Grijalva: Opposition Must Intensify Against Escalation War Funding

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:
https://blog.pdamerica.org/2010/05/the-agitator-voices-of-pda-episode-7

According
to today's communique 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 communique is available online:
https://blog.pdamerica.org/2010/05/voices-of-arizona/

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