Today, some Wisconsin voters will see a referendum on their ballots calling for the U.S. to bring home troops from Iraq (see the referendum language for each of the 32 cities and towns.)
Spearheading the effort is Bring Our Troops Home Wisconsin, which gathered signatures in each of the 32 towns (including Madison and Milwaukee).
On the other side of the fence is Vote No to Cut and Run, who say
This referendum will have no national impact on policy, but if it passes, the Cut, Run and Hide defeatist message gains visibility and notoriety and damages the morale of our troops who are putting their lives on the line daily for our freedoms. Let's win the War at Home this time. Vote NO!
and continue,
If we were to follow this irresponsible and reckless policy thousands of innocent civilians would die, Iraq could implode, the Middle East could de-stabilize to unthinkable levels and our promise of Freedom for Iraq and other countries struggling for Liberty would be worth nothing worldwide. Second Guessing is not a war strategy.
The referendum is gathering a fair bit of local controversy and nationwide some are watching it as a possible predictor of the nation's increasing discomfort with the war.
The push for the referendum has been compared to Vietnam-era activism and it's interesting to see how Vietnam is used to frame the issue (although not altogether surprising). Vote No says
While the majority of Wisconsinites go work each day, are busy raising their families and serving their communities in a variety of ways.....
See below [Amy's note: click on the link to see the pictures referred to here] what the radicals have been doing to organize, fundraise, and finally force the referendum onto local ballots.
Do the images look similar to the Vietnam war protest era? That's because some of the same people are behind the current Bring The Troops Home Now referendum. These groups still promote an anti-military, anti-America message, only their hair color has changed - it is greyer. Just as they used the tactic of local referendums to tear at the fabric of our communities during the Vietnam War, they are using referendums again.
The Green Bay Press Gazette has the Bring Them Home Now perspective:
"What's different between now and '69 is that in '69 it was Madison alone," said Steve Burns, program coordinator for the Wisconsin Network for Peace of Justice, whose group has helped organize the effort that originated with the Wisconsin Green Party. "What's really different now is seeing it in these 31 other communities (other than Madison), some of which are in counties that voted for Bush in 2004."
Like the movement in the 1960s, today's advocates of military withdrawal hope their political maneuvering will capture the attention of federal lawmakers, force political candidates to take a decisive public stand on the issue, educate the public about the war and rally support for their cause.
as well as the academic perspective,
Scott Furlong, professor of public and environmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, said the anti-war movement of nearly four decades ago was "much more vocal," was larger and more widespread across the nation.
"Here you're seeing discontent through public opinion polls, which is quite a bit different than going out and marching and the like," said Furlong, referring to recent national polls that suggest growing dissatisfaction among Americans for how the war is being handled. "Trying to get support for a referendum is more or less trying to work within the system."
Overall, I can't imagine that the referendums will pass, although today will tell. However, even though many of the towns are small, it will be important to watch the turnout, percentage of votes given to the referendums and any polling data that tells us something about the voters. It'll basically give us a sense for how willing people not settled in either camp are to make a more public statement about the war.
