April, 08 2010, 03:48pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Reva Patwardhan (office) 510-830-3600, ext. 112
rpatwardhan@peaceactionwest.org
With Obama in Office, Congressional Democrats' Scores Drop on Peace Issues
OAKLAND, Calif.
On legislation regarding foreign policy, Democrats voted more hawkishly
in 2009 then they had in the previous eight years. This is according to
a just-released report on Congress's national security voting record, a
survey of 13 key votes in the House of Representatives, and 10 votes in
the Senate. Peace Action West produces the report annually, and found
just 15 members of Congress scoring over 90 percent in 2009, compared to
117 in 2010.
"The results of this report are a timely election year reminder that if
we want a smarter American approach to global problems, we need to ramp
up pressure on incumbents and support real pro-peace challengers for
Congress," said Rebecca Griffin, Peace Action West's political director.
"We need people in Congress with the courage to stand up for peace,
even when that means disagreeing with a Democratic White House, or
withstanding the kind of right-wing scare tactics that often corner weak
politicians into support for foreign policy aggression."
The report scored votes on key legislation taken up by Congress in 2009.
Included were votes on requiring an exit strategy from Afghanistan,
supplemental war funding outside the normal budget process, the
attempted closure of Guantanamo Bay prison, military pork projects, the
war in Gaza, and US relations with Iran. The low scores reflect the
maintenance of the status quo on many key foreign policy challenges.
Congress supported President Obama in such counterproductive policies as
continuing the military-dominated approach in Afghanistan, while
undermining his more positive shifts by passing harsh unilateral
sanction on Iran while the administration attempted diplomatic
engagement. The scorecard can be viewed at https://www.peaceactionwest.org/category/2009_congressional_scorecard:_111th_congress/
Despite falling short of significant foreign policy change, the
scorecard documents strong leadership from members who have consistently
championed smarter security approaches. The "Best and Worst of Congress
2009" section of the scorecard chronicles attempts by leaders to reign
in the war in Afghanistan, and cut Pentagon pork for convention and
nuclear weapons.
"Democrats are facing a major enthusiasm gap with their base heading
into the elections, and this congressional scorecard provides a glimpse
into why," stated Griffin. "In 2008 progressives turned out in droves to
give Democrats control of our government in large part because they
were fed up with war. If Democrats want progressives to support them
again, they need to demonstrate that they are going to stop caving to
fear-based politics and show us bold foreign policy leadership. We are
engaging our supporters around the country every day to make sure
Congress gets that message loud and clear. ."
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
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