WASHINGTON - May 25 - Congressman Raul Grijalva, (D., Ariz.), Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair, speaks out strongly in an audio podcast posted online today, calling for increased public pressure on congress members to vote against another $33.5 billion to escalate the war in Afghanistan:

"I think the opposition to the supplemental has to intensify," Grijalva said in an interview with Tim Carpenter, Director of Progressive Democrats of America, "and the accountability to those members of Congress that have pledged in the past not to support it has to be intensified as well."

Grijalva urged opposition to the bill regardless of what good measures are packaged into it:

"Unfortunately you're going to see some things attached to it, i.e. education and other issues that we care very deeply about at progressives. We want to see more attention to our schools. We want to see more opportunity extended. But I think the bottom line has to be, regardless of the wrapping, the content is the supplemental and the continuance of this war with no exit strategy and no strategy in the horizon to get out of there.

"I think it's essential to split this vote," Grijalva explained, advocating for a separate vote on the war escalation funding alone. "You need to give those of us that feel, both out of strategic conscience and for the protection of the tax payer in this country that we can't continue these unfunded unpopular wars, and we should be given an up and down vote so that at a very minimum we can be held accountable by our own constituency for how we voted in that instance."

Grijalva also discussed the new state law in Arizona that, as he put it, codifies racial profiling. Grijalva said he supports targeted economic sanctions aimed at conventions in his own state, and supports lobbying the President to address the matter. He did not propose any role for Congress.

Also speaking on this latest podcast from Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is Dan O'Neal, PDA Arizona Coordinator, who discusses plans for a May 29th rally against what he describes as "apartheid Arizona." While O'Neal supports a boycott of Arizona, he urges everyone who can to come to Arizona on the 29th to join in the protest.

The full audio of this podcast is available online:
http://blog.pdamerica.org/2010/05/the-agitator-voices-of-pda-episode-7

According to today’s communiqué to its members, PDA is in the process of formalizing its position on humane immigration reform, which “gets to the root of the problem.” Carpenter again, “The national leadership does not just make up PDA’s position, like so many organizations do; we welcome our members to join the discussion, develop principles and create PDA’s position.” He added, “It takes time--all voices are heard, and then we vote.”

The full text of the communiqué is available online:
http://blog.pdamerica.org/2010/05/voices-of-arizona/

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For over two decades, the party declined as its leadership listened more to the voices of corporations than those of Americans. PDA strives to rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up--from every congressional district to statewide party structures to the corridors of power in Washington, where we work arm in arm with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In just five years, PDA and its allies have shaken up the political status quo--on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Medicare for all, voter rights, accountability, and economic and environmental justice.