Media Release
| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone |
| March 6, 2007 | Eve Weissman | 856-966-3091 |
Broad-Based Coalition of NJ Leaders, State Legislators, Peace Groups, Religious Organizations, Labor Unions, Veterans and Community Associations Launch New Jersey Statewide Campaign to Stop Bush's Escalation Plan in Iraq
Campaign Demands that Congress Stop the War Escalation and Calls on the NJ State Legislature to Pass AR246 – A Resolution Expressing Strong Opposition to Bush's Escalation of U.S. Troops in Iraq, Sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-15) and Assemblyman Craig Stanley (D-28)
Trenton, NJ — Today at a statehouse news conference NJ community leaders, veterans and area citizens – including NJ Citizen Action; Reverend Bruce Davidson, Director of Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries; Reverend Robert Moore, Executive Director of Coalition for Peace Action; Rex Reid, AFSCME; Vikki White from People's Organization for Progress; David Kalkstein from South Jersey Progressive Democrats/Democracy for America; Peter Granato from Vote Vets; George Hunt from the Gray Panthers; War Veteran Bruce Tonari; and MoveOn.org – were joined by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-15), Assemblyman Craig Stanley (D-28) and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-37) to launch a new statewide campaign opposing President's Bush's plan to escalate the war in Iraq.
The coalition demanded that every member of NJ's Congressional Delegation work to stop the Bush-McCain escalation plan. The group also blasted Congressman Jim Saxton (R-3), Congressman Christopher Smith (R-4), Congressman Scott Garrett (R-5), Congressman Mike Ferguson (R-7), Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) and Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (R-2) for opposing a resolution that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives repudiating the President's escalation plan. The U.S. House and Senate plan to address the escalation in Iraq again as soon as this week.
The coalition also called on the NJ State Legislature to pass AR246 – a resolution opposing the President's proposed escalation of U.S. forces in Iraq, sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-15) and Assemblyman Craig Stanley (D-28). The General Assembly is scheduled to vote on AR246 this Thursday, March 8, 2007.
This event is one of thousands being held across the country as part of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI), a national bipartisan coalition of veterans, union members, civic activists and concerned citizens who believe that the war in Iraq is unpopular, immoral, and unaffordable – both in the immeasurable cost of human lives and in its effect on our ability to craft a budget that invests in the future of all Americans. As a first step toward the ultimate goal of bringing our troops home, we must stop the president's plan for escalation. AAEI coalition partners include, Service Employees International Union, MoveOn.org Political Action, Center for American Process, USAction, Win Without War, Vote Vets, Campaign for America's Future, and United States Students Association.
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New Jersey Citizen Action is the state's largest citizen watchdog organization, representing more than 100 senior, labor, faith-based, environmental, tenant and women's organizations and over 60,000 family members. 