Vigils in 100 Districts Urge Votes Against War Escalation Funds

April was the second month in a row in
which "brown bag" lunch vigils against war funding were held at
congressional district offices in over 100 districts around the country.
Organizations participating included: Progressive Democrats of America
(PDA), CODEPINK, AfterDowningStreet, the Backbone Campaign,
Democrats.com, the California Nurses Association / National Nurses
Organizing Committee, Healthcare Now, American Friends Service Committee
and United for Peace and Justice.

Brown Bag Vigils have been held on the third
Wednesday of each month since January. The next scheduled date is May
19th.

Brown-baggers are asking members of the House
to publicly commit to voting No on any bills that fund wars, and to
publicly urge their colleagues and the House leadership to make the same
commitment. This position necessarily includes opposition to the
proposed $33 billion supplemental expected in the coming weeks to fund
an escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Congress members' commitments
are tracked at https://defundwar.org.

PDA national director Tim Carpenter said "If
congress members want to claim they oppose wars or support job creation,
they have to vote against this $33 billion to escalate a war. And they
know that we know that any smaller measures, such as aid to Haiti, can
be passed separately if the war funding fails, and therefore there can
be no excuses for voting yes to fund the escalation."

Complete information on past and upcoming
Brown Bag Vigils is available online: https://tinyurl.com/brownbagvigil,
including videos: https://youtube.com/pdamerica, and photos: https://flickr.com/photos/pdamerica.

Progressive Democrats of America was founded
in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and our country. We seek to
build a party and government controlled by citizens, not corporate
elites--with policies that serve the broad public interest, not just
private interests. PDA is a grassroots PAC operating inside the
Democratic Party, and outside in movements for peace and justice. Our
inside/outside strategy is guided by the belief that a lasting majority
will require a revitalized Democratic Party built on firm progressive
principles.

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.