Happening now: Please call to stop war funding

It’s happening now. After weeks of stalling and amidst growing dissent from the public and Congress, the House will vote on $33 billion for escalating the war in Afghanistan. Call your representative at 1-800-427-8619 now and ask for a no vote on the war money and a yes vote on the McGovern-Obey amendment calling for a timeline for withdrawal of US troops. Then email me to let me know how your call went.

The drumbeat against war in Afghanistan is intensifying by the day. The McChrystal debacle has fueled a larger debate about the failing counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan. Thirty members of Congress wrote to Nancy Pelosi asking to delay a vote and raising concerns about the possibility that the military could ask for even more troops. Another group wrote to Obama calling for an end date for the US military presence in Afghanistan. Rep. John Conyers has started a new Out of Afghanistan Caucus in Congress to keep the momentum going.

General McChrystal’s explosive comments may have given Congress a needed wake-up call, but the response would never have been this strong without all the work you have done flooding Congress with emails and calls. We need to keep it going.  The vote could happen as soon as Thursday. Call your representative at 1-800-427-8619 now.  Then, report back on your call.

Here’s a sample script:

“My name is _________ and I’m calling from ___________. I am calling to urge Rep. _____ to vote against the $33 billion to escalate the war in Afghanistan, and in favor of the McGovern-Obey amendment requiring a plan for withdrawal.”

Please add your personal thoughts about why ending this war is so important to you. (Tip: Rep. Obey’s name is pronounced “Obee”)

You recently helped us sound the call against tying important programs like oil spill cleanup to the war funding. It looks like we may have won that battle because reports now indicate that the House will hold two separate votes—one just on the war money, and the other on the important domestic spending.  That means there is no good reason for representatives who recognize that the war is a failure to support the funding. The more people we can get to vote no on the money, the more we will fuel the growing opposition to the war and show the administration and the media that we are serious about ending this war once and for all.  Please call your representative at 1-800-427-8619 today.