Today, the Progressive States Network, Moveon.org and a whole host of grassroots groups held a conference call with U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and state legislators from across the nation to launch the 50-State Anti-Escalation Campaign - a campaign to have state legislatures take up resolutions demanding Congress use its power to prevent President Bush's efforts to militarily escalate the Iraq War. Sen. Kennedy is pushing federal legislation to stop the escalation - but he needs the public's help in putting pressure on other congressional lawmakers to support his bill. As Kennedy said on the call (which you can listen to here), passing state resolutions is one of the major ways Congress can hear from the public.
That's where you come in. This call attracted hundreds of participants, and PSN is now working overtime with scores of legislators to have anti-escalation resolutions introduced in as many state legislatures as possible. You're help is vital to this effort.
Go to www.progressivestates.org/stoptheescalation and use PSN's tool to contact your state legislator asking them to introduce and then vote for the anti-escalation resolution in your state legislature. It's easy - all you have to do is enter your name, postal address, email address and zip code and a message will be delivered right to your state legislators.
For background on the 50-State Anti-Escalation Campaign see the following:
MODEL LEGISLATION: The draft resolution being introduced in states across the country.
FACT SHEET: A basic fact sheet about President Bush's escalation plan, and the opposition to it.
STATE-BY-STATE DATA: Information showing how the Iraq War has affected each state so that legislators can customize the draft resolution and include data about the war specific to their state.
As Kennedy said, time is now of the essence, as President Bush is already trying to move forward with escalation. It is up to us to demand that our state legislators put our states on record telling Congress to exercise its constitutional authority to stop a military escalation that the vast majority of the public opposes. Join the fight today.