April 5, 2006

Wisconsin voters want U.S. troops out of Iraq, and they want them out
now.

On Tuesday, folks in 34 cities and towns across Wisconsin cast their votes on referendums calling for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The referendums passed in 24 out of 32 communities.

In Madison, the vote was more than 2 to 1.

And maybe that’s not surprising, since it’s a liberal town.

But even places in northwest Wisconsin or up in Door County or in the suburbs of Milwaukee voted to bring the troops home.

In communities that voted for Bush in 2004, 6 out of the 12 were now in favor of withdrawal, according to peace activist Bob Reuschlein.

The combined vote total was 61% in favor of immediate withdrawal and 39% opposed, Reuschlien also notes.

This is the kind of grassroots organizing that needs to happen across the country if we are ever to get our soldiers out of Bush’s bog.

By sponsoring these referendums, by raising this issue among our neighbors, peace activists hauled the policy debates out of Washington and brought them down to the local level, where they belong.

People put up signs, wore buttons, debated the issue at city council meetings, and hashed it all out in the local newspapers with those who disagreed with them.

And when everything was said and done, the people let their views be known.

This was not some small focus group or poll.

This was hundreds of thousands of citizens casting ballots.

And peace won.

Imagine that!