This
Is What Democracy Looks Like!
The
following article is published in the Summer 2003 issue of the Brown County Green Party publication, "The
Green Gazette"
There are a multitude of different aspects of true democracy. One
of these beautiful elements is legislative lobbying activism at the
grassroots level. Citizens moving policy forward in a progressive
direction by their involvement in the political process and engagement
with legislators and interaction with other constituents is exciting
and empowering.This is an overview of a recent successful campaign
in grassroots activism.
On Monday, June 16, 2003, a delegation of eleven Peace activists
from Bloomington Peace Action Coalition met with Congressman Baron
Hill in his Bloomington, Indiana office. The group talked to Congressman
Hill about their concerns for the people of Iraq facing serious humanitarian
crises, responsibilities of an occupying authority in Iraq, the wrongness
of a
"pre-emptive war" policy, and the need for an independent, open
investigation seeking the truth about the "evidence" of
Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, (including H. Res. 260), as
well as concerns about the people of Palestine/Israel and the Indiana
Delegation to Israel & Palestine (August 2003).
When asked to co-sponsor House Resolution 260 (legislation requesting
the President to transmit to the House "documents or other materials
in the President's possession relating to Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction"), Hill responded that he didn't want this to be
a "political witch
hunt" by being too partisan. Hill did say he would like to see
an open hearing on the WMD's evidence. But, he was concerned that
Congressional Republicans were not also calling for the investigation
and that the "rest" of
his constituency was not concerned enough about this issue.When asked
if a petition signed by District 9 constituents supporting H. Res.
260 and an open-door investigation would make a difference in his
view of this issue, Hill strongly responded "Yes. I'd like
to know that the rest of my constituents and the Republicans are
in
favor of this."
"A Citizen's Humanitarian Pledge" calling on the U.S. administration
to respond immediately to the humanitarian needs of the people
of Iraq, was signed by fifteen people in Congressman Hill's presence
and presented to him. This Pledge was initiated by the Education
for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) and is endorsed by OxFam, the National
Council of Churches, and Church
World Service. A letter giving
an overview of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and the need for the
clean up of unexploded ordnance and depleted uranium debris was
also presented to Hill.
Responding to the June 16 meeting with Congressman Hill, the "Petition
to Seek the Truth About Evidence (or lack thereof) of Weapons of
Mass Destruction in Iraq" was created by activists in
the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition. It was co-sponsored by
the
Brown County Green
Party and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
(Brown Co. branch). From June 18 to June 28, Brown County and Bloomington
area activists traveled around Indiana's 9th Congressional
District (mostly small towns and rural communities) to get a sampling
of individuals who expressed deep concern about this critical issue
by signing the Petition calling for "an independent, bipartisan
commission to investigate what the Bush administration claimed
to be evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq." Signatures
were collected from people at open-air concerts, a political rally,
a city council meeting, at the farmer's market, on the street,
at book stores, and at restaurants. Several activists made trips
to
other towns in the 9th District to collect signatures in city parks,
at an art fair, in front of a public library, at grocery and clothing
stores, and at a church event. Visits were made to Jeffersonville,
Seymour, Lawrenceburg, and Aurora.
The bad news is that in the first week of the petitioning campaign,
House Resolution 260 was voted down in the International Relations
Committee.
The good news is that 1,396 people signed the Petition,
making it clear that, depending on where signatures were gathered,
between 50% and 100% of everyone who was spoken to, wanted to know
the TRUTH about what the Bush administration presented as "evidence" that
the Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. And 850
individuals signed the Citizen's Humanitarian Pledge for Iraq.The
hundreds of names on the petitions were entered into an electronic
data base and alphabetized per town to show Congressman Hill
that throughout the District, citizens are concerned about this critical
issue. This time-consuming task and that of collecting signatures
was achieved by the diligent efforts of Alice Jwaideh, Gretchen Clearwater,
Jack King, Allison Strang, Christine Glaser, Leigh Kupersmith, Ben
McClelland, Deborah Robinson, Bob Gehrenbeck, Aase Loescher, David
Bunge, Timothy Baer, Pam Raider, Rosemary Saurer, Cindy Hoffman,
and many others.
Now, for the even better news. On June 26, Congressman Hill's
District Scheduler, Nicole Toran, was phoned to arrange a meeting
in which petitions could be presented and the dialogue continued
with Congressman Hill on what actions might be most effectively
brought to bear in Congress. That same day, California Representative,
Henry Waxman, introduced a Bill (HR 2625) in the House "To
Establish the Independent Commission on Intelligence About Iraq".
After ensuing faxed and e-mailed letters were sent to Congressman
Hill and his staff, the exciting news that Congressman Baron
Hill is a co-sponsor of House Resolution 2625 along with twenty-three
other Representatives was conveyed during a phone conversation
with Hill's District Director, Luke Clippinger, on July 9. An appointment
with Congressman Hill was subsequently arranged for Monday, July
14 at Hill‚s Jeffersonville office.
In presenting the Petitions and Pledges along with letters of
encouragement, Timothy Baer thanked Congressman Hill for his
co-sponsorship of House Resolution 2625 and continued by saying, "We
encourage you to actively work to see that HR 2625 is enacted. We believe
that in partnership with you, this bill will become a functioning Commission.
We will continue to work helping others throughout Indiana and around
the country to persuade their Representatives to support HR 2625. We
hope that you will encourage your associates in the House of Representatives
and colleagues in the Senate to vote for enactment of HR 2625."
Congressman Hill heard the presentations and read the letters,
faxes, and e-mails. And on the threshold of receiving petitions
with hundreds of concerned citizens‚ signatures, whether
by constituent persuasion or by conscience or by both, Congressman
Hill made the decision to give his full support to the establishment
of an Independent Intelligence Commission. When HR 2625 is enacted
by Congress, it will, among other things, "examine
and evaluate executive branch efforts to collect intelligence
regarding the threats posed by Iraq" and "examine and
evaluate" representations
to Congress made by executive branch officials regarding such
threats, including assessing the accuracy and completeness of such
representations". All of this potentially has broad ramifications
and far reaching
repercussions! This "Independent Commission on Intelligence" has
the ability to reveal the truth about the Bush administration's
manipulations
and fabrications.
In conclusion, Timothy Baer states, "I recognize that by
our efforts, and by the grace of God, we have influenced Congressman
Baron Hill to make the right decision in co-sponsoring HR 2625. Congressman
Hill should be thanked for his decision to help establish an independent
commission. We must make sure that this bill, HR 2625, is enacted! It
will require all of us to take action to get John Hostettler, Julia Carson,
and the rest of Congress to say 'Yes!' to finding the Truth about
the Iraqi WMD "evidence".
We must ensure that this grassroots effort spreads to all Congressional
Districts in the state of Indiana and to all the States of our nation.
The Truth must be revealed!"
Check out House Resolution 2625 (which
now has 110 co-sponsors!) by clicking here, typing "HR 2625" into
the box to the right of Bill Number, and clicking "Search")
Timothy G. Baer
Organizer, Bloomington Peace Action Coalition
Communications Coordinator, Brown County Green Party
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