"No War on
Dear MoveOn Supporter,
Here's a quick report on the progress of our "No War on
I've been scrambling to stay on top of the reports as they come in
from meetings across the country. I'm
receiving emails from
Local TV stations broadcast interviews with participants in close
to a third of the meetings. And
newspapers from the Austin-American Statesman to the Chicago Tribune and the LA
Times to the Indianapolis Star have printed or are writing stories. Since Senators watch the media closely, this
coverage has made the meetings even more impactful.
The following comment from a meeting participant in
"As Senator Nelson's aide said at the end of our meeting, I
came with no expectations today. But I
left amazed at the eloquence and passion expressed by so many of you
today. It gives me hope . . . I just wanted
to thank you for your time, the mileage you put on your cars, but most of all
for speaking out when so many people keep quiet under the false guise of
patriotism. Our actions display true
patriotism and love of country."
As I read through these reports, as I look at (and listen to, and
watch) the press coverage that we've generated, and as I hear descriptions of
the reactions of Senators' staff, I know that through our meetings and our
petition, we've made a lasting and positive impact.
But the reports speak for themselves:
>From David Keppel,
"The meeting with Leslie Reiser,
[Senator Richard] Lugar's State Director, went extremely well. . . . We had an
impressive group of delegates and an even more impressive portfolio of letters
(including some prominent people we had invited who couldn't make it but were
supportive). Ms. Reiser
was highly receptive. . . . I think we have a real chance with [Senator Lugar].
And he's as well positioned as anyone in Congress to put the brakes on
Bush."
>From JoAnn Perry in
"It was an excellent meeting, and everyone there was glad to
attend. [Senator Ensign's aide Verita] Prothro said it was the largest and best organized that she
had had in that office!"
>From our local leader in
"We had about 150 people show up for support. We held a vigil
outside. Six of us went into the
meeting.
We met with Tom Crohan (one of Sen.
Kennedy's) aides) for about an hour. It
was very friendly, constructive conversation.
He didn't say it directly, but it sounded like Sen. Kennedy would
definitely be against a war. Tom mentioned that when Sen. Kennedy mentions this
topic, he remembers his brother and the Cuban missile crisis. He said his brother was right to seek a
diplomatic solution first before a military solution. He feels that the Bush administration should
do the same in this instance."
>From our leader in
"Given the short notice, we were delighted that 72 people
gathered, and 3/4 of them were eager to speak. The wonderful thing about the
gathering was that people came from all walks of life, from University
professors and graduate students, to blue-collar laborers
and
>From our leader in
"We met with staff of Senator Crapo and Craig together. Very
large, diverse group of participants including four Benedictine sisters and members
of Lutheran Peace Fellowship as well as Idaho Peace Coalition and Snake River
Alliance and independents. Everyone was
very articulate and heartfelt and respectful. . . . We were also asked exactly
what questions we wanted answered and folks gave great and pretty comprehensive
responses."
>From Sue Regan,
"We were extremely fortunate to have, in our group,
Democratic State Representative, Nan Grogan Orrock,
Elizabeth Chestnut from WAND, and a few retired Armed forces personnel . . .
who very eloquently told of the warnings given to her squad of going to war
with Iraq. 'Too bloody,' they said, 'a big mistake. Do not go to war with
>From an attendee in
"[Mr. Thompson, Senator Cantwell's aide, said] that combining
the electronic with the personal, such as we have with MoveOn,
was taking the right approach."
>From Joan Wile in
"Today I was part of a delegation of 10 people who met with
Hillary Clinton's NYS Deputy Director, Basil Smikle,
at her offices on
There are many, many more reports.
We hope to have a full description of each meeting up on our website
soon. We'll let you know as soon as it's
up.
SO WHAT'S NEXT?
Participating in the meetings and the petition has been a hugely
energizing experience for many of us.
When I was interviewed for an article in the Los Angeles Times today, I
told the reporter that this is just the beginning. It is -- we're just starting
to gather momentum. Our diversity, our
organization, and the depth of our concern are the building blocks for a
powerful and successful movement.
Over the next months, we'll offer you many other opportunities to
get active and support a more sensible
http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=225
THANK YOU
The national meetings project was made possible by the exceedingly
hard work of hundreds of volunteers and scores of local and national
organizations. We deeply appreciate the assistance that we have received -- we
couldn't have pulled this off without help.
The list below is a partial list, and it's bound to be incomplete. Let us know if we've omitted or misspelled
your name; we want to credit everyone who worked to make the meetings happen.
