

Columbus, OH – Ohio denounced Congresswoman Pryce’s latest vote in support of President Bush’s reckless Iraq war policy at a press conference today.  Ohioans are furious Congresswoman Pryce voted against a timeline to end the President’s reckless Iraq policy and bring our troops home. Instead of taking a stand against endless war, Congresswoman Pryce only added to her abysmal record of supporting the president’s failed policy of escalation. 

“Congresswoman Pryce’s vote for endless war is a slap in the face to Ohioans who overwhelmingly oppose President Bush’s policy of endless war. Congresswoman Pryce chose party loyalty over her constituents and the security of this country and Ohioans are not going to take this lying down,” warned Amanda McNeil girlfriend of a serviceman in Iraq and spokesman for the Ohio chapter of the "Iraq Summer" campaign.  

More than seven in 10 Americans favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by next April. [USA Today 7/10/07] 

“With this vote, Congresswoman Pryce proved once and for all that she is woefully out of touch with Ohioans,” said McNeil. “It is ludicrous that Congresswoman Pryce would vote to continue the Bush policy of endless war the very same day the Bush administration confirmed its policy failed by every measure.” 

“Through the ‘Iraq Summer’ campaign, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq will turn up the heat on Congresswoman Pryce to an unprecedented level. We’ll be knocking on doors, continuing our Call Congress campaigns, holding rallies outside member offices and placing signs on lawns across Columbus demanding an end to this reckless war,” said McNeil. 

Iraq Summer is a 3 month long intensive national publicity campaign focusing locally on Senator Voinovich, Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, and Congressman Steve LaTourette's continued reckless support for George Bush's endless war. Our goal is to crumble the Republican support for the war so that we can bring our troops back safe and soon.

Thanks to the hard work of the peace movement, we can already see Republican support shrinking for this war.

In the past two weeks alone FOUR GOP senators have split from the Bush Administration's endless war. Although this sounds like a victory for the American people, the real truth is that many Republicans are trying to save their skins by jumping on a toothless, non-binding bill (HR 2574 in the House and corresponding Senate bill) that basically asks the President to follow something like the Iraq Study Group (ISG) findings - THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.

We need Senator Voinovich, Congresswoman Pryce, and Congressman LaTourette to do more than PR stunts that just give a rubber stamp for George Bush's endless war.  They need to vote for legislation that will bring a safe end to the war and hold Bush accountable for the continuing reckless sacrifice of our brave American Soldiers. 

Peace is on the march!  Cuyahoga County Commissioners passed a resolution against the escalation in Iraq following the Cleveland City Council's similar act last week.  They are sending out a letter to all 88 Ohio county commissions calling on them to do the same. 

Do you want to help pass a resolution to bring our troops home in your community?  Please email me at matthurm@hotmail.com if you'd like more information.

Cleveland rocks!  Congratulations Cleveland, Ohio on passing a resolution calling on the President to bring the troops home from Iraq.  By an 18-1 vote, Cleveland passed a resolution asking to set a date for withdrawl and to bring our troops home.  The resolution will be sent to both Ohio's Senators as well as all U.S. Representatives.  This is a big step for our movement to pass anti-war resolutions all across the great state of Ohio.  Ohio will speak with one voice to our representative in Congress.  We must bring our troops home!

If you're interested in passing a resolution in your community, please contact Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq at matthurm@hotmail.com.

I'm Matt Hurm, the new Ohio field director for Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq.  I just arrived in Columbus last night and my first project is to find housing in Ohio for my six young field organizers and myself.  They arrive June 19th and will be in state until September 3rd.  They are generally college age and passionate about stopping the war.

I need to find housing for two east of Cleveland, two in Columbus, and two in Cincinnati.

If you can house a field organizer or know someone who can, please call me at (612) 240-2228 or email me at matthurm@hotmail.com.