Our thanks go to: Ashley
Addison, Laurette Alexander, Peter B. Anderson, Jan
Arthur, Kirsten L. Aspengren, Timothy Baer, Kenneth
M. Barnes, Danielle Babineau, Susan Bayley, Robert L. Belichick,
Rabbi Philip J. Bentley, Peter Bergel, Carolyn Bniniski, Sherry Bohlen, Bill
Boyd, Larry Boyd, Devon Brenner, Carol Brightman,
Nathan Britton, Kate Brown, Jason S. Brown, Julie Brown, Rev. Tom Brown,
Madelyn Bryson, Amy Bunting, Jill Taylor Bussiere,
Elizabeth Chesnut, Curtis Chubb, Felice
and Jack Cohen-Joppa, Christine Marian Coolick, Evan Coren, Sondra Cosgrove, Bette Courtney, John-Henry Dale,
Charlotte Davenhill, Bill C. Davis, Wilandra S. Dean, Kenneth DeBacker,
Christina Debowski, Jim Demmers,
Rick Martin Duiker, Nicky Dunbar, Sherry Edwards, Robert S. Eichler,
Lela Emmons, Randall Farmer, Julie Fielder, Shelagh
Forman, Tom Fox, Candace Freeland, David Friel, John
Patrick Gallagher, Shawn Gebhardt, Edward Gerjuoy, James Gerring, Robert
Greenberg, Louise Grubbs, Jeff Grubler, Mark Gubrud,
Jeff Gustafson, Bill Haff, Linda Hahner, Allan
Hanson, Leslie Harris, Isaac Hassoun, Kristin Hedges,
Donna Hemingson, Linda Henry, Susan Hills, Cynthia
Hoffman, Rachael Holstine, Barbara Hughes, John
Humphries, Janet C. Irwin, Fo Jammi,
Dr. Joya Jennings, Diane Jones, Patrick Kane, Kathy
Kelly, Michael Kelly, Pagan Kennedy, David Keppel, Dr. John G. Kepros, Randall Kern, Karen Kinsman, Shana
Lieberman Klinger, Lee Koch, Keith Kohan, Jeanne Koster,
Anthony Simon Laden, Martha Lee, Peter Lems, Judie Hllke Lundborg, David Lynch, Alex
Markels, Nick Mather, Susan
Mayer, Drusha L. Mayhue,
Terry Maze, David McBurnett, Michael McBurnie, Kate McClellan, Adeline McConnell, Mary McGarry, Angela McIver, Susan McKay, Andy McKenna, James
McKenzie, Christine Meisenheimer, Manfred Menking, Don Merit, Laura Merit, H. Bruce Miller, Steve
Moon, Cey Mooney, Joy Morris, Terry Mulcahy, Monisha Mustapha, Berta K. Nelson, Kenneth J. Newman, Anne O'Keefe, Kristen Tegtmeier Oertel, Maryellen Oman, Severo
Ornstein, Patricia A. Palmieri, Jonathan V. Pansacola, Emanuel Pariser,
Joseph Parko, Gia Pascarelli, Liz Paul, Shannon Payne, JoAnn
Perry, David Pickering, O. Gail Poole, Karen Price, Mary Proteau,
Amy M. Puckett, Linda Quinton Burr, Mary Rave, Susan Regan, Amy Remensnyder, Jesse Rhodes, Mary Rickard, Chris Roehm, Mauricio Rosas, Patricia A. Rosas, David Rosenberg,
Jody Ross, Denyce Rusch, Ingrid and John Russell,
Kate Ryan, Burt Sacks, Daniel Samek, Renie Schapiro, Colin Schoder-Ehri, Laurel Severns,
Robert O. Shaw, Elaine Shinbrot, Jacqueline Signori, Carole Skeen, Lisa Spicka,
Fred Stewart, Zee Straight-Weiss, James R. Talbott,
James B. Tate, Mary C. Thomas, Adam Throne, Zada
True-Courage, Greg Tzeutschler, Karen van Hoek, Eric Wachter, Diane Wahto, Russell Washington, Myrna E. Watanabe, Virginia Welsch, Anke Wessels,
Jan Arthur Weston, Brian Wheel, Lisa White-Turney,
Matt Whitson, Mary Ann Williams, Miriam S. Willis, Kristina Zwick.
We're grateful for organizing support from the following
organizations:
The American Friends Service Committee (www.afsc.org); EPIC
(www.epic-usa.org); Peace Action (www.peace-action.org); California Peace
Action (www.californiapeaceaction.org); WAND (www.wand.org); Women Against
Military Madness (www.worldwidewamm.org).
Thank you all for being part of something big.
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
International Campaigns Director
MoveOn.org
P.S. My work, and the work of Peter Schurman
and Carrie Olson, is paid for by MoveOn members. You've already given a lot by being part of
this experience, but if you feel moved to donate, we'd welcome your financial
support. You can give online or by check
at:
http://www.moveon.org/support.html
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